facts now to be mentioned. Eight or nine days after the
election of November 7, 1876, at which he was a candidate on the
Republican electoral ticket, there was received at the Department of the
Interior, from the hands of the President, this letter:

MONROE, _November 4, 1876_.

DEAR SIR: I hereby tender my resignation of the office of
Surveyor-General of the State of Louisiana, with the request that
it be accepted immediately. With many thanks for your kindness,

I remain, yours respectfully,
O. H. BREWSTER.

U. S. GRANT, _President United States_.

When the letter was written does not appear. It is certain that Brewster
was acting as Surveyor-General on the 10th of November.

On the 16th of November a letter was addressed to the Commissioner of
the General Land-Office, as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,}
WASHINGTON, _November 16, 1876_.}

SIR: I have received the resignation of Mr. Orlando H. Brewster,
Surveyor-General of Louisiana, which he has requested may take
effect immediately. Please inform Mr. Brewster that his resignation
has been accepted by the President, to take effect November 4th
instant, that being the date of his letter of resignation to this
Department.

Very respectfully,
Z. CHANDLER, _Secretary_.

At what time, if ever, the Commissioner informed Brewster of the
acceptance of his resignation we do not know, but it could not have been
earlier than the 20th of November.

On the morning of the 6th of December, the four men who assumed to act
as the Returning Board of Louisiana filed in the office of the
Secretary of that State a certificate that Brewster, with seven other
persons, had been appointed presidential electors. There was then on the
statute-book of Louisiana this enactment:

"If any one or more of the electors chosen by the people shall fail
from any cause whatever to attend at the appointed place at the
hour of 4 P.M. of the day prescribed for their meeting, it shall be
the duty of the other electors immediately to proceed by ballot to
fill such vacancy or vacancies."

What Brewster did is thus told by Kellogg,