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1186 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 28,
fected in the count and deducted from the Democratic vote,
the result of the election will remain unchanged.
We have thus reviewed the general features of the evidence
presented to us by the contestants, and have ehown that if
all of the difference between the Reform Vote at the two elec-
tions were added to their vote at the November election as
representing the extent of the alleged intimidation; and it
we also accept their conjectures as evidence, and deduct from
the Democratic vote all of the ballots they pronounce suspi-
cious, the sitting members of this House remain still mani-
festly the choice of a large majority of the legal voters of their
respective districts.
It is difficult to believe that this contest was seriously un-
dertaken with the expectation of attaining its professed and
ostensible end. It is cifficult to believe that the contestants
expected that an election where their own vote was so large
would be set aside.
But inasmuch as the leading organ of their party had com-
mitted itself to the most reckless denunciation of the Demo-
cratic government of the State and city in all particulars, and
had especially denounced this election in the most extrava-
gant terms, it may be that the Reform party felt compelled to
sustain its organ by a show of testimony to sustain its
charges. We think that the house will agree with us in
placing the investigation into the conduct of the late elec-
tion in Baltimore city among the many conspicuous failures
of the Reform party to sustain the slanders of their party
press.
We have given our views of the effect of the evidence as a
whole in this report to avoid repetition, although the report
is in form opplicable only to the First Legislative District,
consisting of the first seven wards.
In this district we find that no serious riot occurred, ex-
cept in the first precinct of the 5th ward. In the other wards
several cases of assault are proved, and the ex lusion of some
votes is testified to. But even in this precinct of the fifth
ward, it is proved that voting continued, and that the line
of voters was reformed, from time to time, when it had been
broken by riotous persons. The loss of the Reform vote in
the fifth ward was but 15 percent, as compared with the vote
at the Municipal election, no greater loss than appears in
the other wards of the district, where quiet prevailed. The
total difference between the vote of the Retorm party in this dis-
trict at the two elections is about 1,300, while the Democratic
members of this House received a majority of over 6,000.
If we were to assume that but for the intimidation charged,
they would have polled these 1,300 votes, there remains a
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