New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-10-06

|
dolng SO wish to refer to one o. two of the
statements aud arguments used by the gen.
Ileman who has just taken his seat. | was q
little surprised, sir, in mis- case at the ian
guage he has used. His own case was
CLEARLY and thoroughly investigated, and
self, was dAne, in spite of what he
now calls party feeling and want Of judg-
ment and discretion, which he has i'm.
Il puted to the very gentlemen who have &C.
corded him full justice against the claims Of
She contestant to his seat here. For one,
VIII merely say to the Senator, while will
ackno Wedge all the claim he may rightly
hav%eo the possession of superior judg.
ment, g1hor and integrity, l would sug-
gest to him as a matter of taste and courtesy
that he should refrain from such sweeping
charges of want of integrity against Sena-
tors whose motives are entitled to the same
respect as his own.
His speech was very good one to go out
upon the hustings to his constituents, butt
Should have no effect here.
With regard to the Senator from st. Hele-
ma l am informed that those witnesses
whom he has named referred in their testi
me ny to the Fourth Ward alone, of the city
OF Shreveport, and as to that ward there
are no allegations of fraud. The gentleman,
therefore, either used an unfair argument,
| or else he was ignorant of the fact. No
body denied the fairness of the election in
| the Fourth Ward OF Shreveport.
With regard to the argument of the
senator from Claiborne, which is in fact the
| only one which can be dignihed with the
name of argument, he first objects TO the
testimony taken before Mr.. Lowell, Chair
man of the Board of Registrars for the
parish of Caddo. Nowif he would refer to
page i've of the report of the committee he
VIII see that Charles W. Lowell was duly
| sworn and did testify TO most of the facts in
of ba
tors will confirm my assertion by looking at
| the report.
Again, the Senator knows very well that
ofhclal records and reports of pu bile officers
are testimony, proper and legal, of them.
Mr.. Thompson: What referred to was
the testimony of ten or twelve different wit.
nesses that was never brought before the
committee.
Mr.. Campbell: am informed that testi.
mony, every particle of it, referred exclu.
slvely to the fourth ward of Shreveport. in
which it was not claimed there were any
Mr.. Thompson: / never presented it to
the committee at all. 1t was on this ques.
ton of fraud, and before it could be re.
celved, resolution was passed by the com.
mittee not to receive such testimony.
MIR. Campbell: accept with pleasure the
statement of the member of the committee,
testimony was never presented, it seems.
Whose fault was it?
The Senator from Claiborne says a ''color-
ed man from Caddon states there was no
fraud at the election. If one man should
swear positively that he did see fraud and
hVe hundred should swear that they saw
none, the testimony of the one man should
be received.
Now, sir, the Senate confirmed the iudg.
ment OF the committee that Mr.. White, be-
Ing ineligible, was not Senator. What,
then, Is the state Of the case as governed by
law! | will read from Cushing's Manual,
page sixty-six:
Mr.. Campbell here read an extract from
Cushing's Legislative Manual, and referred
to the cases there cited in which it was de.
cided that all votes cast for ineligible persons
are null and void, and should not be counted:
and that in cases in which such ineligibility |
was matter of public notoriety, the can. |
didate having the next highest number of |
votes is duly elected
That is the law in England, where they |
vote orally, and where a plurality is neces- |
sary. Butt will read further in reference
to elections where an absolute msorlty is
necessary to choice:
Now, then, the whole sum and substance
OF the law is this that where the votes are
given, either orally or by ballot, votes given
for an ineligible candidate are not to he
counted. There is no getting around that
Mr.. Antoine has proved that he received the
next highest number of votes after the incl.
lgtble candidate, Mr.. White, as the returns
were rendered, and that he actually received
the highest number of votes, leaving out the
wards in which fraud and intimidation were
used.
In the decision of this case, sir. we are
acting as court OF the highest resort and
are bound to give to all the evidence before
us sNch weight as its credibility NAV
demand. We are to weigh the evidence in
connection with the law, and if it is of such
nature as to compel our belief, we are
bound to vote in compliance Herewith, and
the law and the evidence in this case are Az
plain as day.
Mr.. O'Hara: Mr.. President, referred the
gentleman from Claiborne several times
during his speech to the former report of
the committee. In order to accommodate
MI. White, as piece Of courtesy, affidavits
nothing to do with the question then before
1.-THE eligibility or ineligibility of Mr.
White. The evidence of c. W. Lewis and
One other witness was introduced by Mr.. |
White to prove that the election was fairly
carried on. Now, wish to read the evi.
1epce of Major ]. L. Thompson,
lQuoted in speech of Mr. Blackuan.l
Now, Mr.. President, contend that if no
)ther witness than this had been examined.
md the committee believed he told them |
he truth, think they acted entirely in ac-
,,ordapce with their judgment, and not un.
Ter ''party shackles."
tMr. o'Hara here read the afidavits of
thomas Henderson and Edward Crutch.
ield, .'..... .f" ]
Now, 1t is these gentlemen sign their !
ames by making mark, but there are two
Witnesses to- each signature; although they
oulo not sign their names presume they /
nay have had good eyesight, and one Of |
hem states positively that the polls were
pen from sunrise until dark on the 18th Of !
.pril, exclusively for Democratic voters,
o be sure that was Democratic day. but 1
aey had no right to exclude Republican I
oters.
My main object in reading this testimony
1as to relieve the fears OF some Senators T
nat the evidence had not been read, that
hey may be satisfied have read the report
nd was voting from the evidence and not n
Sr party. claim that the report of the
halrman OF the Board of Registration for n
he parish of Caddo, being an Official docu.
ais case. II
MT. biackman: Mr.. President, desire for ~
few moments to reply to the gentleman -
Tho last addressed the house. Every sinple .,
sntence, as the gentleman well knows n
'hether it has been put down in this report -
not, was taken either in the presence Of
. Q. Antoine, with his consent, or with the =
onsent of his counsel. I
Jhen, Mr.. President this is no ex parte q
whence that appears in the first report in
re case: it was evidence regarding facts a.
neither Mr.. White was eligible or not. and
neither frauds were committed in the aio. ! N