590 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 8,

2d. Did this fraud, this crime, which was undoubt-
edly perpetrated. by some one, to the committee
unknown, vitiate the election in the Second Precinct
of the First District of Calvert county ?

To determine this, two questions must be answered,
and I will discuss them in order:

First. Was the election conducted by properly con-
stituted officers in this precinct.

Second. Were the ballots used, legal ballots.

If these questions can be answered affirmatively
then the fraud did not vitiate the election in this pre-
cinct and the contestant is entitled to the seat so sadly
made vacant by death. Their settlement involves a
proper construction of the election laws of the State.

On the morning of November 3d, 3891, the day of
the election, the regularly appointed and qualified
Judg s of Election for Precinct No. 2, of Election Dis-
trict No. 1, opened the packages supposed to contain
the official ballots for said precinct and found that
they con-tained copies of the Local Laws for Calvert
county. This naturally created a commotion,
especially among the Republicans, who, for the first
time, discovered that a low trick had been resorted to,
to disfranchise the voters of this Republican district
and prevent a free and legal expression of the people's
will.

As it subsided, it was suggested that ballots, de-
signed for the First Precinct of the same district be
procured, and an order was given to D. B. Bond, Esq.,
upon the Sheriff for the same Mr. Bond went and
returned without the ballots. In the meantime, Mr.
Dixon had secured the official ballot of the First Pre-
cinct and brought a sealed package of the same to the
Judges of the Second Precinct. They were examined
and found to be identical with those originally de-
signed for the Second Precinct, except that the desig-
nation of the place of election on the back of the
ballot was "First, " instead of "Second. " It was then
suggested that this designation be altered and that
the election be proceeded with. All acquiesced, except
the Democratic officers of election, who refused to
hold an election upon the ground that in their opinion
these ballots, adapted in this one particular, to the