New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-03-27

Mr.. Wes,-AnI shat if we now received
| it we should be stultifving ourselves. Per
haps do not use exactly the words OF the
| Senator, bu. think that was his idea.
On the tenth of February. 1873, the Com
| mittee on Privileges and Elections OF this
body made an entirely separate report from
what IS known as the Carpenter report,
They made 1t on the electoral vote of the
State of Louisiana, investigation into. the
| validity OF which had been ccnfded to
them. The Carpenter report was not made
until the twenty-third of February. On
the tenth of February, 1873, they came to
this conclusions:
"We find that the official returns of tie
election OF electors from the various par
ishes of Louisiana have never been counted
by anybody having authority to count
them"
The Senate resolved:
THAT, all the objections having been
considered no electoral vote purporting to
be that of the State of Louisiana be
counted"
Certainly the Senator will not contend
that that is res adjudicata Certainly he
will not contend that the Senate did not
reserve to itself the competency upon any
future occasion, On a subsequent measure,
to examine into the returns and the facts.
What would have been the action of the
Senate and House of Represen tatives on the
twelfth day of February, 1873, under the
solemn sanction of the constitution TO de-
clare what the votes of the people of the
United States were for President had there
been such an issue as that presented! Had
the issue between President Grant and Mr..
Greeley turned on the electoral vote OF
Louisiana. would you have said there was
no return. Would you have shut the door
and said, "Eere are l79 votes on one side
and l19 votes on the other; anarchy pre-
walls, and there is no government in the
United States" as you assume to say now,
that there is no government in the State OF
Louisiana! No, sir; you would have held pos
session OF this government by all the power
Of the bayonets OF the United States until
you had examined into the right and wrong
of this case and set the right aud condemned
the wrong. Would you have RENTED your
government to anarchy, confusion, detrac-
ton and violence, such as we have had in
Louisiana, simply because you had no re-
turn before you! No, sir; you would have
gone into the facts, and you never would
have been satisfied until you knew how
every man in that State, black and white.
had voted. What yOn would have done
tor this country at large, and what you
would have done for this copfederacy Of
States, claim now that you shall do the
same justice 70 us. We have been de-
frauded out of our rights. We show You
defrauG the Republican voters OF my
State, and you tell us We have got no
rights. We have right to look to our
Republican friends in this body for sym
patty and justification and support when
all the Prescriptions of the case go to show
that the Republican party was in the as
tendency on that occasion. We have a
right 70 appeal to you in our distress. We
have been outraged there. Republicans
have been killed by the hundreds in that
State for main tanning that their cause was
successful IN 1872, and You put rs OFT with
the cold proposition that the only result
and conclusion we can come to is that one
board was legal and had no returns and
another board was Illegal and had forged
returns.
What will he the result to us if your YER
dict is against us to-day! 1t will leave us
but continuation of this interminable, in
consequential Louisiana case. Refuse to
admit this man, and the word goes our
once more to the country that the Kellogg
government is fraud, and agitation in that
region is renewed, crime and violence run
riot there, White Leagues muster, and your
President is called upon once moro by the
strong Rand 70 preserve the peace. Can he
do it j. ne competent to do it when his
udgulent IS reversed by this deliberative
assembly What have we got to expect
there Not satisfied with keeping us in
that condition for two long years, not salts
fed with holding US under the ban OF
prejudice and oppression, are you to refuse
now. when You know the facts and the
circumstances OF this case, to adjudicate
and TO give as peace.
Where is the Democrat in this chamber
with the facts before him who can convince
you, Republicans, that that State went Dem
ocratic in 1922 He will convince you OF
nothing except the existence of a Gigantic
3,o, \ ,1l,a ~,
out Of their votes. / ask you again, can
there be any other choice but one Of twos
When only TWO men are running for the
same Office you must either admit one or
the other. You can either acknowledge
that Kellogg is elected or yon must have
our State go into the hands of the Demo-
Gratis. That is the platform on which L
wish to stand. That is the logical result OF
the vote Of this Senate. 1t will he either
an admission on the part of the Senate that
tire Republicans are entitled to the govern
ment Of that State or it will be the verdict
OF the Senate that the Democrats are, be-
canse that will be the practical result.
Mr.. President, said at the outset that I
had not expected to say anything on this
subject to-day. kave gone over much OF
tho ground that has been trod over and
were a Senator from any other State ex-
cept tie State Of Louisiana l. would not
have vexed the ears of the Senate today.
1t has been incumbent upon me. however,
to Say something. and l have felt it incum-
bent upon ne TO repel, in the strongest
terms OF which l am capable, the charge
that the Repr blicans are the only fraudU-
lent manipulators of election machinery in
that State; and l charge home to the Dem
ocrats that they conspired and fraudulently
deceived the people, and have deceived the
Democrats of Louisiana rs we'll as the Dem
ocfaIs throughout the country.