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

| tHe coHNeHtiOH IL lHey uIu UOU receive
them it was not his fault. The delegates
who came in with the Governor, united with
the contestants to seats, would together
make over half the convention number.
He had been busy in his Office ''issung
tickets before the hour Of assembly, at
twelve O'Clock, and knew nothing Of the
caucus held in the little courtroom, pre-
| vious to that hour made up of his friends.
From this little court room doors might
have opened into the district court room
where the convention assembled, and when
Governor Warmoth arrived it was ''befOre
the time fixed for the convention to assem-
BILE. The outer door of the little room was
locked; the inner doors may not have been
he did not know. There were about four
hundred men employed with the deputies
about the building that day.
Hor. Mr.. Speer-And you required four
hundred men to protect you against a Grip
pied Governor,
Mr.. Packard considered they were pro-
tecting citizens in the exercise of their
rights as against the police. He had re-
ceived no pay for this use of the rooms
of which he by law was the custodian; nor
had the government received any compen-
sation. He would have protected Demo
Grade convention just the same and under
like circumstances. The courts were in va
cation. Citizens were not mOlested in their
daily avocations. The importers had signed
a statement to the effect that there had
been no interruption to the CustomhOuse
business, which they daily transacted but
this statement was not sought by himself
though it may have been suggested. Mr..
Packard did not recollect whether he was
armed that day or not; he may have had
pistol in in his pocket-he usually had one
in the drawer of his desk; nor did he know
whether the deputies he had appointed
were armed or not-he thought it likely.
The object of using tickets was to prevent
"a mob" from gaining access to the rooms
of the convention. As regards threats
made against his own life, he had no reason
to be alarmed. He had heard of com
bination of city employees to drop him over
board from the ferry boat by going for man
entertained belief in the truth of this.
The object of holding the convention and
of running opposition to the State was
again defined as the perpetuity of the Re-
publican party. On the request of the COM
mittee, Mr.. Packard named the members
who were in federal employment. mentioning
Mr.. Lowell Postmaster, Mr.. Casey, Collector,
and others. Mr.. Packard proceeded, in his
testimony, to read several political charges
against Governor WarmOth, as constituting
the specific differences between the party
controlled by himself and the administra-
ton. These charges were supported by the
names of witnesses, which he, in some in
stances, read out. The charge was made
that Governor Warmoth had designated
registrars for the country parishes who
were unknown to those places previous to
the time when they set foot in them, many
of them being ''persons of bad character"
and that their election had been secured to
the Legislature by the agency of the Gov
ernor, by which he was enabled to control
that body, in this manner defeating the ex-
pressed VIII Of the people.
Mr.. Packard also made the charge that
the Governor required an undated resigna
ton to be deposited in his hands on the part
of his appointees. This was vouched for by
the names of the witnesses, who were read
out, among whom were Alfred Shaw, of the
city government. The specification that
the Governor had used the funding bill so
as to give a preference to other creditors
and the remaining charges were brought up
merely as the reasons for the antagOnism
between the parties. All of these charges
Mr.. Packard believed. He would not i'm
peach the Governor unless in due course of
law-to be impeached in the House
and convicted in the Senate. There
was nothing personal in his opposi-
tion-it was all political, and consisted
merely in the reasons which he had
already named. As many of the witnesses
named to prove ''the election frauds" were
participants in the alleged frauds them
selves, it was suggested by member Of
the committee to be improper to summon
them, as of course they would not criminate
they would have opportunity to show them
selves blameless in the matter. He urged
that all these witnesses be summoned and
examined. 1t was due to the federal ap-
pOintees and the committee themselves they
should be examined. In this way. and in
no other, the committee could get at the
whole truth, and justice would be satisfied
NEARLY all the witnesses named were
identified with the opposition.
Approaching in the examination the
events Of the past few days. Marshal Pack
ard was questioned as to the affidavit busi-
ness made against the Legislature. The
day before the service of the warrants a
party of gentlemen, among whom were
some of the ablest lawyers in the city, met
in his private Office to consult "if there was
any protection left to the citizen,' in view
of the demonstration made by Mr.. Carr in
the House on this day. He did
not recollect the names of the gen
tlemen who were there. Possibly Colo
mel Carter; perhaps Mr.. Albert Voor
HES and members of the Legislature may
have been; he was not positive. The reason
the ablest lawyers came with members of
the Legislature to his private Office
was because they could find there
books in which the most recent acts
of Congress bearing upon the case could be
found. These acts were scarce and not in
possession of "the ablest lawyers" Hear
ing the conclusion of this meeting that it