584 



NEW YORK. 



of any other dollar of the United States." The 

 Sherman silver law was denounced. The 

 McKinley tariff was termed a " humbug." Credit 

 was claimed for reducing State taxation to a 

 lower rate than it had reached in many years. It 

 was declared that a State census should be 

 taken ; that a congressional apportionment 

 should be made ; and that a constitutional con- 

 vention should be held. The Eepublican party 

 was blamed for not passing these three measures. 

 An extension of electoral reform was demanded, 

 and a revision of the tax laws, so that personal 

 property could be reached. The following were 

 the nominations: For Governor, Roswell P. 

 Flower ; Lieutenant-Governor, William F. Shee- 

 han ; Secretary of State, Frank Rice ; Comp- 

 troller, Frank 'Campbell ; Attorney-General, Si- 

 mon W. Rosendale ; Treasurer, Elliot Danforth ; 

 State Engineer, Martin Schenck. 



The Prohibitionists met in Albany, also in 

 September, and nominated a full State ticket. 

 John W. Bruce was the candidate for Governor. 



The Socialist party nominated Daniel de Leon 

 for the same office. 



The election for Governor resulted : Flower 

 (Democrat), 582,893 ; Fassett (Republican), 534,- 

 956; Bruce (Prohibitionist), 30,353; De Leon 

 (Socialist). 14,651. Flower's majority over Fas- 

 sett, 47,937. For Lieutenant-Governor, Sheehan 

 (Democrat) had 34,419 over Vrooman (Republi- 

 can). The five Democratic candidates for State 

 offices had majorities averaging 43,000. The elec- 

 tion of 1890 gave the Democrats a majority of 8 

 out of a total of 128 in the Assembly. In the 

 Senate, which held over from the year before, 

 the Republicans had a majority of six. The net 

 Democratic majority of two on joint ballot was 

 used by them in January, 1891, in electing David 

 B. Hill as United States Senator to succeed Will- 

 iam M. Evarts. 



After the election of November, 1891. it was 

 apparent that both Houses of the Legislature 

 were very close. The official count for the As- 

 sembly gave the Democrats 67 and the Repub- 

 licans 61. The Democrats, therefore, had one 

 less in the Legislature of 1892 than they had in 

 the Legislature of 1891, and the Republicans one 

 more. In the Senate the results of the election 

 of 1891 could not be determined without the aid 

 of the courts. The outgoing Senate had 19 Re- 

 publicans and 13 Democrats : the incoming Sen- 

 ate had 28 members whose election was certain. 

 Four of the districts, with their chief centers of 

 population at Troy, Syracuse, Hornellsville, and 

 Poughkeepsie, respectively, were in doubt. On 

 the face of the returns the Republicans had the 

 advantage; but the returns were disputed by 

 the Democrats. In the Troy district the claim 

 was made that certain minor features of the bal- 

 lot-reform law had not been complied with. In 

 the Syracuse district the claim was made that in 

 nine election districts ballots were voted which 

 had the indorsement of other districts than 

 those to which they belonged, and that 1,218 

 votes east for the Republican candidate should 

 be thrown out. In the Hornellsville district it 

 was claimed that the Republican candidate was 

 ineligible under the State\ Constitution, because 

 he held an office in the city of Hornellsville, 

 and that his majority of 1,762 votes in the dis- 

 trict was void. The situation in the Pough- 



keepsie district was more complicated. On the 

 face of the returns tin Republican candi- 

 date, who died before the matter was settled, 

 had a small majority. But it was claimed by 

 the Democrats that 32 ballots cast for him 

 in one of the towns of Dutchess County came 

 within the meaning of the law relating to marked 

 ballots, because a printer's " quad " appeared 

 upon them. The Democrats asserted that the 

 quad-marked ballots were voted by design ; and 

 the Republicans that it was only an accident. 

 The county board of canvassers threw out the 

 ballots and elected the Democratic candidate. 

 The Republican clerk of the county refused to 

 certify the returns, and they were certified by a 

 temporary clerk, named Mylod, elected by the 

 board. The certificate thus signed was sent to 

 the Secretary of State ; and the county clerk 

 was promptly removed by Gov. Hill. In 

 the mean time there had been so many orders 

 and counter-orders by Supreme Coiirt justices, 

 both in General Term and in Special Sessions, 

 that the whole situation in regard to the four 

 seats had become hopelessly tangled. Both sides, 

 therefore, agreed to refer the four cases to the 

 highest court in the State, the Court of Appeals, 

 and to abide by the result. While the court was 

 still considering the cases, one of the justices of 

 the Supreme Court ordered that the quad- 

 marked ballots in the Poughkeepsie district 

 should be counted for the Republican, and a cer- 

 tificate to that effect be forwarded to the Secre- 

 tary of State. The county clerk obeyed the in- 

 structions of the court; but after mailing the 

 certificate he received an order from another 

 justice countermanding the order of the first 

 justice. He then followed the returns to Albany 

 and took them out of the mail before they had 

 reached the proper officials. This left the State- 

 board of canvassers with but one return before 

 them that certified to by the Dutchess County 

 board (called the Mylod certificate), and electing 

 the Democratic Senator from the Poughkeepsie 

 district. On Dec. 29 the Court of Appeals de- 

 cided that the Democrat had no case in the Troy 

 district, and that the Republican should be 

 seated. In the Syracuse district the decision 

 was that the ballots with the wrong indorse- 

 ments should be thrown out, thus electing the 

 Democrat. This made the Senate stand 15 

 Republicans and 15 Democrats. In the Hor- 

 nellsville district the court decided that the Re- 

 publican candidate was ineligible, but it did not 

 decide that the Democrat had been elected. The 

 inference drawn by some was that a new elec- 

 tion should be held ; and yet the wording of the 

 opinion by the court was so ambiguous as to 

 leave a doubt in the mind of every one. In the 

 case of the Poughkeepsie district the court de- 

 clared that the form of the certificate signed by 

 the temporary clerk of the Dutchess County 

 board, and electing the Democrat, was legal ; 

 but the opinion was also worded so doubtfully 

 as to make the Republicans think that, while the 

 form of the certificate might be legal, yet the 

 matter contained in it was not legal, and that 

 the quad-marked ballots should not have been 

 thrown out. On the other hand, the Democrats 

 claimed that, as the State board had but one 

 certificate before it. there could be no way but 

 to count that certificate. The State board of 



