New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-11-25
that the,:colored folks might take the Oppor-
tunity afforded them to rise upon the citi-
zens, Captain Meyers replied not unless they

Zens, Captain Meyers replied not unlesS thcy
wanted to taste his grape.
And this but confirms the reasonable idea
that Captain Meyers was not taking the
part of colored men against his own race,
but merely doing his duty in keeping the
peace. And if in doing this he used his own
judgment, he might well be justified IN not
deferring to the Judgment Of the authorities.
who confessedly expected trouble for days
beforehand; who had all those days to pre-
pare, but whose preparations, when the ca
tastrOphe came, were found to be equally
futile and fatal.
For want of space we do not attempt to
give the crosse Examination by Mr.. Beck
with in full The witness said the principal
calse for apprehension was the forcing so
many people into the town to vote. He
further stated that there must have been
two thousand people in the town the day OF
the election, that they had come pouring
into town before daylight on Monday morn
ing. That the greatest influx was about noon;
that they gradually thinned out, until be-
tween the hours Of five and six the town
contained little if any more than the usual
number Of inhabitants.
When asked from what source and Of
what CHARACTER was the trouble anticipated.
the witness replied that in consequence OF
the great numbers forced into the town, 1t
was expected that there would be struggle
witness said, in relation to the firemen
whom he had directed to hold themselves
in armed readiness. that they were not to
be armed unless and until the emergency
arrived The witness said that he had also
spoken to many men in business to hold
themselves in readiness: that the number OF
these might be fifty; that neither these hfty
nor the tiremen who were invoked to hold
themselves in readiness to sally out armed,
o1 nf4i hIyf
that only the seventv-tive men commits
stoned according to the arrangement with
the chief Constable were sworn
Knows Of law forbidding any but sworn
officers to carry arms on election occasions,
but supposed that the law was held in abey-
ance BY the Convention" with the Governor.
The witness said that whateverrhe did III
relation to the increase of peace conserva-
tors, beyond what wasagreed upon, OF in any
other way, was in the interest Of peace and
order.
1t was reported that the cOlOred men had
arms, hence he sent the posse of men who
brought eight double-barreled shOt-guns
The witness put these guns in his office, not
in the City Hall, but in his private office in
another building. That night the office was
broken open and the guns taken; nothing
else was taken. They probably were taken
to use in the difficulty.
specials were stationed to keep the peace.
Don't know whether the shooting was done
by his constabulary The men must have
been killed. because the guns had balls III
them.
Witness admitted that many of the men
ne had expected 1--WE are not sure he did
not say commissioner were among those
arrested. Tho witness said more than once
that he looked upon the killing as an acci-
10 fafa hat ha a
number of colOred men among those
arrested, but they gradually melted out.
Witness had not with him a list OF those
appointed as special peace officers, but 1t
could be procured from his office. The
witness saw but one man drunk during the
day and evening; does not know the persons
who committed the outrages, or their
motives.
The parish polled four thousand votes at
least, and the registry is more than that.
There were six voting places; some Of the
| people had to travel thirty miles to vote;
the disturbance lasted about fifteen min
utes: witness had gone home, being unwcll,
and had relied on his deputies to carry out
his orders. The witness also stated that he
had issued a peace proclamation. which had
been published in the public journals Of
Baton Rouge.
At the close of Mr. Elam's testimony, the
| prisoners whose names appeared in yester-
days REPUBLIC AN were released.
Yesterday at noon the counsel for the
prosecution and for the defense met, Com
missioner Grant in chambers, and after con-
sideration of the evidence the following ad-
ditional prisoners were discharged finally:
James Cooper, E. J. Bellows, e. Cousinard,
II. Dalsheimer, Oscar Arbour, John Gass.
w. C. McGuimpsey, James Wilson, Charles
Jones, j. F. Lobdell, Theodore Williams,
Henry Chesnee, Tony Haag, Harvey Skol-
field, William S. Booth, Samuel SkOlfield.
There are yet eleven Of tho accused held
to bail and six in prison not admitted to
bail The examination will be resumed by
Commissioner Grant at one o'clock to-day,
when the testimony for the defense will be
continued.