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V ' -I f arm :iia ( I 4 MS 'A '0- il '.3 no. . 31 RAIjEIGHv'NJ ;0;iFRn)AYAERNOONV SEPTEMBER 24, 187 (M m I t k m i j - -.A r,m , U .i :. . .. i " ' " 1 ' !:,. 1 j -'- ' ' ' 7 r f i .f i . Q?c over the iV. C Book'&or&v TEEMS OF SUBSCRIPTION AC. f Adrertlscmenta inserted nt llie usual All letters on business fthoald be a4- c refuted to tbo 44 Constitution Publish' InR CompAir5IUlelRb;2r.a i I I L Orders unsocompan led' by - cash will receive no attention. Alinorlty Kcport lrom the Coiu mitteo on Privilepres and Klectlon upon the; Con tested Election froin' Itobeson Connty. To the QrftvcfUioni , ;,... A' minority of your ' Committee on Prlvilegea and Ktectiona bear leave reD6rl In . VJrtf toJhe 1 ec- tion from the County of Robeson, aa fbllOWa : " ; ; : It appesrs that, at the election held In said county for delegates to thUConTen- tion -accord i ngL .to the ret u ma of the judges of. election for the several ,pre- t JncU of sAld'eduntri the entire vote of the county -waa as follows: - ' ' R.1M. iNnrment received 1.774 V -NeilIcNeil ; 1,756 Dnncnn Hmclair 1,737 wnkn ANvMn, .v r i.? W it : ! This gives to the lo urst named can didates an averaire majority over their )mpelitors of Ihlrty' tlht vo es. Upon the tinning in of the returns of the HtH ttrtil pMeltMtk4netrlli4 1 lecUoH, to the Board f Commissioner, a ma jorityjoOhatUxly refiiHed 'towunt the leturns" fromHheTowiiaiilpa known as llurnt flwamp, Lumber .Jiridgs -Blue Spriuffs and.Britts, upon tlie i?round had not been 'Hieiiosueu wun me Kinter brDoeUi'!'rciired By la" w. TIima . fscts art .aitparvru fn.nl tho tranccript of the record Vy said ard ir rmiuiKsioiiers certifietl. by their Clerk undor the seaf of ' itit 'iliuty which is apne'ndKf hereto nt marked this report. 4 l" ' The result of 'the exeliiHion of thee townships was trduc tlie iuuuler of votes cast for th several: i-siitiidates as follows : , That of., . - R. M. Norment wa reduced hy 671 Duncan Klnlaira - " 355 Calvin A. Wcricbin, - 844 Ihesrfbeing5 the' uuinber f rote east for the several cWiHliiate-rest tively in lq foJVJV'fe j : In bur opnittii ibU actum upon the .part of the Brd pf 4 PHiibloiiers was unauthorized and unlawiul ror the fol lowlDg'esutons: "A'Y.U -VK -,Y ? ( 7 J. We deem it imdenishl', that the Board of Commissioners in canvassing the votocted Sn at puruly ndnisterial capacity, having-' mi i 'dfcretioii 1 1 in quire as to the h-gality or ill-Kality of vote qn the rppulrij or Irregular y Of the election- At 'aiiy precinct but that, the Umlt'rttirauorljywaW determine' whether the returns troiu tho variourf precincts were rrmaiiy suffi cient and what was the entire number 'of votes caM for ,ecl'ajddate.tu the county aocoKi Ing to such returns ;-ror the words of the statute u add the number of votes rtturnd." (Bat. Rev., eh. 62, ec 21.) - 1 ""-- II. That tlie poll-books of the va rious townships constituted no part of the' return rtuired bylaw tb be made by the Judges of Election, of the resulta thereof, , and the lact thav they. ;were, or were not "deposited ' yk 'itli the Register of.DeedsV-atlheUme of tbeeomlugin of the returns from the various pre cincts, wa matter .Sftr forehin to ftV VctWnrr duty vf ibe.'.CpinmU 8 loners, regrl ' to the returns. ' We are Btreutnenedin tbia' vlew by-the latjageofj'ibe-statute,' (Rat, 'tXer. ch. 52; sections 11-21) which, it will be seen d j reels the ame persons, to-wit : The Judges of Klectioli oa'nWke returns" to the .Board of. Comrulsiouers and ita "deposit" the poll-books with the Re gister of Deeds. By reference to the t-onstltutlon art. 8, sec, 2, It will be ob served that the Register -or Deed Is by no means sh adjunct of Che Board of OoHMpiaaioRers . but . rather lht the clerkship arilWv'poira irf YAerely an indaentof ,1 pfflce. f By iug the polboQka a pajtpf the j records jof hl ' - ft I M I .v I' i r Uliir-Vv ,f f J: bfaca and directmg , the " returns ' to be made to the Commissioner-, we take It ihe legislative 'mind intended to' clearly distinguish between tlie two' a.4s and to ahow thefr. separate and independent character. " .' 7- 7(-.tU.,) f Vfe are also of the opinion that the purpose of making .this deposit of tlie poll-books Ket forth m section II or tne act alK-ve referred to; clearly .excludes the Idea "of their "being. used for any other purpose or considered as a part of the returns. Kven ,had tlie poii-DooKs been duly deposited, we think the Com mission era xould. not .have regarded them for any . purpose affecting the re turns or even havo had any official knowledge of the1 'fact. Kven If they hkd differed in many respects, from the returns mado,' wo think that' officers abting'in a ministerial capacity as the Commissioners ' - uudou btedly "werei could not have used them, to, impeach the returns. , If the f returns -were suffi cient in form, that Is, if they set forth who were the judges, who wero canui dates, and i how ' many ' votes each re ceived at a named precinct, at 1 a t given election the , canvassers could , not." gQ behind such returns nor question in any manner, their validity, I ; , ; - " ; ' TV e would . call" attentiou also, to the fact that the entry made by the Board of Commissioners as certified by their CJerk, n regard to this matter is clearly false in fact, as shown by the copies of the returns,, and so inconsistent with Itself as' to force, upon the mind , of any thinkiug man the conclusion that their action was no mistake of their duty but a dtlibertite and intentional fraud! How honest men or men willing to do tneir tiuty iainy, couiu nave Drongnc themselves to certify that "the Returns' from the four excluded precincts show ed "that no votes had been cast in either of said precincts" passes our compre hension ! To our miuds, the language unmistakably shows a guilty conscious nWs eugageil in a lauie attempt to cover mu a Iruua of the mtt glaring and in famous character a species or fraud fortunately very rarofni our State here tofore, and' an instance of' such fraud rarely equalled in boldness and enor ityiu the paliiiiest days of ballot-box' stuffing in the Northern cities I .,, ' '. Ou the luth of August, th. pet sons, claiuiiii the seats' t the siiliig mem bers sei ved uxo theui a notice of cou test under the provisions, of the, law regulating such contest ipr seats lit the V . t 'i ' ' --til-. ..- !No . little dlversitj of opinion has It'-::. t ' - f - ' i : arisen among the committee, upon' thia shbject. .Without entering iUto a full disctwKion of this phase of. the question submitted to us for i consideration we would beg leave to say'i l. , : ; 7 I. TLutt we do not consider thlrfa case of contesi,rt ouilng under " the pro vis ions of the Statute ut all. As. the Ro mans long belie ved parricide to be an JmpOfsi hie c iTeoce, so- the Legislature ot North Carolina seems 1 never, to have contemplated.-; the1 possibility of such outrajjU us i-onduct npori' the : part';of men occupying tne responsible .and honorable position of County Commis sioners. The law contemplates but twd gronnc s of contest, .(Bat. , Rev., cb. 52, sec 42,) to-wit: "the rejection 01 legal votes1 and "the reception of ille- The contest makes It clear dear that this refers solely to the.action ox tne j uages 01 Election. in mis case It is not ' claimed that any legal Votes were rejeciea or inegai ones received.; Toe claimants set up. no such facts, but aksert instead thai after said votes' were duly cast and counted and returned, tpey were- deprived 'of "their 'tjrbper fprce and effect by the fraudulent action of the Board. ' We: think that iri this case bad .there been no notice of contest whatever.' it would'have been the dutv ok the Convention? to have .considered the record aubxnltted when they offered themselves to. be, qualified as delegates. and upon perceiving thereby the fraud ulent character of the certificates they presented, to have vacated their seats and qualified in their stead those whom the record showed to have been In fact entitled to hold such certificates. '" We are of the opinion,' therefore, that the Jaw governing contested election cases in the General Assembly has ' no bear ing upon this case. j We are greatly 'strengthened In this view by the 'distinction made In the British Parliament ;letwcen , contro- vertea returns and contested elections. I Says a high authority upon this subject -fwhere it appears without going into I the merits'of.nn election .'that the peti-1 1 1 "' 1 1 " ; r. f tioner asralnst a slttinz member was an - -parently elected and ought to have been revurpea, uie aoosa 01 ujunuuna hiu a. , - il". -,-r - a y, r 1,1 reverse the position or the parties by excluding the sitting members and put ting the petitioner in hia place as duly returned ; leaving : the election! to be pontro verted and .throwing the burden of doing so upon the party tOj Whom.it properly belongs." r , , t ; u we are mistaken in tnis,thcn we submit, 'that the statute can only' apply so far as the circumstances of the two bodies are analogous In spirit nc t in letter Jii ,tr i . i f h It wHl occur at once that three courses only are possible in thi&; matter ;.r;i,n 1 1. To apply the law-for contesting the seat of members of the General Assem hly, strictly In regard to'time.'5 time.' -' In air things:sb ly.arid in niat-" 2. To follow this law far as applicable, strictly, and in mat-" ters where the letter of the statute can- not, hy reason of the manner In which this body is constituted, be strictly ad hered to, to require ;such substantial compliance therewith as circumstances will allow. 3. To wait for the Convention to adopt a series of rules to govern and control proceedings in 'case" of a con tested election, and then, still further delay the determination of the question until those rules can beacted on by the' claimants and contestants; C i f The statute which controls contests of this character in the General Assem bly is embraced in the ,. 42 section t of chapter, 52 ol, Battle's Reyisal, which is in these words : v t-vr i,'i i n i i perouu wjBuuottHuwcu tu wjiucai, the seat of any member of the General Assembly, unless he shall have given to the member thirty days' notice thereof in writing, which must state the par ticular grounds of such contest. -ji If the seat is contested on account of the recep tion of illegal Votes, the notice must set forth the number of such votos.by whom given, and the supposed - disqualiflca,- uous ; anu ii . iuo same is coiiwsipu uu account of the rejection Of -legal votes,! the notice must give ,the names, of . the persons whose vott s were rejected.,' No evidence shall be admitted to show that above statute, strict of notice required would impossible because -off the the election to tne day nittin jr of the Con vention. ieat an possioie coniest aua leave iasi I theibodyVih the-handi or the County Commissioners or Sheriffs of; tbe aev-n enu qounnes anu uueriy aeeaf mq WA4M of the people fSAn. evil so flagrant, that no mind can for a moment entertain, a I thought of its adoption by this Conven- I lob." - -: v ftl- j.no uuru proposition is naroiy . jess I obviously open to the same objection I The delay which it would render im-1 perative; would be such. as. to preclude i all, hope. of. successful contest, in any I time which it might bo reasonably ex- I I riuru1 trior I ha Tnn vanti An .hnn IH I r- I j. uo auaju(ijr uciiireu i-xio uiauwa- i UUU Ul Ulia UUU OUU UiO 11U UM) I at Renresentati vea nf the GAnni-al Ad. sembly, is very great.' thorizatlon refers in every i instance to I the House in prescxiblnc the machlnerv In prescribing the machinery ( of the election, the qualificatiohs of the delegates, fc jhej method; of jet urn,: the. manner of certifying the ; election all are, tak en rom the . statute DroVidinir for the election and organization of the House not by transcription, but by rei- exence'mereiyJtb said statute. Can if bethat this close and striking I analogy : nia; not; press; itself-on the I ihinds of the sitting . members when oh I the 10th of August , they were notified J of the intention -x)f. the contestants , to I umui kuwr ocau i voU4vitW.ulu.ilwT 1 were not put upon the" qui vive in're- I guru iaj uio ueiouce oj meir nirnur l Can this Convention ' attribute1 to these gentlemen any disinclination whatever j legal- right or technical vantage they may have had; or a, mod- esty, which would cause them to hesi- I tate in regard to the course they should pursue? - - :t v: ) It seems to us, that they should be held to have been fully, informedas to Lthe law and required to have exercised reasonable , dilieenoa in ecnrini- th rights they! claim that thoyV should have conformed their action inall re- spects possible with the statute referred the contestant received illegal votes, un-j ,r ,.rrr"rS-t " 'uw'? less ,he .shall also, have been notified the grounds of resistance. to tuebomefahV. -MVfN.aiiMli same number of days,' and in the same clahiu''Of this, it waiibt 'caimedf , J-:T'Mut4-jY&UAWS&. a ' ,v manneriiihe tome hotice ot time and aPynotice had been given1 to either W t place required in taking deposisions at .iwA.fc,u.Aiwi---Vi,ir,Ll ;x;ffr';BobeAm-CkJiuitWfi J ? law, shall be required and provedxra the thexjontestan Previous .tothat mfe fAtan election held at-B. tansils; Irt investigatlOtt ,iftnf v t? v?ni:'j andtheir counsJ, even, sat.JJtey isharttTowhipheld'i4mctay''''' ! Csiderfag th. three pooslble courses tM, complete MmM S;!SI!?V,r, ugge.ti Id conjiection with thU ' 1'. 1 r. Duncan Sinclair 'received; ' I -88 .i : ' .it becomes apparent that? a I ?fr. rit ..,"v',?ff II ICalviU ArMcEasnlniiv't uj..irh'wiu. u mis case oe i v - . ::,: .... . ......... 1 to. and have come beiore the, commit I tee with such evidences of dillgenco and 1 , .; i i u s" jjiii 1 euueavor w couipi ys yriiu mo essential I requisites of the. law', as would , have 1 t - - - 1 produced an unavoidable conviction and the Convention of the bona fides Of .t.- J-J2il a meix nets ana me, verity 01 me comesi they toggeat,' yu-j '.. .. J It is evident that the length of notice required by tfc e statute could ' not ''in tnls instance be tnven before the as I sembling of the Convention. We are of opinion that the only rule gqveraing such cases in this body U the ruleof sense and law the rule of duedlligence which would require' that a contestant should give noUce of his Intention ?to contest as long before the asserabUngfof the Convention, as. he might reasonably do and if tlw' member flcate desired to resist such cidmi that helmust wlmintreasonable tifne give notice of his grounds of objection to the contestant's claim.,, It; strikes us that any Other view . would- be inconsistent with justice and' fairness and utterly ieiea. me ouiecis, oisucu couitjst. . 1 A 1 1 t ' ' . A d. ' I What is the object of notice 7. Simply that the party having a hostile interest may be put on his guard as' to. the na ture of the contestants claim, and have a sufficient opportunity, to defend against the same This is required,' of both ciaimants if they in ean to , d efeat the hostile claim tfa the other, i . jHas that purpose been accomplished in this instance 7s The notice of the con testants hereto' attached and marked -we think fully; sets for thUheir ciaimand was given at an. early a" kda r - i . - . . i as couia nave jpeen expectea. . xn lact, under ordinary circumstances it would iiAMnM nnnsnal' nmmntnRsii 1 h Upon the eleventh dayof the session when the matter had been; , a matter , of. daily "discussion upon the floor ; of the Convention ever since its organization! ana wnen tne case naa neen Deiorpme. committee for a week, the sitting mem-. hera cam a before tlie committee and filed a statement by their counsel whi . , ' r " rnon decencv. to exclude them frdhi'dbv4 defence 5Uief tjuairae' srouna 01 conwst se wry m mwnx rWr v 4 - o .V. H's , tiv .'21 1 III W 49 WW7Pj(r.irrt lowed uto come in under any trickster p plea Mr not' Knowing-wnat course-no pud in themiddleof the sesslbn1 usia iovo; w.wuBmf 'ica wi-wu timfe the body may sit, In a vague search of .something which.1 niayj br.' may iiot exist - If they, desired to impeach the votes received by the contestants,) they should -have given - them notice at an .1 In AMa fhar thief n'ttactlnn' i,,-:M miga. uctmjuuuuc aiijcvtiiwc7tj ujjuh IUO DltUllg Ut lUO AU, BUtlVUI' taw T O 1 done otherwise seems to us unnleasaht- m d . . . . . that which marks so plainly the action I of the Board f Cotumlssloners.7; ; C 4 of the; Boarjf Commissioners. f 1, : J Again, R .should be pOUc f that he siuing memoers ao not ssk sucn oppor r tunity upon any . stated oeiier or tne trnth of tha assertions eontainedf.in tho uicu ws au auanci. ! xney ao am uuuio upuu uuiuayit ling iorm merrit ,feiiei in mese. anega .It i . , - ... i i i t j i - i - - - . i . - ' tions. They are merely the empty pleas; of employed, counsel. r -iney asic mis favor without establishing ' even a pre- sumption of the truth of the allegations in the document they file.1--They do not even sutbu incus v uicu ituui uieiriia ture could, hardly . be' know'ji';tb; jthem penou&uy 'iipuu nuurmauoa hqu w ... i nna nr aiAnnuuinT.xnii rnnnuwr wsiau i v.,r--. - t --. . ass r proximity, of W0?(?lr??r 3, u nv 1t1' . htm Tor thft 1 ! ' no wq w.wovmvu f6; i ' - . . '1 " TXT n IK. Tin1An ,Hrton All tlAriti 1 It would de-1 1 lect : upon mo pari 04 iw siwmg. jnun5 . ... 111. . Mm ' - a. A l'lx! I ' : I to tnese iiei. ;';xney were mereiy mer iccnnica tb claim language of the certificiai pjeade'rtbey leal' ad-- 'arer5-;ii.j .vr .f.f-i-A -H,?t' rkmbd- liet 'JThey were merely the techhlca f Attention should'also be given to the lact that the allecatlbns'.bf llleKalVotes do not specify .the name of a single one of said voters.'-' Do- the sitting members Want time now to go to Robeson 'xran ty to hunt its swamps ajd. beat up jts thickets to see if perchance they may not be able to verify'"' those- wild' sur mises f 3 The clalnf has in our opinion, none of the ' attributes entitling- it to respectful consideration. .''It la not in apt 1 f time. It Is vold for ubcer-Jnfv.It larks 1 everj tldng which constitutes' an' etfv ' j . . - . -.. will I ueuce 01 veriiy anu oonffjlae .' ::v t f .1: ( As to the denial i of the lacU set forth ip the contestants notice, we deem the transcript K-onv'the' reoofu 'tit the' Board of Com missioncrs conclusive as to heir truth, especially in the . absence of .both ; direct denial and of alii OQnfllctlDic'ovl - ' dence. ",i .v-" u- - v- ua'iu 11..-H :.;f . . 1 r ''"1;-u.'i v? .I .- I As to the other, ground , or resistance I to the contestants cUii viz j' That the I cjontestants when elected iwer, and 1 4111 re, members of the General As-; 1 Pm-Y W5 ,9f AX? .that wo nt consid&t the. right of such per- to piu, eeatsn a- convention or : tpe people of he State an open, questfon lfr Nofth Carolina, after the Example of the Conventions of 1835, 1861, and: 1865. We therefore conclude, . that 1 iii bur opinion1, the Beats Jof tbeXsitfhig ein- bers from the county of JRobeson, Dun can Sinclair and Calvin Ai McEachin C - . . . - ' f . it'"-'"' 'I J I' if 4.A i Atmnin ha , declared' vacant. ana mat iRkjhard wmept, and elJeNpi havinar been dul elected -..delegates to f . this Convention from said county, bo. admitted td seatsas .'SQdlinpan taking the requisite oath-rail of, rWhich-.M re spectfully submitted. f 1 V-J ; - i Ml ' ' .. jji-V.'. i:-H ' Exhibit 44 A.M" -.dt ,v I 4Vt Ji . . 'i I ill I. fll 'k I' i V il i) ' Transcript of the JXccorcl oCtbo . in the returns of Election Iii the '- oleven i u townships Hi the V votes of which were counted" I 5- t ? ' is- V WHITE HOU8fiV.T0iHlT DrDuncan Sinclair, ,H?! )i4 Calvin A. McEachin,t ? t i Ir..IL WNorment,;j - j u.j ,i84t7 Neill McNeill, .,-f v ; V? 83 , ,., Wetheundersigned'-poli inspectors for White Jlopse -Township, do; ..certify t. that the aboveis a correct statement of the votes cast at the said, township, u w. (Sigued) Areh,'df Thompspn J ; . I I TT- TA Tk.T IT ,1 ! - Giveivander our hands and seals. : (Signed ( G. II. Todd, (seal! Randolph' i Pitman, (seal) .iJ5.-Pri Bullard, (seal) Titoiirscfisf t Tdfksini'. bl.; Dr.D. Sinclair, V " lUtH 227'l' Calvin A. McEachlu,.- ' Neill McNeill,' - ?- 169 R, M. NoMrtebt, 1 a 1T0 ' We certify that ihe forecnlmr, is a true7 account of iihe votes polled - -litTiioinp it r son's Townshipji August 5Lh.a875j for delegates tofConveqtion r.J n.. .,a m (Signed) Wesley Thompson J. ,J.. . "Williams -u ' '.Hi- ' 1 ' At an election held in the CbhrtrTonsA.' in Ltimberton, on the 5th 'da v' Of 'An- gu&iv lOT5f for: delegates to the Constitu tional convention; taer. following 'pe'r- " spP8 received. tiie follOAving votes f m j jjuacan oinclair, - L " 100 I VOITIII A. lUVUOUIiilli - fif ' RlchaMMJofment,' f.' la I. t M aK n-MPU I I f. - CM w r m ' Judges do certify that the within returns are correct as counted b,y Us and sighetl me Din uay 01 August. 173. j r , a 1 : y y MQuee Judge ..W.P. Barnes. Judre: i ''tStW-i. .:-i:t i L:.'J b ! jAtfettfeTJSVrMTR mttnSTTTt. v -. 1 ioaax. yxt.ivniu VAOUliUA . i ' Robeson Countv. August nth: isrr.-. . i We tbeHih4ersigned.inauagors,, ap-", nolnted tb hold an election in Airhrti ville Townshipr for delegates to State ' Conventlon,'rnake the1. following repurl t I For C. AI McEachin 1 ' "ivf;" i For Duncan Sinclair, -r U6 For R. M, Norment, . v. y Jixi ' ,'For.XefirMcKeili; 1( I .We certify that the above Is a just and true statement x& that .votes 'polled' in Alfordav.iUe.Townshipi ? a-j j 1 , 1 ; ai r I aigned) Mclike, Randolph Wirt' oily majiagers4;iil : viiit ,n Jtvisf , ' SwOrn. tt and subscribed before John a Hi Morrison, J. JV .' "r-i t Ai-fj ;4 j!-r vmr j . . ?.'?' ;''i' ? 3Ve certify that the foregoing is a trne ? list of the names of those who voted at' the Convention box. for the.Xollowing' persons as delegates;!:! V. t .. . : Dr. Duncan Sinclair received 123 votes. Calvin A. McEachln i 127 Neill McNeill ; . i, 'n JK R. M.Norment , ' " , 219 . . (Signed) C. 'Black, John IC, McNeill, -C.JB. ' 'Barton? Peter ;; D. McCallutzi; ' Judges' of Klectlon.' 7 r ; - V 7 " . 7 - ;;" ' : ,inl f v "r -:
Daily Constitution (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Sept. 24, 1875, edition 1
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