The Electoral Tribunal

Tuesday, Fcb. 13.- The comiuission entered upan the oonMderatíon of the Lontaiana case, and IiHtened to tlie argumenta of counsel assigncd to thc: duty of appcariiig for thc objeotors. Senator McDonald led on behalf of the ■ Domoernts. Fíe said in the electrón of 1K72 (he vote of Louisiana luid been rejected beoftusethe Betnrning Bonrd had no( complied v. ith the law, and they now pröposèd tó show the law liad not been compüed with in tlio pres, ent case. A popular majority hnd been I retnmed in one way, and that maioriy had been reversed by this board, tnrongh actual frand. " Tlioy liad tlnown aside tlie returns sent them ly the proper offloers, and liad talan the reporte of the Supervisors of BegtetrattOD in their place, lmt even this they did not follow at all times. The peopleof sixty-nine polls had been dlafranobjsecl Mr. McDonald maintained that ihe comrnisnion bad tlie right, and it was their duty, to congider the inff irmatioii in poeseaaionof th'o twohouseg. Their duties were judicial, not nicrely clerical, and he conjtved them to cnrefully wiuli the j evidence in the possestiion of fchetwonousea i for which they were ncting. Mr. Jenka f.,1lowcd on the ame ide, ancf proceedcd to review the eleotion in the severa! parishes, taking as a basis of facts the testimonv before tinHouse Louisiana investigating coiiimittce. witli the incidental claim that thiH testimeny was ; proper evidence to beoongldered by the oommission. In conclusión, he asked that the moral light of tho nniverse mlght be allowed to xhinc UPOD tliis tiaiisaction, and the nation be free from the vile act of this Itetinning Boud. Mr. Huilbui, for the ltcpublicanx, argued that Kellogg was the legal Governor of Louisiana at the recent eleotion, and that McEnery had no shadow of claim to the oflice. Henee the Hayea electurs were ihe ooly ones that rrdre properly and ligully olectod and certificd to, Healso argned al length againut the admiasioa of evidence and going bebmd the rotnrns, decJariDg that the Betarning Board was a legal body, and it.s decisión final. Mr. Howe next iddresscd the conunioaion on behalf of the Rupublican obJeotora. Jli.s argument was directed mainlv to showing the legality of thé Kellogg certificates, and the "irregularity of tliose made up by a man whohad nb valid claim to the office. Senator Carpenter followed on behalf of the Democratie objeoters. He said he did not appear for Samuel J. Tilden, a gentleman whom he did not know, and with whom he bad no sympathy, but he "appeared for 10.0IM) legal voters of Louisiana who had been disfranonised by tour villains wIioho oflicial title is the 'Heturning Board of Louisiana '" Mr. Carpenter held that the powers of the commisdon were not judicial ; that it was nothlng more than a committee of investigation. inasmuch as Congress, according to the termj af the luw oreating it, had the power to approve ; "i reveréO its decisión, as it saw fit. He then ! wenj iuto an anaiyais of the statute la of Lontsiana relating tó electfons, retarolng board& et-.. and olaimed that the Elecüon lwoJ the State for appolnüng electora isin nolation ui the constitufii r the .state and of : the United States. The oommission adjourned bef ore Mr. Carpenter conolnded Me orgömont WEBHBgDAïfSeb.li.- Ontheroaaeembling of the commission ex-Senator Carpenter regumed bis argument, oontending that the constitution f the United State forbade osnfering judidal power npon the Betnrning Board of the United stutcs, and that the law of the Stote wiui'h attvmpt-d tn oonfer sueh power was void. The Betuming Board, had It posseaaed judicial perneta, luid gooe outaide it privilege. The reqnired duplic&te roturne tobe made within twenty-font honra, and snoh returns were 7iot made wttbln Hfteen days. Ho donounci'd in bitter terms membora oi the Betnzning Boarï, rad Baid a carefnl nnd thorongh xaniinatioii uf the case by the oommvwion would do more t restore peaoe in ïioiiisiann tlian a regiment of midiera. At the conolaeion ol Mr. Carpenter'H argument, proposdtions wero introduced to discura the admisslbülty of evidence In the Louisiana oase, and lo debate the wholo case Ilio i farmer prevailed, üie latter being rtjeoted. i After a hort receta. Lyman Tniinbull took ! the floor and proctedcd with bis argiinv ■ut. sayiug that they ere brought faco to face with the quesiiou whether a rrerideut of thu United States ia lo bc made through fraud and villainy on tho part of officials wUohc duty it was to tagne che oertillcates. There wasno other tribunal to whieh appncationconld , be made oxoept this tribunal, lie spoke of the c tribunal as the tribunal of the two housea of Gongress. Oould it be, he asl;i-d, (haf the eonstitution had made no provisión agaiust the inaugnration of n President by forgeryand fraiid, nnd by a conspiraoy between the uien who j tify to hls eloction? He feit humiliatod that 1 as a citizen of tbis republic be waa Called opon to argüe thK quéstíon bsfore a .itional nal. Mr. Tninilmll argued that it was not only tho right but the duty of tho commissioñ to go to the very bottoni of the oase. nnd afteertain who ero tho legally-elected lectors in IOiiisinna. He, went into a general review of Lotiisiana affalrs, and mude i whnt is olalmed to lie. the nhlest argument in hohalr ni TUden yol delivered bofore tile oommission. He Wftfl followed by K. YV. Btoughtini on the Reptiblioem side, who argned tliat the ' Betnrnlng Board w.ih a legal body. and liad power to apportion the vote and finally certify it. lt srriiird to bim that the decisión of the commisdoo ín the Florida cuse detennined the entire question here raised as to ti; right of the conmiirtsion to go behind the action of the Returning lioard, and he could not perceivo that any qnestion (mnch less tlie mam ojaeslion) waa now open for argmiient. In conclusión he said : tlTalk to me about ontrage. frands and disl'ranehisement ol' votftrs. Xhere ;nv twosidesof the question, and if yon sit hore : to go back and eanvass votes, yon sit heve to admlnister the laws of T,onisiana, and yon DlUflt administer them by learning who have ln'i-n disfranchised. and what was the lawful vote of that State in harniony with her laws, and not. in barinony with tbo will of a ]arty." Mr. Shellal)ai"ger noxt addfeBfled the eonmñssion OD the sanie side. He argued i : that Kellogg was the rightful Governor of ' Loni.Hiana, that tlie Betiuning Board ma a legal body, that the electora objeeted to were Dot ineligible, and that it is not competent for (lic ininissioii to go bebind the aeti f the lietuming Board for the purpiose of finding ; out what happened in its exerclse of juriidiotin ÏX'stowed by the statutc. Thuiisday, Feb. 15. - Argument on the j iiiisKibility of evidence in the Louisiana case trae restuned. William M. Evarts, of RepUblican counsel, spoke against the admission of evidence, nnd Judgc John A. Campbell closed on tlit' Democratie side in favor of recciving testimony. At the conclusión of tho speeches the court went into secret Bession, and, after an honr's debate, adjourned. Fkiday, Feb. 16. - The following is a brief minute of the secret deliberations of the commission uppn the question of adniitting evidence in tho Loiúsiana case : Mr. íloar moved ; that th' evidence be not received. Mr. Abbott i moved, as a substitute, that evidence bc received to show that the act of J,misiana establishing a Beturning Board for that State is uneonstitutional, and the acts of suid Üeturning Iioard wero void. ïhis was rejeoted by the following vote : Vcfi.i Abbott, liayard, ('lifford. Field, Hiinton, Payne.Thminan - 7. STay - IJradley, l'.dmunds. Frelinglmysen, Garfield, Hoai-, Milïer, Morton, 3trong s. A nnmber oí other propositions f or the admission of evidence were presented and voted down, the vote in e:ich iiiHtnnce standing 7 to 8, as recoided above. The vote on Mr. Hoar's original motilón, that evidence be uot received, was then adoptéd by the following vote : }..' - Bradley, Edmunds, "Fi-elinghnvsen, irSeld, Hoar, Kuiler. Morton, Btrong - 8. Knyt - ; Abbott, Bayard, Clifford. Field, Hunton, Tayne, Thurman - 7. The following reaolution as then offered by Stüiator Morton, and adopted by the same vote : Jiesolcfl, That the persuns named m electora in crtiñcate No. I were the lawful electora of the State of Louisiana. and that their votes are the votes provided by the eonstitutkm ol tbc United States, and should be counted for President and Viee President. Justices Miller and lirad ley and Bepresentatíve Hoar were then appointed a committee to draft the report of the decisión, with a brief statement of the reasouK thcrefor. A recess of about one hour was thun taken to afford time for drafting the report, which, npon the reasseinbling of the conmiission, was presented. and after being read was signed by Messrs. Miller, Bbong, BraóUey, Edmunds, Morton, Frelinghnysen. Gterfield and Hoar. The report is to the following effect : Tho Electoral OamnilfffiiOB, haring received cnrt:iin i-it-t iiit-.itíH nul papen purporttiig u io cprtirtcatefl ef cloctorfll vnten of tlu' Stilte oí IiOUisiaila. and tfcrtain papers accompanvliig thèBAmoiuid ábjeetimis tberrto, rrport Uut it lus tlu! consf dered tl siune, and has deolded, nnd (Iih'b herebv deelde t)i:it Ute voteeof WÜMam Pltt KcUogg, O. H. Brewster, A. B. Levisee, Oscar Jaffrain, lvtor Joseph, J. H. Birch, L. A. Bnéldon and Morris Mark, named in the certifícate of William P. KpIIorr, Govcrnor of i said Stnte, whicll votes are cerrified by naid perflon, au appean by certifirates snbmitted to thi commisI siou, as aforesaid, snd marked No. 1 by said eommiasim and herevith retarned, are thp votes provlded for by the constitution of thn Dnited States, and that the same ouglit lawfullytobe eonnted ay therein certifled, namely, eight votes for Botberford 11. Hajcs, of the State of Ohio, for Irei(lent, and ei({ht votes for William A. Wheelcr, of the State of New York, for vi.c Pretrident, The commiwrion atoo deddea and reporta that the eifiht persons first before-nanieti were dnly ai)point il 1 1. i-tors in and by the state of LoulBlma. The ground of this decisión, stated briefly. is substantiallv as follows : Tliat it is not competent to go into the evidence áliunde as to the papert opened by tlie President of the Sonate in the presence of th two bonnes to prove that othr-r persons than these regular];" t-ertiiied by tlie Governor of the state of Loulsluu in aud aeoordlDg to the determination and declaration of their appointment : in other worda, to go lehind Uu cirtilicateof the Oovernor, so farasit is folinded apon the action of the lieturmng Iioard. The report also states that the conunission could nol. receive any evidence to show that any elector was ineligiblé on the 7th of November, I the day of the ileetion, on the ground that it was not essential to show that an elector was eligible on that day so long as be was eligible when be east his rote in the Electoral College, and the fact appean tiiat the alleged ineligible electora, Brewsíer nnd Lavisee, were ohoten to till vacaneies caused by tlteir own absence from the college, and there' was no allegation of the ineligibihty at tlie timo they cast their votes.