610 



NEW MEXICO. 



Political. On Sept. 3, a Democratic Terri- 

 torial Convention met at Silver City, and re- 

 nominated Antonio Joseph for Delegate to Con- 

 gress. The platform condemned the proposed 

 Constitution that was to be submitted to the 

 people on Oct. 7. 



The Republican Territoral Convention met at 

 Albuquerque on Sept. 13, and nominated Mariano 

 S. Otero for Delegate. The platform contains 

 the following: 



The Republican party of New Mexico declares it- 

 self as unequivocally in favor at all times of the ad- 

 mission of New Mexico into the Union of States, under 

 any possible circumstances, as the one essential con- 

 dition of our progress and advancement. 



At the November election the Democratic 

 ticket was successful, Joseph receiving 17,206 

 votes, and Otero 15,142. Members of the Terri- 

 torial Legislature were elected at the same time, 

 as follow: Council, Republicans 7, Democrats 

 3, representatives of an independent movement 

 called the People's party, 2; House, Republi- 

 cans 11, Democrats 9, People's party 4. 



But the membership of each House, as above 

 given, was not determined until after a contest 

 between the district court of the Territory and the 

 Democratic county commissioners of Santa Fe 

 and Taos Counties, who sought to defy the orders 

 of the court. In these two counties the vote was 

 close, but the complete returns, as unofficially 

 reported, indicated the election of nearly all of the 

 Republican candidates, especially a Republican 

 member of the Legislative Council from each 

 county and two Republican members of the 

 House from each county. After the election the 

 ballot-box, ballots, and returns from each voting 

 precinct are sent to the county commissioners, 

 who are required by law to canvass the returns 

 and issue certificates of election to the successful 

 candidates. In Santa Fe County the ballot-box 

 and returns from one strong Republican precinct 

 mysteriously disappeared from the office of the 

 commissioners, and they refused to canvass the 

 vote cast in that precinct, although a certificate 

 from the election officers stating the vote actually 

 cast was offered to the board. The omission of 

 this precinct would change the result and elect 

 the Democratic candidates. The board also re- 

 jected the returns from several other Republican 

 precincts, on technical grounds. It was there- 

 upon summoned before Justice Seeds, of the 

 district court, to show cause why it should not 

 count the whole vote. A hearing was held, and 

 on Nov. 18, the court decided that the com- 

 missioners must canvass the vote of every pre- 

 cinct, taking the sworn certificate of the election 

 officers as evidence of the vote cast in the pre- 

 cinct from which the returns were missing. On 

 the same day the court made a similar decision 

 in the Taos County case, where the Democratic 

 commissioners had thrown out returns favorable 

 to the Republicans for reasons similar to those 

 alleged by the Santa Fe commissioners. In Taos 

 County also, the returns from one Republican 

 precinct had mysteriously disappeared. Pur- 

 suant to the order of the court, the Santa Fe 

 commissioners met on Nov. 20 and canvassed 

 the returns from every precinct except the one 

 from which the returns were missing. Two of 

 the commissioners, Sloan and Martinez, being a 

 majority of the board, refused to obey the order 



of the court regarding this precinct, whereupon 

 Justice Seeds committed them to jail for con- 

 tempt. They had no sooner been imprisoned 

 than, on an order signed by three justices of the 

 peace sitting as a court, they were liberated by 

 the sheriff, under alleged authority given by a 

 Territorial statute. On complaint by persons 

 interested, Justice Seeds then summoned the 

 sheriff to show cause why he should not be him- 

 self committed for contempt of court. The hear- 

 ing on this order was held on Nov. 24, and the 

 court decided that it must hear evidence of the 

 alleged contempt, as it was not committed in 

 the presence of the court, before it could pass 

 judgment, and that the case must take its turn 

 on the docket with other criminal proceedings 

 at the next term of the court. Soon after this 

 decision, at the instance of the relator in the 

 original mandamus proceedings against the 

 county board, Justice Seeds reopened the case 

 and issued an order directing the sheriff to re- 

 port his doings therein, and the two com- 

 missioners to show cause why they should not 

 be recommitted. The sheriff reported that he 

 had liberated the prisoners on a writ of habeas 

 corpus issued by three justices of the peace, 

 whereupon the court ruled that, while there 

 might be some color of legality under the 

 peculiar wording of the statute for the action of 

 the three justices of the peace, still in reality it 

 could not be held that the legislative intent ever 

 contemplated such an extraordinary proceeding, 

 and the action of the three justices was void. 

 The court said, in announcing the decision, that 

 if such action could be legally taken, there was 

 no reason why every prisoner confined in the Ter- 

 ritorial Penitentiary could not secure his liberty 

 under the habeas corpus act by applying to any 

 three justices of the peace in the Territory. The 

 court further declared that the law provided 

 ample authority for the punishment of parties 

 in contempt, and it was therefore ordered that 

 the sheriff rearrest the commissioners Sloan and 

 Martinez, and confine them in jail until they saw 

 fit to obey the order of the court. 



Before this order could be executed, Martinez 

 and Wyllys (the third commissioner) fled from 

 the Territory, while Sloan signified his desire to 

 obey the order of the court and was not mo- 

 lested. Secretary Thomas, who was temporarily 

 the acting Governor, then issued an order on Dec. 

 5 declaring that the absconding commissioners 

 had vacated their offices, and appointing two 

 Republicans as their successors. The reorgan- 

 ized board was ordered by Justice Seeds to com- 

 plete the canvass, which was done by the two 

 new commissioners, Sloan refusing to partici- 

 pate. The Democratic clerk of the board now 

 refused to obey the order of the court to record 

 the action of the new commissioners, whereupon, 

 after a hearing, he was committed to jail for 

 contempt. The absconding commissioners next 

 returned, claimed that they were still the legal 

 county officers, and issued certificates of election 

 to the Democratic legislative candidates, while 

 the two new commissioners issued certificates to 

 the Republican candidates. The law requires 

 that these certificates be presented, at the open- 

 ing of the legislative session, to the Territorial 

 Secretary, whose duty it is to call each House to 

 order, administer the oath to members present- 



