328 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Feb. 19,

the contestee Bird 151 majority over Talbott; the
prayer of the contestant Bird in his memorial referred
to your committee is that the vote of St. Leonard's
Precinct be counted for him, and that the sitting
member Talbott be unseated and the seat in the Senate
from Calvert county be awarded to him. If the ballots
cast at St. Leonard's are not counted, then the con-
testee Talbott is elected by a majority of 171 votes
and is entitled to retain his seat unless it should be
held, because of the irregularities at St, Leonard's
Precinct, there was no election in Calvert county for
Senator and the election of a Senator be remanded by
the Senate to the voters of the county for a new elec
tion.

Law Applicable to the Facts.

The inquiry that next presents itself is, what are
the terms and provisions of law, in the language of
the Constitution "as prescribed by the Constitution
and the laws of the State" on these facts.

1. Was the election held in the St. Leonard's Pre-
cinct held by officers properly qualified under the law
to hold the election ? The committee think it was not
so held. The two Judges and Ballot Clerk, by stand-
ers who were attempted to be qualified by adminis-
tering the oath above set forth, by the Republican.
Judge, were neither de facto nor de jure proper officers
to conduct a legal election.

The regularly qualified Judges and Ballot Clerk
were displaced for no other reason whatsoever than
that they refused to receive, what in their opinion
and that of the Republican Supervisor, were illegal
ballots.

The duties of the Judges and Ballot Clerk are not
only fully prescribed by law, but the oath is pie-
scribed by law, the oath for Ballot Clerk sets forth in
minute detail his duties. This oath, it is not pre-
tended, was administered or read to him. There is
no law that justified the Republican Judge, under the
circumstances, that existed at the Second Precinct on
the morning of the election, to administer any oath
to the Judges or Ballot Clerks appointed by him,
hence the oath was without legal force, and we have
in effect an election conducted by unsworn officers;
one of the first safeguards for a legal election is want-