New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-09-02

pate IN tne Senate on Friday:
Mr.. Bacon: WE'LL sir, whether it comes
from respectable or disrespectable source
II IS our duty, as in the case of that gentle
man OF whom Louis Napoleon has written,
| TO investigate. The name of any body of
! Senators should not thus be brought into
discredit without their taking steps to show
them to be false. And it is for the purpose
OF showing the gentlemen that these asper.
sions are false and malicious, that l ask
that this committee should be appointed,
| and that they should be empowered to send
for persons and papers. l do not wish it tc
be understood that introduced this resolu.
ton for the purpose of detracting from the
| character of any member of this body, but
for the purpose of showing the community
that We are not afraid to meet these accu-
sations, whether made by high or low
whether emanatlng from respectable or dis
respectable sources.
Mr.. Foute: I desire simply to say, Mr..
| President, that I think the resolution of Mr.,
Bacon is eminently proper and Just, and
that we should avail ourselves Of the proud
! privilege of inquiring into these aspersions,
which are every day thrown upon the
Senate as body and as indiYidu-
ais, whether in a tangible form OF
| BY mere rumor. Certainly It can do no
| harm. Why not, then, meet them face to
| face? ! can not believe that any Senator
would be fond guilty of anything contrary
to honor.
| Hence we should investigate the charges
and print the truth in such a form as to
silence all these rumors and insinuations
| forever. .....
1t is resolution simply to vindicate the
| dignity and honor of the Senate as q BODY.
and that of public officers implicated in the
charges. shall therefore vote for the reso-
luton.
Mr.. O'Hara offered the following amend
ment: .H# ....
Be ii further resolUed That said commit
| tee be empowered and instructed to investi-
| gate what Senator or Senators made propo-
| sltions to certain other Senators to with
draw all opposition to the passage of the
printing bill upon condition that twenty
thousand dollars of the public printing be
| given by contract to a certain Democratic
paper published in this city. ....
Adopted.
Mr. Lewis: Mr.. President, these are
charges that are perfectly new to me, but
have heard and read charges against mem
bers of this Senate, and the Governor of the
State, ever since they have taken the oath
| Of office. T..
There has been daily talk of one high
misdemeanor or another committed by
members of the General Assembly and the
Governor Of the State.
But look upon it, sir, as being totally be-
meath the dignity OF this Assembly to notice
such vile aspertions as may be hurled
against it by its dire enemies. And there.
fore think the resolution should be met with
that contempt which it deserves, and move
to lay the resolution on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was lost by
9yeas to l6 nays.
The amendment was adopted.
1ir. Smith offered the following addition
al amendment:
Resolred turther That the committee be
also empowered to inquire whether any
members OF the Senate offered Senators
money or other consideration of interest to
influence their votes upon any cases of con
tested elections.
Adopted.
Mr.. Todd: Mr.. President, / see exactly
what this is running to. | will have to
illustrate it by q Western anecdote. A
farmer lost pig, and finding one of its ears,
procured a search warrant, suspecting a
neighbor of having stolen it. There, sure
enough, was portion of the remains of q
! pig, aud salted down, too. Fortunately for
the farmer the head was discovered, but un-
fortunately for the thief it lacked one ear,
and the missing ear fitted exactly the de-
capitated part. This being proof positive.
the thief was charged with the crime and
arrested. friend of the Judge remarked
tuub lb AthC bnlblJ WOulu Ut EtIlL 10 Iue
States Prison. "0h, no, he won't,H said
the Judge, dor eleven of the jurymen have
had share of the meat" Now, that's lust
what's the matter with this Senate.
Iaughter)
The amendment of Mr.. Smith was adopted.
Mr.. E. L. Jewell offered the following:
And that the committee be further in
| strncted to examine into the report that a
member OF this Senate is an escaped convict
from the Penitentiary, to report his name
and circumstances of conviction and method
OF escape, and also as to his eligibility to a
seat in the Senate.
Adopted.
Mr.. Wittgenstein offered the following:
Resolued further That the committee be
| empowered to inquire whether any Senators
have been implicated in any alleged frauds
or embe2zlements of the levee bonds of the
| State. .. .,.,=-.
Mr.. Todd Mr.. President, before that mo-
tion is put believe there is a committee
| appointed for that very purpose, and as am
| the chairman of that committee, ] feel some
embarrassment about the matter. Uaugh.
| ter.) tae att ssHai s5 .r.
The Senator from Ouachita and the Sena.
tor FROM the Fourth District of Orleans are
the other members of that committee.
Mr. Lewis: | wish to inform the gentle
man that he will by this means have an ad-
| NANAOh"A SOLulAAstSC w AClp III bliG luNCSll5d-
ton. .......Ev H.. .. ..e,
Mr.. Bacon: Mr.. President call for the
| original resolution. | think these amend.
ments are intended to clog up the original
| resolution in order to defeat it. These
amendments are not german to the subject.
Mr.. Lewis: 1t is an investigation OF vii
lainous conduct on the part of Senators; one
is as proper as the other.
The amendment of Mr.. Wittgenstein was
adopted.
Mr.. O'Hara: | now move to refer the
whole subject to the special committee on
the conduct of the late elections.
Mr.. Smith offered the following amend
ment:
n BE IL further resoEued, That the committee
be authorized to employ a suitable person to
report all the street rumors that may be put
in circulation by the thugs and roWdies of
the city in order to further the investiga-
tion.
Mr., o'Hara: Imoye the adoption of the
amendment.
Mr.. Braughn: Mr.. President, I have
favored all the other amendments, because
| thought they tended to the proper expo
sure of the yillainy, as Mr.. Lewis has eX-
pressed it, of Senators, but the amendment
Just offered has no such effect, and | think
It is simply offered as a sort of lurement to
draw our attention from theEoriginal matter
before the Senate, and qualifying it with
something Insignificant and trivial. with
the ultimate object of laying the whole
subject on the table. Now, sir, wish to
AVOID any such result, and | move to lay
the resolution on the table.
Mr.. Bacon: ] was Just about to rise to
the poiat of order that the amendment
should not be entertained.
The amendment was laid on the table by
Is yeas, ~ nays.
Mr. CounIand ar. T),oossa..a :. 80