New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-01-27

Mr.. Blackman-Never mind-the Legis-
lature will doubtless provide some. There
has never been q session in which great
many have not been voted away. 1t is IN
behalf OF the people of the State and IN
the interest of our public credit that re-
spectfully ask you Senators not to pass any
resolution recognizing either house. Let
| us, as the friends of peace and Order,
recommend those two houses to come TO-
gether and settle their disputes and their
legal status, and then we can recognize
them and proceed to business in an orderly
and dignified manner am not even aware
| that the House over which Mr.. brewster
presides has vet been recognized by his
| excellency. as I have not been inside the
| lines of military occupation. know, how
| ever that he did recognize Mr.. Carter and
| his House as the legal House OF Repre-
sentatives, and they would be recognized
by him now if it had not been that his
| political interests led him to attempt the
| subversOn and overthrow Of the House OF
Representatives, as it was then organized.
ask what right have we to go back upon
what his excellency has done in recog-
nizing Mr.. Carter and his House as the
| legal House of Representatives.! Has any
| thing happened in the meantime to change
| its status!
Mr.. Harris-They change their Speaker
sometimes.
Mr.. Backmau-They can not do SO I'M
less by resolution. l say that Speaker
Carter and his House have been recog-
nized by the head of the executive depart
ment and they will be so recognized by
the courts of the State. l can not see for
my life how it becomes us to recognize any
other.
Mr.. McMillen-The Senate Chamber, Mr.
President, wears again to-day, for the sec
Ond time during this long and extraordinary
session, something of its natural aspect
Again we see around us the beaming faces
of Senators who have for long time been
absent from their seats, and again we hear
the eloquent voice of my distinguished
friend from Claiborne (Mr. Blackman).
may say that l am heartily glad to see him
in his seat, and to hear what he has had to
say this morning upon this question. He
seems to be troubled, Mr.. President, over
the fact that there exists at present more
than one House of Representatives.. 1t is
pleasant to hear him acknowledge that fact.
for but a few days since we were informed
that he, with other Senators now upon this
floor, united in declaration that there was
but one legal House of Representative
Mr. Blackman-We still say so.
Mr. McMillen-And presided over by the
Hon. George w. Carter, Speaker; and yet
we hear him acknowledging upon the floor of
the Senate to-day that there is a doubt in the
minds of Senators and in the minds of the
people as to which is the legal House of
Representatives, and asking us to take
such action as will stay the recognition of
either of these two Houses until that vexed
question shall have been finally settled.
In order to maintain the position he has
assumed in opposition to the adoption Of
the resolution now under consideration, he
has gone back to the early history of the
present session of the House of Representa-
tives, stating only such action of that body
as is calculated to support the view he takes
of the situation, leaving unstated other acts
which tend to disprOve the premises of his
argument. He asserts. if / understand his
proposition correctly, that the present
House of Representatives is the OutgrOwth
of usurpatiOn, military power and revolu-
ton. Let us inquire whether that be true.
On the first day of January the House of
REPRESENTATIVES assembled in its accus-
toned place of meeting. and there were
present nearly all of those who were emit
tied to seats as members of that body. On
that day this building was free from armed
interference, and the approaches to the
State House were as orderly and as peace
full as they have ever been in the history of
this city. But what was the spectacle pre-
sented in this chamber at that time Va
cant seats, which are now occupied, were
staring us in the face, and this body, as
branch of the legislative department, was
deprived Of its power to act. because of the
voluntary absence of the Senator from Clai
borne (Mr. B1ackman) and other Senators
in sufficient number to break quorum.
But this is merely incidental to the mat
ter under discussion-:he action of the
House of Representatives. On the first
day of the session they met. presided over
by the legal Speaker of the House of Rep
resentatives, a large majority of the legal
members of the House answering to their
Names transacted such business as came
before them, and adjourned. On the sec
ond day similar routine of business was
gone through with. On the third day a re-
organization of the House was prevented
by the arbitrary action of the Speaker in
refusing to entertain motion to declare
the chair vacant. No question was raised
up to that time as to who was the legal
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He was recognized by the chief executive
and would have been recognized br the
Senate had absent Senators been in their
seats. On the fourth day of the session of
the House of Representatives,, sixteen Sen
ators still being absent from their places in
the Senate. there was inaugurated what
deem to have been a revolution, having for
its object the overthrow of this State gov
eminent. The second act in this revolu-
tionarv programme was the arrest, upon
false and fraudulent charges, of the Gov
ernor of the State. the Lieutenant
Governor, four Senators who were
here in their seats ready to perform their
sworn duties under the constitution. and
nineteen Representatives. just at the hour
wien the House of Representatives was
converting. These gentlemen were dragged
by United States marshals through the
streets into the presence of a petty com
missioner of the United States government:
and while these representatives of the peO
pie were thus fOrcibly detained away from
their seats, George w. Carter and the re-
naming members of the House of Repre-
sentatives, by a vote then taken, elected
seven of the Representatives. thus detained
and seated in their stead six other men,
who. l am informed, had No claim whatever
to seats upon that floor. This is the revolu-
tionary action, Mr.. President, which, in my
opinion rendered it necessary that xtraor-
binary measures should be adupted to meet
the issue. Here were certain members of
the House of Representatives making
false and frivolous charges against
fellow members for the purpose of
changing the political complexion of the
House OF Representatives. 1t was to meet
this extraordinary state of affairs, to meet
this revolution in its incipency, that the
Governor of the State deemed it necessary
that the General Assembly should be con
vened in extraordinary session.
But. Mr.. President, the House of Repre-
sentatives presided over by Mr. Brewster,
is not dependent upon this extraordinary
session for its claims to recognition to-day.
The General Assembly convened in extra
session on the day when II met, in compli-
ance with the proclamation OF the Governor,
transacted such extraordinary business as
came before it. and on the following day
before the hour for the meeting of the regl-
lar session, adjourned sine die. At twelve
o'clock on the fifth day of January. the hour
To which the reulllar session Lad