New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-29
THE LEGISLATIVE INJUNCTION.
The Application Dismissed d-The Writ
Refused.


The Application Dismissed The Writ
Refused.
Yesterday morning the Circuit Court
room, Judges E. H. Durell and W. B.
Woods upon the bench, was filled with an
assemblage bent on hearing the trial OF the
bill which asked for an injunction to stop
the issue OF warrants under the apprOpria-
ton bills, on the ground that the Legisla-
ture was an illegally constituted body.
The counsel for James E. Richardson rose
and read the bill which, at first, alleging a
pecuniary interest in the enactment Of
just laws by the Legislature on the part Of
the petitioner, goes on to say that the Legis-
lature is passing laws to the detriment of
the petitioners interest and to the injury
of the taxpayers of the State; that the said
Legislature is not constitutional body,
principally for the reason which is described
at length in the following extract:
Now it is that your petitioner represents
that the said assemblages and proceedings
of the said pretended body, since the fourth
day OF January, 1872, have been unlawful,
unconstitutional and void, inasmuch as H.
C. Warmoth, the Governor of the State,
aided and abetted by his immediate parti
sans confederating and combining together,
and by the unlawful and unconstitutional
use of the Metropolitan police and the State
militia, torcibly took possession Of the
chamber Of the lower house Of the consti-
tutiOnal Legislature of the State of Louis
lana, and by virtue of force and the con-
tinued presence of the said police and mill
tary power, unlawfully and unconstitution-
ally drove, expelled, and by the means
aforesaid unlawtully and unconstitution-
house of the said constitutional body,
George w. Carter, the lawful and
constitutional Speaker thereof, and, as
your petitioner is informed and be-
lieves, and therefore charges, fifty of the
lawful and constitutional members there Of;
and that the said Governor and the re-
mainder Of the said House pretended to re-
organize themselves by electing Speaker
of their own, and proceeded to and pre-
tended to expel large number of the law
tul and constitutional members of the law
full and constitutional House; and that the
said Governor, by force of arms and by in
timidation of the members, has kept them
out of the said House, and prevented its
cOnveniDg as lawful body; that no vote Of
the said lawful Legislature, nor the lawful
vote of any pretended Legislature, have de-
or member of the said House, or declared
his seat to be vacant; and that all acts
passed, proceedings had, appropriations
made or proposed to be made, since the
fourth of January aforesaid, are unlawful,
unconstitutional and void.
The remainder of the petition simply dis
closed the cause of the application for in
junction.
The reading, to which reference has
already been made, having finished, was
followed by interesting inquiries from Judge
Durell, who grobed the matter to the bot
tom. He asked if the members could not 60
back to the House at any time; if nearly all
of those members who were following this
man Carter about the streets did not actu-
ally 90 back and subsequently, take their
seats: if the Wilderness Senators wto de-
MED the legality of Mr.. Pinchback's elec-
ton did not afterward go into the Senate,
take their seats, address the Lieutenant
Governor as Mr.. President, and transact
legislative business with him in the chair
The Judge asked if there was not a quorum
present when those appropriation laws
were passed To all these interrogatories
the bewildered counsel could but answer in
the affirmative. Judge Woods asked the
counsel, also, in reference to the subject
matter of their petition, somewhat to the
following effect:
Question-You allege that George W.
Carter is the lawful Speaker of the House!
Answer-Yes.
Question-That he and majority of the
members were prohibited from taking their
seats by the Metropolitan police!
Answer-Yes.
Question-Then this is revolutionary!
Answer-Yes, sir.
The Judge-I think in that case you
should 60 to Congress for redress.
Taking, the Judge proceeded to deter
mine, the averments of the petition as true,
there is, then, no Legislature in Louisiana.
In that case Congress, that has the power
to set up governments, has the only right
to interfere and establish government for
Louisiana. Courts of the United States can
but interpret the laws passed by Congress,
not pronounce upon the legality of Legis-
latures. As it had not been alleged there
was no quorum present when these appro-
priation laws were passed, it was a 1alse
defect; otherwise it might have been case
for the judiciary; but, under the circum-
stances, it was political question, and to
be settled by congressional action. Hence
the application was dismissed and the in
junction refused.