New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-01-23
BY TELEGR PHI,
CONGRESS.
Sennte-ReceptfOn' and Reference Of
P'nchback's acknowledgement o 4
the Debate on Louisiana Affairs,

Sennte-Reception and Reference O
! Pinchbnck's Credentials-R enewal o
the Debate on Louisiana Affairs.
| WASHINGTON, January % Mr.. West. O.
| Louisiana, presented the credentials nf p
b. s. Pinchback as Senator elect from. ba .
State for the term expiring March 4. tS7 9,
and they were read at the Clerks desk.
/ Mr.. Sherman, of Ohio. moved that tie
| credentials and all accompanying papers be
referred to the Committee OIL Privileges and
| Elections.
Mr.. Thurmaa said he wished to know the
| scope OF THAT motion. What pdrported to
| be the credentials of this person two. wears
ago were referred to the Committee on
Prlviieges and Eie ctions and reported back
| to the Senate. Subsequently they were
recOmmltted to the committee at the re-
questof the Senator from Indiana (Morton) j.
Mr.. Sherman said it would be impossible
tor the committee to make an examination
OF all the facts in the case unless they had
all the papers His motion to refer was
agreed to, and the further consideration of
the resolution was then postponed till
wednesday next, and the Senate resumed
the consideration of the resolution sub
| mltted by Mr.. Schurz, instructing tie
Judiciary Committee to inquire what leg.s-
ton ls necessary by Congress to secure to
the people OF Louisiana the right of sell
SoNOAhAICuU uuucT tIle COO9CltutlOn.
Mr.. Sherman. of Ohio, being entitled 70
the floor, said he did not regret that some
little tune had elapsed since this question
was last discussed here, as it could now
be debated with Jess excitement. If the
subject could not be discussed here fairly
and calmly, where could it be! He then
referred to Che organization of the Legisla-
ture in Louisiana on the fourth instant, and
said OF lO2 members present then tfty-two
kpnu ifrv
conduct Of Wllz was a bold and daring
usurpat1oD, and any member would have
been Justified in going up to the Speakers
chair and taking him from the seat
He quoted from the report Of Messrs.
Foster, Phelps and Potter, and said it
showed Wiltz had violated all law as well
as the constitution Of Louisiana. The Sen
ators on the Democratic side of the cham
ber had not uttered one word of condemua.a
tiOn OF the course OF Wiltz. while denounc-
ing that OF General Sheridan and GSneral
Grant.
Mr.. Bayard, of Delaware, said the aTss.
tiOn before the Senate was not whether the
conduct Of Wilt was regular or irregular,%
but that 1t was not the province of the
President of the United States to interfere
in the organization of q State Legislature
Mr. Sherman, resuming, said: This act Of
usurpatiOn on the part OF Wiltz, as q crime,
was more dangerous in it's consequence
than the murder of q hundred or a thou
sand men, Itwas the first time in the his
tory of the country where q minority had
usurped the rights of the majority in this
manner. The signal gun of all this trouble
in Louisiana was the usurpation 6f Villa;
bat tor his conduct there never would have
been any interference by federal power in
the Louisiana Legislature.
Mr. Schurz said if the Senator was viii
ling to take the report of the House sub
committee which visited New Orleans as
true, then he must admit that the crosses.
frauds We're committed by the Re-
turning Board, and therefore that board
was the cause of al! the trouble.o
Mr.. Sherman said he would refer to the {
Returning Board afterward. In his judg-
ment. Wilt would have been overthrOwn
by revolutionary force had not General De
TrObriand interfered, and there would have
been scene Of blOodshed in that hall
MIR. Bayard said Wilt had administered
the oath to l02 members, whs were present,
hence the Legislature was lawful body.
Mr.. Sherman said the roll call had been
denied IN that Legislature by the Dem-
ocrsts. Suppose roll call had been denied
In the House OF Representatives when Gen
erai Banks was elected Speaker, did any
one doubt that there would have been
bloodshed' There had been half dozen
times in the history of the country where a
refusal TO call the yeas and 1 avs would
have resulted in bloodshed. With the
nve men whose seats were con-
tested excluded no one could doubt tina.
the majority of that Legislature was Re-
publican: Nothing could excuse or defend
the lawlessness of Wiltz IN this matter.
The Democratic party in Louisiana had
'elzed upon the organization of the Legisla-
lure and trampled under foot every guaran-
zee Z. e, OF constitutional liberty. They would
,ather WIN by force than gain by fairness.
de sent to the clerks desk and had read a
from the New York Times
' Shich he said he learned was written by d.
". St0ughton. lawyer of emlnence, and he
hOught took an unpreiudiced view of the
Whole matter. 1t was the duty of Kellogg
0 put down that irregularity in the Legis.
ature. The oath which he had taken com
eiied him to interfere. He could not do
Oy calling upon the State militia because
is call would not have been obeyed. Under
IL the Gif1icuities which surrounded him,
e was perfectly right in calling upon the .
lihtarY power Ot the general government.
ieneral De TrObriand went into that Lecis-
itnre without any intention to tra1Hple on
ne Liberties OF any; ne went there to put
ut the tive men who had no business there:
Is colleague tThurman) had asked him if
9 approved OF that; he tSherman) approy-
I OF IT; the President of the United States
I'd. 10 call this Louisiana trouble a great
lstOrlcai outrage where the rights of peOp,e
ad been tranpled upon was simply max
lg mountain out of mole hill,
overnOr Kellogg had the undoubted
ght to call upon the President to put down
Omestic violence. The Legislst1re was
Dt in session, and the constitu ion ex-
ressly provided that the Governor in that
,se might call on the President for aid.
nat was the result of this interference.
o Dlo0d was shed, but the five men who
ld no business there were excluded. The
eglslature would have acted on the casesa
those members. He had seen Repub& =
IAN House seat Democratic Representa-
'es' ana Democratic House seat Repub-
'an Representatives.. He had no doubt
e Legislature would have performed its
lty according to law.
Mr. thurman asked if his colleague did,
1t know that the body now claiming to be
9 Louisiana Legislature seated five men
the place OF the tive put out, without any
vestigatlon whatevere
MI sherman said ne did not know if, but
II was 80 he hoped Congress uld do it's
lty "hen the question came before it in
q admission OF Senator. Continuing his
gument, ne said he had never voted vet
recognize the election Of 1872 but Kellogg
ID been installed as Governor, recognized
sucn Dy the local authorities If Louis
ma, by the Supreme Court of the
ate, by the President of the United States,
ID 10y the action OF the House of
representatives. Whatever might be the
nnions Of the Senators as to TIE right of
eitogg, n0 one would question his power J
act while IN possession of his oifice. He
xt referred 30 the kilograms o. General
leridan, and said the Senators on the
her SIDE did the grossest injustice to that
icer and General Grant. When ALI the
cts OF the case became known it was
certained that General Grant knew no