New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-03-17

men Deon called OF the OppOS1Ie Pohs'e"'
party, who swore that he is entirely
truthful, and they would believe this WI
ness under oath? Hove not all their wit
nesses that they called here for the pur-
pose of impeaching hin, sworn before you;
except ore, that they have had personal
difficulties with Captain Francis! Dld noS
one of these witnesses tell you that prior 10
last October he would have believed MN.
but because of personal difficulty ne ola
not know whether he could afford to DO Il
now? Another party testified that he was
an intimate friend of Captain Francis, and
that he always was an iatimate friend of
his. thought that was sufficient answer
to the testimony, because when a witness
comes upon the stand, swears that he does
not believe a man under oath, and tes-
tifes that he is an intimate friend of his
to-day, and always has been, the fair and
legal aud proper deduction is, that the
man who testiGes can not himself be be-
lieved.
We have shown to you, Senators, thaS
this man, this public officer, refused to
divide and to sEbdivide warrants issued
for public institution, or for charitable
institution, a State institution, when the
officers thereof presented their claim I'M
der an appropriation, and asked for the
issuance of warrants-this man, well
knowing that warrant for $4,000 could
not be sold at all under the then existing
state Of things, that warrant for $1,000
could not be sold to advantage, and when
the officers of this institution asked for
smaller warrants which were worth from
four to six per cent more than the large
ones, the Auditor. himself an officer CT the
State, refused to issue small warrants, IN
less the officers of this institution would
pay him per centage, claiming that he
would be obliged to employ extra
force and pay extra compensation
for clerks, well knowing, as you ali know,
that he himself had sent petition to TIE
Legislature praying for more clerks, anf
that be had received an extra force OF
clerks for the purpose of performing this
very same work. He had sent message
to the General Assembly, asking for an IN
crease of his force. and what was the rea-
son assigned? He said that under the
law PASSED by the General Assembly, war
rants were made receivable for taxes, and
in order that they might be made receiva-
BILE for taxes, they must be cut up into
small accounts, and that required an extra
number CT clerks. For that reason be ill.,
duced US, the General Assembly, to pass
this bill, and upon that plea he induced
his Excellency the Governor to sign /; and
make it Law; and after all that was done,
after we gave him enough clerks to per-
form this duty-gave him all he asked
then he charged charitable institution,
which he. in common with yourselves as 6.
public officer of tie State-if he knew the
full force of his oath of office-was bound
to protect, to guard and to watch over, ex-
acted money for doing an official act.
He forced the officers OF this IN
stitution to pay him a percentage
before he would issue the warrantsln any
sums sufficiently small to make them nego-
table. The counsel for respondent says
that this is no oifense. Suppose, Senators,
that the Auditor of Public Accounts, in his
office on Cont street, should open a gamb-
ling shop, and should spend his time from
morning to night in gambling with his
and neglect his duties all
all the time, would THAT be any ofense,
speaking, under statute law?
But what is cur remedy According 10
the theory Of the defense there would be
none at all, and you are Obliged to con-
tir,ie that man in Office, although he failed
absolutely and entirely to perform the
duties of his Office. That, ] say, IS
wonderful proposition; that, l say, IS an
extraordinary and strange proposition.
That this MN can not be tried IN this
court, before this court of Impeachment,
for anything but an indictable offtnse, and
that he can not now be tried 1T all for
L III Lo ,aI ~,
the criminal courts OF the State. Thisls
an astonishing proposition to me. When
the honorable gentlemen representing the
accused come before this court, and
claim an acquittal because the party
has been once tried and acquitted
before criminal court; when
this very point was raised by the same
counsel before that court, that he must
first be impesched by your honorable
body, and upon that point he was
and the Attorney General Of
the State, I understand, for this very
reason, withdrew similar cases against
him before the First District Court. Now,
the same man and the same counsel come
before you and ask verdict of acquittsl,
because they have been discharged from
jewel, and at orneys at law work for their
clients because they are paid for it, but
this is an attempt to clear their client, in
tAat court and in this, by technical sub
terfuge.
Again, the Auditor of Public Accounts,
when called upon to settle with the State
tax assessors, who receive certain per-
centage on the assessment rolls, would not
nav those men in warrants in sufficiently
small amounts to be negotiable, unless
they paid him percentage, thus turning
his Office, gentlemen Senators, into a
Carondelet street broker shop. The
says to the creditors Of the
State. "You can net have your warrants
unless you pay me such brokerage as the
broker on Carondelet street would pay
for the difference between large
and small warrants. Perhaps
that's no offense. [ do not
to say that it is an ofense
against the statute law OF the Slate, but
do undertake 10 say that it is an offense
agains. the people of the State, who have
reposed such confidence in this man as to
place him in charge of the finances Of the
State. | undertake to say that in this be
has degraded the pOSltloH Dc uo.uS, auo
rendered himself unfit for it, and should
have the verdict of the people turning him
out of Office.
We 90 on in this catalogue of crime.
Gentlemen, say crime, for 1 believe this
man guilty OF crime; not only legal crime,
but moral crime; and that, to-day, he is
recorded as criminal upon the books of
Heaven. 1 say, let us see what are his
other crimes.
He violated the constitution when the
Governor asked him for report of the
condition of his Office. He made no ex-
cuse, but simply said, Governor War