Democrat Endicott Peabody '42 has been elected Governor of Massachutts by a slim, 8000-vote margin, but incumbent Gov. John A. Volpe is virtually certain to demand a recount in one of the closest elections in the state's history.

After a wild day of counting and miscounting, concessions made and then hastily retracted, and a general air of confusion throughout the State, Peabody was declared the victor by votes.

But yesterday evening, election officials discovered a major ballot mix-up in Holyoke. In the gubernatorial contest, Peabody's 12,000 votes had been given to Volpe, and Volpe's 8000 to Peabody. Switching the votes back again increased Peabody's lead by .

Attorney-Gen. Edward J. McCormack late last night ordered all ballot boxes impounded and placed under 24-hour police guard.

Whatever the outcome of the Commonwealth's gubernatorial contest, the Democrats fared well in other races around the Nation. They captured a 68-32 majority in the Senate, the largest margin since 1938, and maintained a substantial edge in the House of Representatives.

Veteran Sen. Lister Hill (D.-Ala.) and Sen. Ernest Gruening (D.-Alaska) finally won the 67th and 68th seats late yesterday morning. In Alabama, Hill fought Republican James D. Martin right to the wire, and most political observers are amazed by the smallness the long-time Senator's margin of victory.

Five of the 425 House races are still undecided, but the Democrats already hold 254 seats to the Republicans' 176 and lead in the five uncertain contests. Final results will probably show a net loss of only four House seats for the Democrats.

Indiana's Republican Sen. Homer Capehart finally went to defeat late yesterday morning after 18 years in the Senate. Capehart, who has repeatedly called for an invasion of Cuba, was overcome by Birch E. Bayh, minority leader in the Indiana legislature.

Rhode Island lays claim to the closest race in the country, where incumbent Gov. John A. Notte, Jr. leads Republican John H. Chafee by a miniscule 46 votes. A State police guard was hurriedly thrown around the absentee, shut-in, and servicemen's ballots which will not be counted until after a Nov. 21 filing deadline.

In Beverly Hills, Calif., an embittered Richard M. Nixon finally conceded the governorship of California to incumbent Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown.

Brown was leading by almost 300,000 votes at 2 p.m. (EST) yesterday afternoon when Nixon, his hopes for a political comeback ruined, bade farewell to public life in an angry concession speech.

"You won't have Nixon to kick around any longer, because this, gentlemen, is my last press conference," the former vice-President declared.

According to the Associated Press, Nixon, his eyes swollen from lack of sleep and flashing anger, accused the press of distorting his statements.

In one breath, he said he had no complaints. Then he aired a few.

"Thank God for radio and TV," Nixon said through tightly compressed lips, "for keeping the newspapers a little more honest."

Leveling his gaze at assembled reporters, he said: "Never in my 16 years of campaigning have I complained about coverage to a publisher or an editor. I believe a reporter has a right to cover the news as he sees it. But I'll say to a reporter sometimes: 'I wish you had given my opponent the same going over you gave me.'"

Later he told newsmen: "For 16 years, ever since the Hiss case, you've had a lot of fun. You've had an opportunity to attack me. I've given as good as I've taken--and I've had fun matching wits with you."

The defeat was the most shattering of Nixon's career. He never before had been beaten in six California elections, starting when he ran for Congress in 1946. He was re-elected vice president in 1956 and lost to John F. Kennedy by 110,000 votes, in the 1960 presidential election.

His face grimly drawn, his voice husky, Nixon appeared dead serious and exerting intense efforts to keep his rancor from getting out of hand.

In congratulating Gov. Brown, Nixon said: "He has the greatest honor and responsibility of any governor in the United States. I wish him well.

"I'm proud I defended my opponent's patriotism. But you [meaning the press] didn't report that.

"I believe Gov. Brown has a heart even though he believes I do not.

"I believe he's a good American even though he believes I'm not.

"I want it to be known that I never during the course of the campaign raised a personal reservation against my opponent. I never accused him of a lack of heart, a lack of patriotism.

"You gentlemen didn't report that...that I defended him.

"For once, gentlemen, I would appreciate that you write what I said. And I mean that you get it in the lead. In the lead."

Brown, who watched Nixon on television, said: "Nixon is going to regret all his life that he made that speech."

In the Massachusetts Congressional races, incumbent Republican F. Bradford Morse has scored a late upsurge victory over Democrat Thomas J. Lane in the redistricted Fifth District. Morse was several thousand votes behind when he virtually conceded the election at 5 a.m. Tuesday. But Morse scored very heavily in later counting and piled, up enough votes to defeat Lane