New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-06
THE CONGRESSIONAL CoMMITrEE

The congressional committee met yester
day, Hon. Mr.. Scofield in the chair and all
the members present.
The communication of Judge Henry C.
Dibble, bearing upon his testimony deliv
cred on Saturday and correcting his state
ment, was read and received. The follow
ing is the concluding paragraph of the let
ter. reporting what the Governor said:
That if rumors and street talk were to be
taken as evidence, that all except Mr..
Moncure were interested, etc. AS l know
nothing of the sort myself, and as do not
desire to do injustice to any one, make
this correction, and request you to enter
my statement in your proceedings
The arrival of his Excellency H. C. War
moth was attended by the unmistakable
signs which in throng of the kind invari-
ably pronounce something of deep interest.
AS the Governor rose to be sworn. and
every eye was riveted on his tace, no one
found time to talk, such was the abiding
intensity of the situation. The Governor.
taking his seat announced that he would first
read statement which covered the whole
| field, and at the conclusion would answer
such lnterrogatories, no matter how per.
sonal or searching, that the committee
chose to PROFOUND. The Governor first en-
tered protest against the late action of the
committee in entering into and investigat-
ing all the reports and rumors concerning
the administration of State affairs and the
conduct of the Legislature.
| A parallel was drawn between the late
| general elections and those which took
place when President Grant was elected.
The names Of the parishes in the State
where meagre vote for General Grant or
a tremendous vote for Seymour and Blair
was polled, were all given, among them the
parish Of Orleans, which polleG vote of
but 276 for Grant. Compared with the
late elections, the result showed that par
ishes largely Democratic had gone Repub
lican, and in the city of New Orleans and
the whole State an overwhelming triumph.
The last had been accomplished under his
administration. Besides this political re-
view, the Governor went on to say that, in his
appointment Of the judges of the Supreme
Court, three Of the judges had been opposed
to himself in politics, one Of whom was his
own opposing candidate for Governor, and
that the decisions of this court had won the
respect and confidence of the people. Nor
had he IN other appointments been guided
solely by political or partisan considerations.
In his approach to the organization of the
Legislature, the first elected under the con-
stitution, he reviewed at first those bills
which tended to increase largely the
State debt, and showing that these meas
ures had been favored as well by Demo
Gratis as Republicans, and this was sup
ported by statistical information culled
from the journals of the General Assembly.
All of these plans that aggregated the
State debt had been carried out by the CO.
operation of both parties.
The Governor had organized the militia
of the State and had armed them, notwith-
standing the objections of his opponents:
and in this body were $500 ex-confederate
young men and the same number of colored
men. From statements here made it was
seen that the statements Of the opposition
that the Republicans alone were response
| BILE for the increase Of the State debt was
| not true. Nor was it true that S8,0OO,0OO
had been expended under his administra
ton for the levees; only 50 ,0OO, 600 had been
| disbursed. and in return the State had over
sixty miles of completed levees. The Gov
ernor submitted an exhibit of forty bills
that passed over his veto and seventy that
were destroyed by his veto. The Governor
planted himself firm upon the position that
! in all of his official acts he had acted for the
welfare and security of the whole people of
| the State.
| The whole debt of the State was but
| sl9,OCO,OOO of which the State owns
| 81. 500. 900 interest-bearing bonds, leaving
the entire debt proper 100000, which
was less than the bonded debt of lS40.
In answer to questions subsequent to read
| ing the statement, the Governor said he
had vetoed a bill on the ground that the
debt had reached its limit of S25 10000,
but that he was of this opinion at the time,
as it was based on decision OF the Su-
preme Court affirming this to be the fact.
| The difference was because the contingent
debit bonds vet to be indorsed, and becon-
ing due, was embraced in this liability.
| In his reference to the enactments gener-
| ally known under the name OF "obnoxlous
laws" the Governor showed that the very
men loudest in their complaints had drafted
! or strongly advocated those measures, aided
and supported by the Republican State
| Central Committee, whereof the Custom
bouse-revenue-cutter-C er-Carter-Democratic CO.
altionists are the leading lights. These
laws had been considered proper when they
were administered solely for partisan pur-
noses, As the election and registration
laws were drawn mp by Messrs. Lowell,
Raw. Packard. Joubert and other members
of the coalition in the Legislature, it
| is very strange that at this late day
| so much objection is found IN these
enactments For the strength OF the
| powers and their extraordinary character.
the precedent was found in the election laws
| passed by the Democratic Legislature
| during the Know Nothing riots) in 1857, :,
| which centered all power in the Governor
| in the appointment of supernumeraries, su-
pernumer4ry extraordinaries, and the selec-
ton of men to guard the approaches to the
! nolls. and such distribution of election
| privileges. Judge j. 3. Cotton was the
| leading officer of those appointed in the old
law. Extracts were read showing that IN
many instances the laws were precisely the
same both as appertaining to the police OF