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of their rightful choice of electors of President and Vice-President, of a governor, and other officers; disgraced the most populous city of the Union; encouraged the enemies of republican government here and everywhere to deride our institutions as a failure, and endangered the peace of the republic by an attempt to defeat the will of the people in the choice of their rulers.

The events of the past year in New York and the evidence taken by the committee furnish the proof of all these allegations.

Among the most prominent of the frauds committed in the interest of the democratic party in the city and State of New York in connection with the election in November, 1868, are these:

1. Many thousands of aliens fraudulently procured or were furnished with certificates of naturalization illegally or fraudulently issued, by means of which they were enabled to register as voters and voted in violation of law.

2. Many hundreds of certificates of naturalization were granted in the names of fictitious persons, to be used by native-born and naturalized citizens and aliens in falsely registering as voters, and to enable them to Vote many times at the election.

3. Many hundreds of persons voted in New York city from two to forty times or more, each under assumed or fictitious names, fraudulently registered for the purpose.

4. Extensive frauds were committed in canvassing tickets, and names of voters were entered on the poll-lists, and democratic tickets counted as if voters representing them voted, when no such persons voted at all. 5. To accomplish these frauds gross neglect of duty and disregard of law so great as to evince a criminal purpose prevailed in some of the courts, while officers and democratic partisans of almost every grade, either by official influence or otherwise, aided, sanctioned, or knew of and failed to prevent them: The same influences shielded the perpetrators in nearly all cases from detection or arrest, and when arrested they have, through the agency of judicial officers and others charged with the duty of prosecution, escaped all punishment.

6. Through these agencies the democratic electors of President and Vice-President and the democratic candidate for governor of the State of New York were fraudulently elected.

7. And the investigations of the committee show that existing State laws and the mode of enforcing them are wholly inadequate to prevent these frauds, but that Congress has the power to enact laws which, if faithfully executed, will to some extent furnish remedies hereafter.

There is no law of Congress professing to prevent or punish frauds in voting or conducting elections, and the penalties relating to certificates of naturalization are by no means adequate.

CHAPTER II.

L-NATURALIZATION FRAUDS-GENERAL EVIDENCE OF FRAUD AND ILLEGALITY IN NATURALIZATIONS.

1.-The unusual number naturalized.

Prior to the year 1868 naturalizations were effected in State courts in New York city only in the court of common pleas and the superior court. The average number naturalized each year in the common pleas, from

1856 to 1867, inclusive, was 5,252,8 and in the superior court 3,955,9 or a total annual average of 9,207.

The highest number in any one of these years, in both these courts, prior to 1865, was 16,493, in 1856.

On the 6th of October, 1868, the supreme court commenced the work of naturalization.10 In the year 1868 these courts, as reported by some of their officers, naturalized as follows:

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Westlake, a deputy clerk, says, (Evidence, 2022, 2429:)

A. I present a statement giving the aggregate number of naturalization in that court for the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September, and the number naturalized each day from the 1st to the 23d of October, and the aggregate for the month of November and up to the 24th of December, the total being 27,897. The statement is as follows:

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Number of persons naturalized in the supreme court of New York city, on the days hereinafter named.

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This is more than four times the average of previous years, and about two and a half times greater than the largest number in any preceding year, and it is not possible that there could have been any such number of legal applications.12

19 An attempt is made to account for the great number of naturalizations by saying that the presidential election induced this, and that aliens did not become naturalized during the war, because they would be liable to be drafted into the military service. (Evidence, 3350, 2820, 3578, 3519, 2002, 7533.)

The naturalizations in the State courts of the city in 1860 were 13,556, in 1859 only 7,636. But in the year of the presidential election of 1864 the naturalizations were 12, 171, so that the liability to military service did not materially diminish naturalization. The war practically closed in April, 1865, so that three years intervened up to 1868, with an exciting gubernatorial election in 1866, in which year there were 13,023 naturalizations, and in 1867 there were 15,476, showing that any omissions during the war were now made up. It is abundantly shown that the war reduced the alien population of the city, many of whom enlisted in the military service, died of disease or casualties, and after the war located elsewhere. Evidence, 6311, 3741, 6952.

See this report, Chapter VI, note to page —.

Judge McCunn testifies that "the men who went into the army from the city were principally foreigners." Evidence, 6953.

The naturalizations of 1868 should have been reduced in consequence of this.

The war, as shown by immigration statistics, diminished emigration from April, 1861, to April, 1865, and aliens arriving since it closed were not entitled to naturalization in 1868. The alien emigrants arriving at New York in 1860 were 105,162; in 1861, only 65,539; in 1862, only 76,306. For the four years of 1857 to 1860 inclusive, the yearly average was 111,711, while the yearly average for three years, 1861 to 1863 inclusive, was only 99,569, and of those who did arrive and remain in New York many were withdrawn by the war. Of these emigrants only a small proportion remained in the State of New York, and still less in the city, and of those in the city many were women and children. The statistics of emigration for several years are as follows:

Table showing the numbers and nativities of alien emigrants who arrived at the port of New York from May 5, 1847, to January 1, 1867.

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In the supreme court only one judge, George G. Barnard, heard applications for naturalization; in each of the other courts more than one

Table showing the number and nativities of alien emigrants, &c.-Continued.

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Table showing the numbers and nativities of alien emigrants, &c.-Continued.

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13

judge exercised the jurisdiction, though in 1868 in the superior court it was mainly done by Judge John H. McCunn.13 The highest number naturalized in one day in the superior court was, October 14, 2,109; and in the supreme court, by a single judge in one day, October 19, was 955. From October 8 to 23, inclusive, this judge ordered a daily average of over 718 certificates of citizenship.

How far these figures give the full number of certificates granted will be considered hereafter.14

2.-Number naturalized each day.

If there were no other evidence to stamp with infamy, fraud, and illegality a portion of these naturalizations, the great number issued by a single judge in one day would be quite sufficient. In 1844 a judge in Louisiana was impeached and removed from office for malfeasance in granting certificates of naturalization. The select committee of the House of Representatives investigating the charges in a report say: "It further appears that nearly 400 of these certificates were issued in one day. It seems to your committee impossible that this could have been legally done."15

But this impossibility is greatly increased when the number reaches 955-a number inconsistent with either honesty of purpose or legality in practice.16

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Judge McCunn did the greatest part of it; Judge Garvin the next. These two judges were naturalizing; Judge Jones and Judge Barbour assisted. They were holding term, and when they got out of court they came over to assist; but the bulk of it was done by Judges Garvin and McCunn. Judge Barbour did some, but not much. Judge Morrell did none. He was in Europe from June until the 3d of November. See Evidence, 3573.

14

4138.

Evidence, 7643, 7673, 2429, showing 840 papers missing for one day. Sec Evidence, 2168,

15 U. S. Senate documents, 2d sess. 28th Cong., vol. 9, 1844-'45; doc. No. 173, p. 148. 16 In Kings county, Brooklyn, the number of naturalizations were only procured from one But with the extensive practice there they did not reach so large a daily number as in New York city. The statement for one court is as follows:

court.

Statement of the whole number of persons naturalized in the county clerk's office from the 23d day of September, 1856, to the 31st day of December, 1868, in Kings county.

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Whole number naturalized from the 1st day of October to the 31st day of October, 1868.

722

483

2,328

2,436

3,246

13, 841

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