Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-01-21
ST. MARY'S BEACON
LEoyARDTowN,aD.
THURSDAY MORNING. January sls,, 1875.

THE LOUISIANA CoMNrrTEE.-The
most potential utterance which has yet
been made upon the subject of the LOU
isiana troubles was made to Congress on
Friday last. As is known to our read
ers, aCongressional Committee had been
selected to visit New Orleans, under in
struetions to investigate andreportupon
the troubles, recent and exigent, which
have made that city and the unhappy
State of which it is the commercial me-
tropolis the subject of discussion in all
forums of political expression in every
nookand corner Of the country. The re-
cent message of the President, the late
Senatorial debates, the deliyerances of
the press and the resolutions of the Differ
rent public meetings which lately assem-
bled in New York, Boston, Baltimore and
other places, are all more or less. partisan
and ez parte in tone and statenent and
lack the calmness and caution of judi
cial announcements. Nor was anything
better expected fromsthe Committee
whose report is under review. The ma
jority was not only republican, but re-
publican after the strictest fashion of
republicanism, personal admirers of
Grant and warm supporters Of his ad-
ninistration. Nobody expected any,
thing better or higher from such Com
mittee than a partisan report or rather
everybody expected two partisan re-
ports, n majority one eulogizing repub-
lican action in Louisiana and a minori-
ty one denouncing it. But, whatever
may have been expected, there is only
one report and this is approved and
signed both by the republican majority
and the democratic minority. Nor is it
partisan either. The members appear
to have abdicated all political feeling
before entering upon their work nor
does party preference of any kind out
crop in any part Of it. Neither in their
exhaustive Investigations at New Or
leans nor III their report of results is
there phrase or incident which be.
trays undue leaning towards any fac
tion in Louisiana or any political or
g'nization anywhere. An examination,
made under such auspices nd thus con-
Quoted and reported, is of plenary au-
thoritv and is entitled to bind both
democracy and rcpublicanism. and es-
pecially the latter, the latter having n
majority of two to one in the Commit
tee. What, then, are the revelations Of
the report? La tie first place, it is
shown that the Returning Board was
Illegally constituted. In the second
place, the report establishes that the
November election was a perfectly fair
one and that there was no intimidation
OF voters or none which did not apply
I
as strongly to one faction as the other
Ii shows that the Conservatives were
fairly entitled to Il majority Of twenty
nine Of the members elect to the Legis-
hture. To particularize. the report
proves that in the parish of Rapides,
the Conservatives elected all their lesis-
lative members and that the action of
the Returning Board in throwing these
members ont was arbitrary, un just and
Illegal and that this action "s.lone pre-
vented the return of a majority of Con-
servative members ofthe Lower House"
The report declares, that the Conserva-
tives fairly carried the State of Louisi-
ana at the election in 1872 and elected
McEnery beyond n doubt over Kellogg.
1t also explodes the stories which have
been circulated to the detrimcnt Of III.
White League Sheridan's "banditti'
but We have already given details
enough and must now hasten to our
conclusion. and that is, that the militia.
~ interference Of Grant with the Leg
isiature of Louisiana on the 4th of Jan.
uary, instant. was both without and
against law and that il was an interven-
ton to set up and stabilitate palpable
and proved usurpatior.