582 



MAINE. 



is made applicable to Senators. Section 32 of 

 chapter 4 of the Revised Statutes provides 

 that the whole number of separate ballots 

 given shall be counted and " distinctly stated, 

 recorded, and returned," and, as amended by 

 chapter 213, acts of 1877, after directing the 

 counting of votes for ineligible persons, declares 

 that the person having the highest number of 

 votes shdl be declared to be elected, " and the 

 Governor shall issue a certificate thereof." _ In 

 1878 this section was amended by the addition 

 of a proviso that it should not be construed to 

 give the Governor and Council any authority 

 to determine questions of eligibility in cases of 

 Senators and Representatives. The statutes 

 contain many and minute regulations respect- 

 ing the manner in which Senators and Repre- 

 sentatives shall be elected, but, the Republi- 

 cans claimed, " whether these regulations are 

 or are not observed in an election, whether 

 the votes deposited and counted did or did not 

 conform to the statute requirement, whether 

 the check-lists were tampered with, or wheth- 

 er voters were bribed, are questions into which 

 the Governor and Council have no authority to 

 inquire. Their only duty is to examine the re- 

 turned copies of the lists of votes, and to issue 

 a summons to such persons as appear to be 

 elected by a plurality of the votes returned." 



About the middle of November a great ex- 

 citement began to prevail among the Repub- 

 licans, which was caused by rumors that the 

 Governor and Council would endeavor to count 

 out the Republican majority in the Legislature 

 and count in a Fusion (Democrats and Nation- 

 als) majority. The Governor and Council ar- 

 rived at Augusta on Monday, November 17th, 

 and assembled at the State House in the after- 

 noon, where they were visited by a sub-com- 

 mittee of distinguished Republicans gathered 

 from all parts of the State. The report says : 



The conference between the sub-committee and the 

 Governor lasted some time, and resulted in the Gov- 

 ernor giving the following specific assurance : That 

 the returns should not be considered open in the sense 

 of allowing any amendments or corrections under the 

 statutes, until the Committee of the Council on Elec- 

 tions should report the result of their canvass to the 

 Governor and Council, and that there would be twenty 

 days from that time for any corrections allowed by 

 law, and for any hearings that might be desired. Hie 

 further gave the assurance that this understanding 

 should be adopted by the Council and made a matter 

 of record, and public notice given thereof. 



In addition to the foregoing, Governor Garcelon 

 gave the following concluding assurance : " Ample 

 opportunity will be given to correct anv errors in the 

 returns which can be corrected under the statutes. If 

 any returns are fatally defective, you must take the 

 consequences." The Council immediatelv after went 

 into session, when the Committee on Elections re- 

 ported that they had canvassed a part of the returns 

 and opened the whole, and that twenty days from this 

 date would be allowed for corrections under the stat- 

 utes. 



Numerous unsuccessful applications were 

 made to the Council for a hearing by persons 

 who conceived their interests to be in danger. 

 The words of the statute on this point are as 

 follows : 



The Governor and Council, on or before the first 

 day of December, in each year, shall open and com- 

 pare the votes so returned, and may receive testimony 

 on oath to prove that the return from any town does 

 not agree with the record of the vote of such town, in 

 the number of votes or the names of persons voted 

 for, and to prove which of them is correct ; and the 

 return when found to be erroneous may be corrected 

 by the record. No such correction can be made with- 

 out application within twenty days after the returns 

 are opened, stating the error alleged, and reasonable 

 notice thereof given to the person to be affected by 

 such correction. 



On Saturday, November 22d, the following 

 order of the Governor and Council was issued : 



Ordered, That the Secretary give public notice that 

 the Governor and Council will be in session from De- 

 cember 1st to the 13th, for the purpose of examining 

 the returns of votes for candidates for Senators, Kepre- 

 sentatives, and county officers. 



Candidates claiming irregularities or other causes 

 presumed to vitiate their election, will have reasonable 

 opportunity to be heard either personally or by duly 

 authorized counsel. 



Applications to the Supreme Court were 

 made for a mandamus to the Secretary of State 

 commanding him to exhibit the returns in the 

 cases specified. The petition and response and 

 arguments of counsel were heard, but the Judge 

 concluded to dismiss the application. At the 

 same time, on December 9th, access was given 

 to the returns by the Governor and Council. 

 It appears by the statement of Governor Garce- 

 lon that the returns of the election were placed 

 in the hands of a sub-committee of the Council, 

 to examine in detail and report upon the same 

 to the Council. On the basis of this report 

 the Council acted. In a speech at Lewiston 

 on December 27th the Governor says: 



If there has been any act of my life which I am 

 proud of, it is of the performance of my duty in tabu- 

 lating and counting those returns. We have simply 

 followed the Constitution and laws as interpreted by 

 the Supreme Court, time and time again. The Con- 

 stitution prescribes certain things for cities and towns 

 to do at an election. If the requirements of the Con- 

 stitution are not complied with, there is no legal elec- 

 tion. These provisions were made for the purpose of 

 securing an honest election. It turns out sometimes 

 that there are informalities in returns. The Legisla- 

 ture undertook to provide by law for correcting this. 

 That correction must be made by the record. It there 

 is no record, what can returns be corrected by ? _ If 

 the record is like the returns, where can a correction 

 come in ? Now, when this avalanche of Eepublican 

 statesmen came in on me at Augusta, it popped into 

 my head that their very object was to see the returns 

 and then go home and see that their records were 

 made all right. In the case of Portland the returns 

 were illegal, and the records were sent for. Lo ! the 

 record was found to be just like the returns. Eepub- 

 licans say the intention of the voters must be regarded, 

 and not the Constitution and law. The Selectmen of 

 the town of Danforth had the presumption to go to 

 the clerk and demand that he change and correct the 

 records. I have a letter from Mr. Berry, town clerk, 

 saying he was threatened with fine and imprisonment 

 unless he complied. That is what comes of this 

 amending the records. Amend your records three 

 months after election, and where is. the result of an 

 election ? The tabulations were made upon the basis 

 of the Constitution as explained by the Court, as far 

 as possible. The circumstances that have surrounded 

 me have been unfavorable. I have in reality had to 

 face a frowning world on account of the foul lies of 



