Year: 1876

hA irauuS are llleSai-tleTc can VIC no
such thing as a illegal fraud" in the mind
OF an honest man, although one may ad-
nit that enactments have been passed by
legislative bodies clothed with the forms
of law to enable those in authority to
commit certain wicked deeds, and that
these ensctments may not be disregarded
until they are fully exposed and authori-
tatively declared to be impostcrs and
frauds.


OF this character are the Returning
Boards of Louisiana, Florida and South
Carolina. They cannot stand the scruti-
ny of court of justice, and are frauds of
the worst character; gotten up by CEN
spirators to keep the people under subjec-
ton to their will. They are not chosen
by the people, and yet their ostensible
purpose il to declare the will of the peo.
pie as expressed through the elections at
the ballot box. But they do not COM
ply with the expressed will of the ma
iority; on the contrary they prevent the
wish of the people and declare the vic
tory for the party that they represent al
though it may have only polled great mi
nority of votes. This was the course of
the Republican Board in Florida, South
Carolina and Louisiana at the late cleo
tion. There is no escape from them. AT
every election they throw out enough
Democratic counties to give the Republi-
cans the majority and thus the offices.
the State officers, and yet they are kept
out of their victory by the Returning
Boards. The actions of these,Boards are
said Dy Grant and his Cabinet to be final;
and hence the people are held in the most
villianous bondage. The towards who
occupy she offices and tax the people un-
til property is no longer valuable for its
revenue, are sustained by Grants sol
diers. Were it not for these troops the
people of these States would not live
day under the wicked men who have been
installed by Grant and his villianons
prompters.


They are kept in Office through con-
Sptracy of which Grant is charged with
being the head 1t is the object of these
conspirators to lead the people TO rebel
lion, in the hope of bringing on another
war. In this they hope to add to their
already ill-gotten gains. They are de-
stroying the business of the country and
rendering the people in every part Of it
poor and disconnected. 1t would be a
blessed thing if the whole Of the CON
splrators We're hung as they richly de-
serve to be; since they are doing every
the people and produce chaos and ruin.


In all Of the three States the Republi-
can party had all of the election officers !:
all of the registers to enroll the names of
the voters all of the inspectors all of
the U. ). supervisors; all of the L. 5.
marshsls; all of the county canvasscrs,
and all, or two-thirds of the State Re
turning Boards, and all the State and
county officers, backed by all the armed
State militia and the United States troops:
and yet they talk about ''intimidation."


The intimidation" was practiced by
the political Williams of their own party
armed for the purpose; and were it not
for this each Of the three States would
have given Tilden and Hendricks double
the majorities they did give them.


THIS fraud cannot be permitted to
stand. 1t must be examined, erposea
declared cold, and the candidates who
were chosen by the people in those
states allowed to take the offices to which
they are entitled. 1t may take one O,
two years to accomplish this but there
will be no peace until the conxuirar,
which threatens the life of the govern
ment is broken up. When this is don,
trade and commerce will resume its chan
nels, and the country will again beeil
TO prosper.