Year: 1877

The electoral commission yesterday dc.
cided by the part vote of s to the
same as in the florida case-not only not
to hear any ! dimony in regard to Louisi-
ana, rejectiag every motion to that effect;
but passed an order giving the electoral
vote of that State to Hayes and Wheeler.
The facts in relation to the election in
Louisiana and to the action of the Re-
turning Board being so widely known
through the reports of congressional com
mittees and the investigations still pend
ing at Washington, it will be a great dis
appointment to the public generally to
learn that the commission excluded them
entirely, and refused to entertain any mo-
ton to go behind the certificate of the
famous Returning Board. When the law
creating the electoral commission was
passed the plan thus devised for reaching
an amicable solution of the points in
controversy was cordially welcomed by the
great mass of the people, who desired above
all things to be assured in advance of a
peaceable way out Of the Presidential COM
plication. But they never imagined that
the decision on the questions at issue was
10 turn on legal bubbles, subtleties and
avoidances, The commission was popu-
larry supposed to be in the nature of a
board OF arbitration, which would construe
its powers literally, and not recognize,
without inquiry, as binding, acts done
under apparent forms of law, but which
were alleged by the contestants to be
merelya cover for fraudulent transactions.
Whether such allegations were true or
false, the people will never believe other.
wise than that it was within the pro.
vince of the electoral commission to
institute such inquiries as would en-
able them to form an impartial judgment
on the charges that were preferred. Had
the commission gone into the cases under
review on their respective merits, and
then decided that Notwithstanding the
frauds and irregularities with which they
We're tainted the certificates must stand.
because the constitution and the laws af.
ford no remedy, that of itself would have
tended, in large degree, to relieve the
public mind of the disagreeable impress
sion that must now rest upon it.


1t will be noted that Mr.. Justice Brad
ley, who voted in the Florida case to 90
into the eligibility of Humphreys, one of
the Hayes electors, voted with the majority
ia the Louisiana ease against any inquiry
into the eligibility of two Of the electors
in that State who were alleged to have
been federal officers up to and beyond the
day Of the presidential election. The
ground stated, however, for refusing in
quiry in the report in the Louisiana case
is the fact that there was no allegation of
ineiigibility at the time of the casting of
the electoral vote.


Not only the people, but their represen-
tatives, those who passed the electoral bill,
believed that it was within the province
Of the commission to inquire fully as to
the facts in the cases of the disputed
States, under the bill, else, as anxious as
were the people for the assurance Of a
peaceable solution, it may be reasonably
assumed that the measure never would
have secured the popular approval that it
did. But however that may be, all parties
were pledged in anyance to abide the re-
suit, and of course that pledge will be ad-
hered to with fidclity-the country biding
its time to right the wrong which It suffers
through the legitimate agencies Of the laws
and future elections.-Baito, Sun, IN.