Wilmington journal., 1875-01-08
AFFAIRS IN THE SOUTH.
The Louisiana Invesaigasion.

NEW ORLEANS, January 1-B r.
Forman, member of the Returning
Board of 1872, and also a member of
The White League, in his testimony
before the Congressional Committee
yesterday said /:
The people are utterly unable 10 paw
the taxes imposed. In many instan
ces rents for eligible brick residences
will not pay taxes. Another great
cause of financial depression is a want
of confidence in the integrity of the
Judiciary. Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court, Ludeling, was convicted
i'll the Supreme Court of the United
States of stta!ing a railroad.
BY Mr.. Potter : That is figure of
speech.
Mr.. Forman repeat. d that Justice
Strong, in the opinion of the Court,
said that he 0udeling) had, by fraud
and chicanery, and by seducing others
to betray the trust reposed in them.
obtained possession of the road, and 1
fail to see the moral distinction be-
tween shat and stealing. Jacob Haw-
kins. Judge of the next most important
court, is disreputab'e character. He
was member of the notorious Lynch
Returning Board, and is utterly unre-
liable. These are samples of the rest
under the Kellogg regime. There are
In this city three or four honorable ex-
ceptIons on the district bench
These are the Immediate causes of
the distress and depression prevailing
The primary cause of all is the per
petual interference by the Federal
Government with local concerns by
means of army aud Federal officials in
New Orleans. Ii the Federal army
had not seized the State House and
controlled the organization # the
Legislature i'll 1872, the McEnery
Government and Conservative Legis-
lature would have peaceable and COM
plete control. II the Federal army
had not demanded the surrender of
the State House and public buildings
on the 18th of September, 1874. the
McEnery Government would have had
complete, undisplted and peaceable
control of the State until the end of
their term of offc and peace and con-
fidence would have been restored. All
we wish. all we need, is to be allowed
to govern ourselves and select our own
Legislature and officers without inter
ference by Federal officials, civil or
| military. We are fully capable of self
| fore the law.
Allen Green, of Lincoln parish, tes-
| tilted that he was waited on by Con-
| servatlves, who requested that me t.
ings of negroes they were holding at
night, be discontinued. We did so.
Was after wards waited on by party of
men who requested him to make some
| changes in the parish officers. !
| thought the best thing was to resign.
Mr.. Green then went on to say that he
was intimidated He enumerated the
members of his family holding offices
IL the parish (some half dozen).
Judge Trimble was the next witness
| examined he stated that the election
was perfectly quiet in his section, in
| Guiding five parishes; knew of no in
midat1tH t1cslt tlat l1CGuct q ty
| United States cavalry raiding through
the county, and the case of Mr..
Green, which be had spoken of In
answer to the que ztion Why the rre =
! ence of troops caGs., d white people 10
i. ave the parish. Judge rrimble stated
| that they We're anxious t. vote at fne
election, and after thai. they came for
| ward and IF red 10 Aurrs udcr them
/ selves, but we're not arrested. The
officers. exhibited long lists of names of
those they aaid were to be arrested.
Including many prominent persons;
! ds!,uty marshals had warrants for ar
rest in blank. He testified to the cut
ting of telegraph wires, and the
a1raignment before him If the officer
who had committed the act
State Senator Stamps testified that
he knew of no Intimidation except
threats Of non emp loyment. Some of
the colored men were told if they did
not turn in their registration papers
to the Democratic committees they
would be discharged. That form of
| intimidation did not enable them to
carry the district. He thinks about
two hundred voted the Democratic
ticket Has talked with about twen-
| ty- five OF the two hundred since the
election. About five hundred whites
voted the Republican ticket A white
man could not vote the Republican
ticket without being ostracised. called
o niger, and anything else but re-
spectacle gentleman. The general
| construction of the election law in his
district was that any one who got rid
| of his registration papers could get
| duplicates. That wa the custom with
| them.
THE ALABAMA INVESTIGATION.
MONTGOMERY, December 2l.-The
Congressional Com mittee are ali here
to-day. Republican politicians, gener-
ally men who were defeated for office,
are hanging around them at Opelika.
Albright and Cannon, Republicans.
and Luttrell, Democrat, conducted
the investigation, Coburn and Buck
ner being here. The former had wit
nesses as to many alleged outrages i'll
Lee county, but it is said they were
totally dlscredited Luttreu had wit
nesses who proved that the Govern
ment bacon intended for the over
flowed country was sent to Opelika,
distant 70 miles from the overfowed
region; that it was in charge of Re
publican and carpeI-bag candidates.
He traced three thousand pounds to
one negro meeting house, where the
day before the election it was dis
tributed to Republican voters. No
proof was required as to destination.
He would prove the use made of
more of it, but witnesses were
spirited away from the reach of
the Sergeant-at-Arms. Some negroes
swore they had been discharged for
voting the Republican ticket, while
others swore they had been beaten by
Republican negroes and turned out of
their churches, and generally mis-
treated for being Democrats. Negroes
testified that before the late election
the Republican candidate promised to
divide the white Democrats, land
among them and their furniture and
bedding and household property
The negro witnesses all complained of
none of thei1 premises being kept, and
some of them were anxious to know if
the Congressman had come down here
to see that they got their forty acres
and mule. To-day Messrs. Buckner
and Luttrell had many witnesses to
prove the improper use of the over
flowed bacon in this district, but the
mojority of the committee would not
allow them to be examined, giving
as their excuse that the bacon bUsi-
mes was not covered by the reso-
luton under which they were sent
here They have found out enough
aho11t the hacOn husiness =