Year: 1876

N16N1 ~ U6MOGhhG1.


"Whom the gods would destroy, they
first make mad is an axiom peculiarly
adapted to the present course of the Viz
ginia Democracy. In the cases of Repub
Ican Congressman elected from that State
they have recourse to partisan majority
in Congress to keep them out Of their seats,
as in the case of Piatt, and to award the
positions to those who are about as much
entitled to them as the man in the moon,
as illustrated in the seating of Goode. In
their municipal elections, however, they
are wont to rely upon partisan judiciary
with which the State is afflicted. A case
in point, and one which illustrates the capa-
bilities of the Democracy in the matter of
political villainy, has recently occurred in
the city Of Lynchburg, and while it has
been attended with no loss of human life,
is q species of the same kind of diabolism
that prevailed in Mississippi and at Ham
burg, South Carolina. The facts are briefly
these Previous TO the election in that city
on the 25th of May last there was but one
Republican official, viz, the mayor. At the
election held at the time indicated the Re
publicans not only succeeded in re-electing
their candidate for mayor, but also for clerk
of the court, city sergeant, treasurer and
commissioner of the revenue by majorities
ranging from 203 for the mayor down to 1G;
the Democracy only electing their candi-
date for Commonwealth attorney by a
majority Of 10, and the high constable, who
had no opposition. The candidates elected
all received their certificates, and were duly
inducted into office on the 1st of July.
Beaten at the polls and ouSted from Office
the incumbents being the Democratic can
didstes-the Democracy determined to con
lest the validity of the election in the Cor
poratiOn Court, reckoning, and not without
reason, on a partisan judge to aid them in
their nefarious attemptto to thwart the clearly
expressed will of the people. 1t appears
that il the Third ward of that city there is
q large Republican majority. In order,
therefore, to get rid of the returns from
this ward the cry of inf0rmaLjty was
raised. That was before they stole
the ballots. At the election in question
the judges of election we're all Democrats,
and the clerks were of like faith, together
with two or three Democratic challengers,
and the only representative Republican
known to have been in the voting place
consisted of one challenger. Beaten as we
have said at the polls, the defeated Demo
cratic candidates contested the election in
the Corporation Court, of which one James
Garland, a Locofoco of eighty four years
standing, is the so-called judge, basing
their suit on alleged informalities that had
been not only acquiesced in, but suggested
by the Democratic judges, one of which
was that the Republican challenger put
one ballot in the box while acting in the
place Of Langhorne, a judge, at Lang
horne's request, after showing the ballot to
L., and while the latter was dispatching
his luncheon. Another was that two of
the Democratic challengers assisted in
strlnging and counting the ballots; and still
another, that the Democratic registrar acted
as judge, having been selected by the two
remaining Democratic judges to fill the
place of another Democratic judge, who
failed to make his appearance at the proper
hour. The appropriateness of this action
was deemed all right in view of the fact
that the same individual registrar had acted
at the election last fall, and no objection
was then or afterwards made to it. These
were the pretexts upon which this contest
was inaugurated before partisan judge,
whose adaptabilitY to the infamous pur-
,,ocao IF tho nanocr,cu is ao up0uae+;on,5
as his indisposition to pay his honest debts
Knowing as we did the character of this
official, the NATIONAL REPUBLICAN at the
beginning Of the contest predicted the re-
sult and advised the Republicans of
Lynchburg tC save themselves the cost of
defending a suit wherein it would be found
that they had no rights which this corrupt
old partisan would respect This advice
was based on the fact that he had on more
than one occasion before rendered decisions
adverse to Republicans, and it was be-
lieved because Of their politics, an opinion
that was verified by the action of the Court
of Appeals in upsetting his verdicts, and
our predictions have been more than real
lied by the result; Notwithstanding the
fact that all the witnesses on both sides,
judges included, declared their belief that
the election was fair one; that no fraud
had been practIced or even attempted,
fact SO patent that even Judge Garland
himself admitted it in his so-called decision,
yet decided the case against the sitting Off
cials, elected them from their positions,
and reseated the Democrats whom the peo-
pie had repudiated. Among those reseated
Democrats was the clerk Of the court who