Mr. Koontz would be permitted to profit by the wrong of his own partisan. I will state in brief the reasons why we were unable to adopt that view, and then will leave the case to the House. 1. The Governor, if he had not gone behind the returns of the rival district boards to ascertain by testimony who were the real district judges, would have been compelled either to do not iing or proclaim Mr. Koontz elected. On its face his return was perfect. Every judge who sinned it had been a county return judge, and if e appeared in a district board with a county return, had a prime m right to be there, which could only be deeated by showin that some other judge had in fact been selecte by the county board to representit in the district board. The Coffrot return was, on its face, worthless as a return upon which to base the Governors proclamation. The law requires the Governor “to declare by proclamation the names of the persons so returned as elected.” It by no means permits him to base his proclamation in part on the return and in part on evidence obtained alzunde. For the same reasons we must, if we do not go behind the return to inquire who were the lawful district judges. give the seat to Mr. Koontz on his return alone. 2. The Codi0th return having, therefore, no legal character, either before the Governor or the committee, whateverrcgard we may give it will be a mere gratuity. It would certainly be a novelty if such an instrument should be conclusive. To withhold item it such conclusive character can be no real hardship to Mr. Cof froth if he was not in fact elected. It cannot be a hardship to a claimant, who has neither a technical nor a substantial claim, to decline arbitrarily to provide him with a technical one, and hold it conclusive. On the contrary, to do so would be to wrong his competitor, ifthat cometitors claim, although not technicall pereet, rested on a basis of real merit. f Mr. Cotfrothhad in fact a majority of the lawfully returned votes, it might well be called a hard ship to suffera partisan of MruKoontz, by a raid upon the district board, to robhim of his seat, but it cannot be said that this ought, of itself, to give the seat to Mr. Coffroth if he did not in fact receive a majority of the votes, and had no chance of success, except through a previous raid of his own partisans on the soldiers returns.