"Judge Clifford finally laid aside his pen, and it was ordered that the various exhibits which he had been marking be printed and copies furnished for the convenience of the counsel and commissioners. Had a single objection to this routine been interposed; had prudence, habit, or even curiosity impelled any of the Democratic counsel to scrutinize the original documents, or had enterprise prompted any journalist to examine and compare them, a sensational exposure would have been inevitable, for one of the Republican certificates was clumsily, even obviously, forged.[12] [12] "Under the Constitution three copies of the certificate of the Louisiana vote were necessary, one of which had to be forwarded to the president of the Senate by mail, another delivered to him by hand, and the third deposited with the United States district judge--all of which had to be accomplished within a certain number of days. When the Republican messenger--one T. C. Anderson--arrived in Washington and delivered the package containing one of those three certificates to Mr. Ferry, the president of the Senate, that gentleman called his attention to an irregularity in the form of the endorsement on the envelope and suggested that he consider its legal effect. Anderson therefore retained the package, and secretly opened it to ascertain if the error had been repeated in the certificate itself. To his consternation he discovered far more vital defects in the document, and flying back to New Orleans consulted with the party leaders, who agreed that the instrument must be redrawn, and the electors were hastily resumed. Then, to the managers' horror, it was discovered that two of the necessary officials were absent, and could not possibly be reached within the time limited by law for the delivery of the paper in Washington. 'Heroic' measures were therefore deemed essential, and after all the available signatures had been obtained the others were forged, and the doctored certificates, which, of course, were obviously different from the one previously forwarded by mail, were rushed back to Washington just in the nick of time. All these facts were subsequently unearthed, but those who actually committed the forgeries were never detected."--H. R. R., No. 140, 45th Cong., 3d Session, pp. 50-63 and 89-91. "Had this been discovered, it is not improbable that one or more of the Republican commissioners, who were suspected of wavering in their party allegiance, would have voted for a thorough investigation, and an entirely different result might have been effected. Neither suspicion nor inspiration, however, put the Democratic champions on their guard, and the opportunity passed unheeded, never to return." FRANCIS C. BARLOW[13] TO JOHN BIGELOW "NEW YORK, _Nov. 6, 1876_. "MY DEAR SIR,--I believe I have never thanked you for the legislative documents, which I beg now to do.