The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1872-08-31
Judge Ahell Denounces Fraud in the Reg
s-sz Il q istrati0R of Voters.

a.zr i q istration of Voters.
On Wednesday subpoena was issued
for b. p. Blanchard, late Supervisor of
Registration, and on the opening of the
criminal court yesterday, Mr.. Blan-
chard appeared, and through his coun-
sci, Mr.. Whitaker, stated that it would
be an impossibility for the books to be
turned over to the Sheriff, for the rea-
son that some were in the hands of the
book-binders and he (BIanchard) was
compelled by law to make such changes
and ensures as had occurred since the
last registration. He said that had the
Sheriff, applied to him ten days since
he would have complied with the re-
quest.
Judge Abel said that the public in
terest required that every name should
be made public; that more than one
half, as seen by the books in the hands
of the Sheriff, taken from the book of
registry, showed that less than half
could be found that it presented sad
state of affairs, that a great city like
New Orleans was governed by voters
who could not be found by sworn Off
GERS of the court; that it was manifest
from this book that the registry could
that every false registry involved two
crimes, that of perjury and forgery,
both punishable at hard labor in the
State Penitentiary thot O. large number
Of the pretended registered vote1's acre
mere myths consisting IN fuise 2eyist,'ies
in the pockets Of scoatntzrels, to be v0tetI
By obscat'e persons at the different polls
IN the city; that the people of New Or
leans and the State had been literally
plundered of their money, and it was
to he seen whether they would hence
forth be governed by fraud.
From the outlook, said Judge Abel,
it seems to me there is determination
to sink the glorious old State, and it
becomes every honest man, white and
colored, to stand firmly by her. l, for
one, intend to stand firmly upon the
deck until washed over by the waves,
or go down with her.
He ordered the matter to remain in
statu quo until this morning.
Col. A. p. Field then requested Judge
Abel to allow him to read an article
under the heading of t'Jury LISTS"
which appears in to-day's National
Republican.
After reading the article he stated to
the court that it reelected severely on
Sheriff Massicot, and ii it went uncon-
tradicted by the Judge of the court, the
public would have right to believe~it.
Judge Abel replied that he did not
intend any reflection on Mr.. Massicot !;
that he had always assisted him in
carrying out his duties as Sheriff of the
court, and would continue to do so to
the last hour of his term of office but
1t was mysterious how it is that out of
two hundred and fifty jurors he could
only get from fifty to seventy-fve., He
added that this mystery was only ac-
counted for by the absence of a number
of jurors not to be found, and that the
Sheriff had often received a subpoena
for a juror and returned the same in
dorsed "not found"-oae empty lot being
the place designated os tie residc71cc of
the juror.
Judge Abel also stated that he had
never received a certified jury list.
Col. Field replied that the RESPONSE
bility was shifted from the Sheriff.
shoulder to that of the Registrar of
Votes, Mr.. Blanchard. ~. O. Pie
uy,oae. q .. '-,.