The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1874-12-16
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

Grant has done us a small service
Internationally. The thing he ought
to have done is to confess his error
in recognizing the Kellogg govern
ment and announce to Congress that
he would recognize it no longer. He
has shewn himself incapable OF
this straightforward conduct, and
the next best thing was for him to
make fool of himself, and exhibit
what a middle he is in yet over the
Louisiana case, notwithstanding he
has had so much time to inform him
SELF
No one ever pretended that Kel.
logg was elected by majority of bal.
lots. Mr.. Morton admitted that a
majority of the votes actually cast
was against Kellogg, but he, and all
the adherents of the Usurper have
hitherto justified the Presidents re-
cognition of him on the assumption
that he would have received major
ity of ballots had every one voted for
him that wanted to. But Grant did
not use the same argument in his
own justification. He chose a differ
eut ground, selected by his legal adj
wiser, Landaulet Williams, which was
that in installing Kellogg, he was
merely enforcing the DEGREES of the
US. Court { Durell's midnight order
and in continuing to recognize him,
he was only following the recognition
by the highest State Court.
Both these props were knocked
from under him in the Senate dis
cussion last winter. Morton an
nounced Durells order as illegal, and
hence the Presidents enforcement OF
an illegal order was itself illegal and
wrong. Carpenter proved that the
Supreme Courts decision was of nc
validity so far as it affirmed the lie.
gitimacy of the Kellogg government
because that question was not before
the Court. Landaulet had to shift
his ground, and so in his subsequent
conversations with Grant, he has ia.
ken new departure and instilled in
his mind the idea that Kellogg re.
ceived a majority of legal votes &C.
tually cast, and Grant, who does not
think of public business longer than
be is talked to about it, imagines
that is the reason he always gave fol
his official action and thus repeats ii
i'll his message:
Con account of the frauds and forgeries
committed at that election, and because il
appears that the returns thereof were new
er legally canvassed, it was impossible tt
tell thereby who were chosen, but from
the best sources of information at my com
n,onl horo al,
State officers received a majority of thu
legal votes actually cast at that election
The frauds and forgeries so mixed
and confused the matter that there
could be no certainty-the returns
such as they were, were never legally
canvassed-and these two things
make it impossible to tell who was
chosen, but nevertheless he believes
Kellogg was chosen. Even tn G
Lynch Board never pretended that
they had the ballots, legal or illegal
to count. With all this lying eff.
frontery they could only venture to
count kellogg in by substituting at.
fidavits for ballots, but the President
is so unconscious of the exalted place
he fills that he conceives such SEN
tence as the above fit to be inserted
in a State paper. To- ~ .a
m Ifanything more were needed to
make the Presidents message ridic-
ulous, he has taken care to furnish it
in the crude observations on finance
with which. he opens it, but what ar.
tistic polish there is in such scnten-
ces as these, Evidence has been RAM
pant in some localities" "While /
remain executive all the laws of Con-
gress will be enforced. ,. a.ar
{ Lastly what do our gentlemen of
color, who are shocked at our using
the general term negro, say to Massa
Grant who thus mentions them,
''Under existing circumstances the
negro votes the Republican ticket,
because he knows his friends are of
that party" and much more of the
same sort that will distinguish this
Message from all others that have
preceded it by it's. coarseness of die
aonfand absence of a single states
thought, or even sound
political suggestion.
ih}iB ~ ---~~->>~~>~ s->~
ul ANOTHER Boat SUNK-The Bos-
sier, Captain Boardman, while de-