New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-10


STATE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS UNDER WAR
MOTH.
United States OF America, district of
Louisiana, State of Louisiana, city of New
Orleans-Be it know that Oh this second
day of September, A. ID. 1879, personally
appeared before the undersigned, United
States commissioner in and for the district
of Louisiana, duly UNASSIGNED and sworn,
Brainard +. Blanchard, who being duly
sworn, deposes and says: That he was ap-
pointed by Henry G. Warmoth, Governor
of the State of Louisiana, to the office OF
State registrar of voters, being also, by
virtue OF said office, ex-OtficiO supervisor
of registration in and for the parish OF
Orleans; that he filed the said office during
the years 1870, 1871 and 1872; that in the last
named year he was in full political sympa-
thy with the Liberal movement, and subse-
Uuentlv upon the fusion OF the Liberal and
Democratic parties, With what was known
as and styled the Fusion party, and in CON
junction with others of the same political
party he devised plans for CARRYING the gen
eral election in the State of Louisiana on
November 4, 1872, in favor of the said Fusion
party and their candidates for presidential
electors, Congress and State and municipal
officers: that, with this object in view, he
proposed to take advantage of all the pow
-rs conferred upon him by the acts of the
General Assembly of the State of Louisiana,
numbered, respectively, acts Nos 80 and
100, approved March IL, 1870, and known
as the registration and election laws OF 1870.
That in furtherance of this scheme he
caused a careful compilation to be made of
the list of deceased male persons over
twenty one years of age who had died since
the close of the registration in 1870, which
lists were required by law to be furnished
to him by the sections of the various ceme
teries in the parish of Orleans, and that
said lists 80 compiled, were carefully col
lated with the egistratiOn books and the
registry number and the election precinct
liz which the deceased was registered were
noted. That instead of carrying out to the
full letter the provisions CT section seven
of the registration law above referred to
he caused to be erased from the lists of
registered voters only the names of such
deceased electors as were well known in
the community, and in cases where the de-
ceased was an obscure parsonage Ia large
majority of the whole number being com
posed of SUCH he caused to be made ont {.
duplicate re gistration certificate in his name,
the same to be retained and used at the
general election as hereinafter set forth.
That for this purpose he caused to be
printed fac SMILES OF the blank forms of
duplicate registration certificates used in
1870, which were in different sly lie of type
from those intended to be used in 1872, in
order to have them filled up with the names
OF deceased electors, as above stated. That
that the number of duplicate certificates, go
filled up for the purpose aforesaid, was as
follows, more or less: For the first ward,
&c; second ward, 50; third ward, 2I3-
making 40f fraudulent votes.
BP. Blanchard testifies that he instructed
the assistant supervisors of registration for
the parish of Orleans that IL all cases where
persons who had been registered in 1870 in
other wards than those i'll which they re-
sided in 1872, and who should apply for
registration on account Of change OF res
idence, to require such persons - surrender
the certificates of registration OF 1870 to
them tthe assistant supervisory, to be by
them returned to The office OF Geponent,
State registrar of voters, ostensibly tor the
purpose OF cancellation and erasure on the
books, but in reality to be preserved and
voted on at the ensuing general election, IN
the manner hereinafter set forth, and that
this course was pursued and persisted in
notwithstanding the formal protest CT the
United States supervisors OF election.
The certificates ofregstration so returned
deponent caused to be examined and sorted
out in his Office and such as were not
marked or checked in any way by the
United States supervisors Of elections were
preserved to be voted upon in the wards
from which they were originally issued,
and only such were returned to the ward
officers for cancellation and erasure as were
deemed unit or unsafe for Use by repeating
voters. The number so Cancelled was to
the following extent only: First pre- cinct
80, second precinct 43. third precinct I0l,
making 22i fraudulent vote. used by the
reissue to the Fusionists o. registration
papers of 1870 and voted by them for the
Fusion party.
Depcnent further says that ne also in.
structed assistant supervisors OF reglstra-
ton in the parish of Orleans, that when
ever they fond upon the registry of 1870
names of persons making their marks
tN) and supposed to be negroes, and not
known personally to them, to procure two
persons, registered voters in their respec
tive wards, to prepare list of such
names. and to make an affidavit that they
had reason to believe and did believe"
that the persons named therein were not
residing in the ward on the tenth day pre-
ccding the election, and the assistant
supervisors were directed to erase from
the lists of voters all names put down in
such atfidavts, aud this was done, although
the law made it the duty of the Board
of Metropolitan Police Commissioners to
cause canvass of the city of New Orleans,
and prescribed that the names of such per-
sons as should be reported by them as mot
found only should be stricken from the
registry list, and resulted in the erasure
from the books OF the following number of
names, supposed to be all colOred men,
namely: First ward 49, second ward 80,
third ward $50; making 1913 votes of col
ored men and Republicans fraudulentiy
erased from the reg istration.
SWORN STATEMENT OF WALTER sULLY LONG,
CHIEF CLERK OF THE STATE REGISTRAR
OF VOTERS.
United States of America, district of
Louisiana -Personaliy appeared before me
Walter Sully Long, who being duly sworn
upon his oath. states as follows:
From March. 1872. to January, 1873, /
WAS chief clerk to Il. =. Blanchard, then
holding the office of State registrar of
voters for the State of Louisiana. In that
capacity / was in the fullest confidence of
my chief. and was aware of all and every
transaction of a political nature IN the office
during the campaign OF 49,
The necessity of carrying the election tor
the Fusion party was frequently matter
OF discussion between Blanchard, myself
and others, and a plan OF operations was
finally adopted at my suggestion and ear
ried out as follows:
/. The sections monthly returns of burials
OF persons over the age Of twenty-one years
were carefully compiled by wards. the regis
tration number ascertained and noted, ana
a list made of them.
III. 4 thorough examination was made OF
the registry books of 1879, in order TO
ascertain he number OF names OF fictitious
persons registered in that year. In every
ward where the persons having control OF
these false registry papers were acting with
the Fusion party these names were used,
but in wards where the supervisors of 1917
how y.-f-t f.a so