New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-03-17
BY TELEGR APH
THE SENATE.

l u
WASHINGTON, March l6.-In the Senat,
the consideration of the resolution for tn,
admission of Pinchback was resumed.
Mr.. AlcOrn, of Mississippi, spoke in favo
OF seating Pinchback. He said he was on,
| OF the Committee on Privileges and Elec
tions who signed the report In favor of {
new election in Louisiana, but now he re
garded the question OF q new election il
that State postponed indefinitely. Tht
House OF Representatives, the popular
branch Of Congress, had recognized the
hellOgg government as the legal govern
ment OF the State, and the arbitration nov
in progress bids fair to adjust all the diff
| cultles, as it was organized by the consent
OF the Kellogg party a. well as by the ag
grieved party.
Mr.. Dawes. Of Massachusetts, said he
thought tho Senator from Mississippi was
mistaken in his construction of the resolu
ton passed by the House of Represents.
tives. He lDawes) did not understand the
resolution when be gave it his vote as
recognizing the Kellogg government as the
legal government of Louisiana. The House
voted that it would recognize William P.
Kellogg as Governor Of Louisiana, that was
all; but he had no idea of voting upon the
legality of either the McEnery or Kellogg
government. The House had purposely
avoided passing upon the legality Of the
government of that State upon the ques-
tion. BY what right or by what authority
Kellogg was installed in the office of Cover
nor, the House of Representatives took
care not to express itself.
Mr.. Alcorn, resuming his argument, said
he still adhered to the views expressed by
him in the report of the Committee on
Privileges and Elections in 1873, in regard
fn "a N fh1. &,,
preme Court of that State he had no re-
spect, but, in the interest Of peace,
and with the hope of settling this
Louisiana question, he would vote
to seat Mr.. Pinchback. He (Pinchback)
represented the colored race. He was rep
resentative cOlOred man. He did not come
clothed with all the forms and observsnces
Of law, but he did come with the creden-
tials signed by Governor who had been
recognized by the House OF Representatives
as Governor. If the Republican party was
in the majority in Louisiana, and he be-
lieved it was, the negroes that placed it in
the majority, and Mr.. Pinchback, as their
representative, should be admitted.
Mr.. Edmunds. of Vermont, said the best
reason for excluding this applicant had
been stated by the Senator from Mississippi
when he said he (Pinchback, did mot come
clothed with all the forms and observances
States had given the Senate power to elect
a Senator, the the proposition Of the SEN
tor from Mississippi to admit Pinchbaek
because he was a representative cOlOred
man might be considered, but as he iEd-
munds) read the constitution, the Senate
had no such power The power of the Sen
ate was to decide if the applicant had been
legally elected. The mission Of the Senate
was one simply to declared and one whose
%h,,1 81 r~..A A.,A
and for law, which was the only security for
liberty in this or any other free government.
Mr.. Edmunds then read from the constitu
tisn of Louisiana the clause prescribing
that the returns of elections shall be sent
to the Secretary of State, and by him to the
Legislature to be canvasse1, and argued
that it was the Oli ginal returns which the
Legislature must canvass, and not the re-
turns made mp by any board. The Language
of the constitution Of Louisiana upon this
subject was almost the same as that in
the constitution of the United States
touching the count of the vote for
President and Vice President. What would
be thought of that statement 2 Who, by
law, would attempt to declare that the vote
of the electoral college, instead Of being
sent to the Vice President or President OF
the Senate, should be sent to returning
board to be appointed by the President Of
the United States, and after the returning
board should find result which they be-
lieved to be correct, they should turn it 4
over to the President for the action
of the Senate and House to find oft,
to that return, who was
President and Vice President of the
United States! He (Edmunds) would
have no difficulty in saying that no
matter what Returning Board had declared
the Legislature which elected Pinchback
was the legal Legislature of the State, it
was the duty of the Senate to know whether
that Legislature was composed of persons
elected according to the c0nstitu-
lion of Louisiana, or by some intermediate
body. He then read from the law of Louis
ANA organizing the Returning Board, and
'aid that the duty of such board was to
honestly make Q result of what the |
original returns from the polls showed.
Under the twenty ninth section of the |
aw organizing the Returning Board, they |
lad the power to set aside all returns from |
my particular parish or precinct where it |
vas proved that violence existed, but the |
uch parish or precinct. The law itself |
ave the board no power to tamper with |
be returns upon it's own Judgment The |
ibertes of the State would be in a rather |
hopeless condition if the determination of |
he people as to who should be their rulers |
vas to be c0ntided to any body Of men |
whatever.
The law recognizing the Returning Board |
declares that the board should certify to !
he Secretary of State the names of those
PERSONS which the returns from the polls |
how to be elected. When an examination
vas made in this case it would be seen that
he board which returned the men as mem
'ers of the Legislature which elected Pinch
'ack never had any returns from the polls
'efore them. 1t returned these men as
lected solely upon information which they
eceived from great variety of sources.
fr. Edmunds then read from the testimony
efore the committee as to the action Of the
lynch board, and said he we'll understood
ow men, thinking that they were uphold
1g the Republican party, the party Of law
nd order, would wink at things which
hey would severely condemn if COM
,itted by their opponents. If such de-
arturo from law we're to he condoned
here were no security for liberty or right
any kind. He could not palliate such
awless proceedings, even such as the Sen
tor from Mississippi (Alcorn) claimed. The
rGduct Of it all was a gentleman belong
,g to a race which at this time was our
olicy to cOnciliate. The xction of the
ynch board could find no warrant in the
Nv or constitution of Louisiana. He then
eferred to the action OF Judge Durell, and
lid there was no getting away from the
npleasant fact that the body Of men which
ected Pinchback we're gotten together
Y a system of contrivances which he
thought it eafe to say were
ithout parallel in the history OF this or
ny other free country. The Senate was
OF trying whether the credentials of
cMillen were good or whether McEnery
as the legal Governor. 1t did not follow
lat because some other body of men acted
J badly as the Lynch board that the claim
1t now before the Senate had any rights.
he question was whether Pinckback was |
ected by the real and constitutional Leg
Iature. It did not help the Senate 10 -