New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-12-24
THAT COMMITTEE.
Their Address to the People of the United
States-LOuisiana Politics Discussed.

Their Address 10 the People of the United
States-LOuisiana Politics Discussed.
! Address to tie People of the United States:
The citizens OF Louisiana have perceved
| with satisfaction that the people of her sis
| ter States are not uncOncerned spectators
OF the events transpiring within her limits.
| and Of which it is probable noparalleI can
| be found in the history of this or any other
| country, as the events we're entirely brought
| about by the agency of officers, civil and
military, of the general government. The
| citizens of Louisiana, not doubling that the
| action OF the executive, at least in reference
| TO them, was the result of a misappIehen-
sion of the facts, determined to adopt
| prompt measures foT the correction of the
error
At meeting held for that purpose, rep
| resenting, we may safely say, large pre-
pOnderance OF the moral worth, intelligence
and wealth OF the city, committee of a
hundred gentlemen was appointed, with
instructions to proceed Immediately to
Washington, to lay the facts before the
severa! departments of the government
and to solicit their aid in repairing the gross
wrongs which had been done, and in restor-
ing to the people the right OF self govern
ment. which had been Wrestled from them
by the most patent usurpation.
The undersigned form d part of the com
mittee
On our arrival here we found az
! Ia oh misrepresentation existing even
"HlChS s%'se who are usually well in
torned . IN Ies'rd to the origin and his
determined to pu5lisl. brief naTrat1 We We
| Of the facts W
The parties engaged in these ,,socaadiras
aware that if the facts were propellw IN,
derstood, they would admit of no deftnsa
now seek to belittle and conceal the qaes-
ton at issue and the trial of a conspiracy
to overthrow the government of the State
as mere struggle for political ascendency
between Governor Warnloth and Mr. Ref-
l0gg. They allege that the former was
eudeayOflng by some triGkery or legerde-
main to cheat the latter out Of his e,e2tion,
and that the object of their proceedings
was simply TO Illustrate his attempt. They
bav, sedluouBly sought to produce the i'm
preston tlpon the public mind that thi,
committee was composed of mere allies and
agents Of Governor Warm0th.
We reply that bis insinuation Is utterly
false and unWarranted. We are not reDrS.
sentatives OF any personal or party interest
whatever. Governor Warm0th was NOT \
candidate for any Office whatever at the re-
cent election, Dog have we directly or indi-
rectiy any connection or atfiliation with
him. So far as his past career is concerned.
there are few if any members of this com
pronounced opponents, while in those meas
uTes OF his administration for which he has
been moss loudly denounced he
had for his advisers associates and
0aiiHto the very men who now assaiI
item, including especially Pinchback. An
tome and numerous others, whose names
figure most cOnspcuously IL these proceed |
ings, In reply to the other situations indi- |
Gated above. we declare that we are nOpar- |
ties to and have no knowledge of any p0lit- |
ical triCkery intended to defeat the trHe |
voice Of the people; that we do not believe |
ary such existed, and that we would not be I
here unless we could proclaim conseiep. |
tiously the conviction that the mon who |
have been f0i5ted into the Offices OF the I
State have not been merely irregularly and !
uulawfuliY installed, but we're not elected |
by the people, and were not and are not the .
choice of d majority of the yoCing population |
of Louisiana.
We have not asked the government 70 !
admit this on our own simple assertion. AL!
that we have asked is that it should make
a candid and impartial investigation Of the
facts With this preface, we now submit
the following statement;
First. There was a general election heldin
Louisiana on the fourth day Of November
last for the election of a Governor Lieu
tenent Governor, members of the General
Assembly, and other State and federal Off
GERS. At this election William Pitt kellogg
q member Of the Senate of the United
States, aud G. G. Antoine a collector of the
port OF Shreveport, were candidates for the
offices of Governor and Lieutenant Cover
nor. and were opposed by John McEnery
and Davidson B. Penn. The present.. Gov
ernor. Warmotn, was not candidate for
reelection.
Seeond-This election was conducted
without riot, disturbance or violence, and
the number OF votes cast was unusually
large. The returns of the election were |
made 80 the board appointed for the pur-
poseo This body was composed under the
law Of the Governor WaFmoth, the Lieu
tenant Governor, the Secretary of State
and two other persons named in the law,
John Lynch and Thomas G. Anderson. The
office of Secretary Of State was filled at the
time by f. j. Heron, who had been ap-
pointed by Governor WarmOth to fill the
caused by the removal, several
months before, Of George E. Bovee. the
egality of which removal and appointment
VAS then in contest before the State courts
The board met, and it was resolved that
Anderson and Pinchback were disqualified
)y reason OF their being candidates for
,fice. WarnOth then removed Heron,
whom he had appointed, from the office
# Secretary of State as defaulter,
Ind appointed and commissioned Whar
on in his stead We have no reason
@ Believe that the action of Gov.
rnor Warmoth in the removal Of Her
Oh was based upon desire to commit
rauds, fog under the returns there was no
for frauds. 1t was prompted
" his discovery Of a plot between
Ierron aud Lynch to falBifY the returns
nd defeat the will of the people This is
manifest from facts developed in the evi-
lenoe before the court that Heron, antioj- {
,ating the thwarting of his scheme, had, {
everal days before, ordered duplicate Of
he seal of the Stat8 TO be engraved, by
which means he hoped TO preserve the in
ignia of the Office in the event of his re-
oJvaI by the Governor. Omltting further
etal.s, WacmOth and Wharton, assuming
0 d. u majority Of the board, and in the
.gascnce Of Lynch, proceeded to elect /
latch and Da2onte to fill the vacan-
ies caused by the withdrawal of
fnch5ack and Anderson, while Lynch ard
feTron afterwards assembled, and
uder the same assumption elected Long
treet and Hawkins. Thus there came to !
.e two boards, each claiming to be the
eturniDg board, one presided over by Gov
rnor Warmoth, the highest executive off
er of the State; and under the law the
residing officer of the board which had
Of the election returns and every