Year: 1877

case appear clearly by the record not
TO have been in possession ct the time,
and their claim Of right to occupy the
Offices did not affect the actual status
OF Governor Stearns, nor the legal and
constitutional fact Of his action.


Mr.. Black in bis address OF the
Democratic side, insisted that the evi.
dence being once in, or offered. or 6led
In the case WAS 70 be treated as . cour.
of equity treats evidence. The COM
mission was not required to give it any
particular amount Of force or weight
in it. final Judgment. but the commis-
sion was to look at it and dstsrmi ne
the case on the evidence before it..
There had been much talk here about
going behind the action Of the State
He believed firmly in the sovereign
power Of q State to appoint any person
an elec,or. provided it was done in the
manner prescribed by her Legislsture,
and be believed that after the appoint.
ment was made in that manner no man
had right to 60 behind it and say it
was not an appointment to be made.
Anybody. whether an officer of the
State or an officer Of the general gov
ernmsnt, who undertook to set aside
such an appointment ~ that would be
guilty Of usurpstion Of authority. and
his act would be utterly void. There.
fore, If the Governor of Florida in
this case, after the appointment of thss :
electors was made by the people, un-
dertook to certify they were not elected
and put somebody else in their place.
that act WAS utterly void, false and
fraudulent. aud they were not going
behind the fraudulent act Of IN Office:
Of the Stats whose act had no validity
whatever in it. when they were told
that if the President of the Senate laid
before the two Houses false certificate
and al absolute counterfeit, and that
that WAS the end OF. and that no extrsn-
eous evidence could be produced for the
purpose Of showing that tho paper was
a forgery, tho doctriue went too fer.
II that proposition was carried out to
its conclusion then it would follow that
the two Houses of Congress must sim :
ply receive what anybody choose to
falsify. and to cay before them. through
the President of the Senate. that
neither the President Of the Senate, nor
either Of the Houses, nor both Of them
together could do anything in the
matter--just take what was given
without inquiring into the gen.
uineness OF it ut all. The work
of the counterfeiter was well fitted to
be regarded rs Of truth. as the mere
spawn Of criminal conspiracy 60. up
for the purpose of cheating the people
Of the State and the people Of the
Union by overturning aud overthrow
ing the great principle under the con-
stitution of the country. The man who
undertook to say no certified to the elec-
tion Of this man, while 1t the time he
did it, there glarsd upon him from the
record. which lay before him. evidence
that the fact WAS the other way. was q
counterfeit, and the paper issued by
him was fraudulent. If the paper was
fraudulent. was it not - void in law
and as corrupt ia morals 40 if it was .
simple counterfeit made by somebody
else than 10y the man who professed to
sign it? Mr.. Black cited what he called
tHc cViucutC VI AduOs tuO VStl>
Gus proceedings II overflow the
Hayes and Wheeler electors, and added
the State had not determined t. be
cheated out Of her vote. and had deter
mined that she would ascertain the
truth in some undcuiable form which
could never be impeached. She, there
fore. had taken those usurpers by the
threat, had dragged them into . court
Of justice. and there in the presence Of
q competent tribunal bad implicated
them: charged them with the Ofenss:
brought other parties. who were to be
her agents. and set them face to face.
Proofs hid been given on both sides.
and there had been . solemn sdjudica-
lion by that court. Of competent juris-
dic,ion. that persons who claimed to
cast their votes tor Hayes and Wheeler
had no right. authority or power what
ever TO do that thing. That decision
Mr.. Black argued was fral.