The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-01-26
FACTS FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE.
LOWER TERREBoNNE, Jan. 25, 1875.

LOWER TERREBONNE, Jan. rs, 1875.
To the Editor Of the New Orleans Bulletin:
It. seems to have escaped the attention of
the public that the parties who perpetrated
the frauds in the parish of Terrebonne at the
last election, are now ''enjoying' seats in KEEL
logg's menagerie. The boxes that were
thrown out in order to give the Radicals a
third, eighth, tenth and eleventh polls. The
third and eleventh polls gave Radical MAORI
ties, the third giving majority of 81, the
eleventh majority of AZ, making a Radical
majority in the two boxes Of 90. The eighth
poll gave Conservative majority OF 161, and
the tenth poll Conservative majority Of Is,
making Conservative majority in the two
boxes of 239. At these four polls the returns
were placed by the commissioners in the
boxes, and when the boxes were brought to
the parish seat, the Conservative commission
ers desired to open the boxes to take out the
returns, but were prevented by the Clerk of
the Court and the Supervisor Of Registration.
Tue Supervisor and the partisan clerk Of court
knew the results Of the vote at these four
polls and were willing to throw out the boxes
that give Radical majority OF SO, in order to
throw out the boxes that gave Conservative
majority of 239. This whole matter seems to
have been premeditated scheme to swindle
the people out OF their election. The Com
missioners at the eleventh poll were Thos. M.
Cage, Conservative, and Robt Gray and NJ. G.
Keith, Radicals. 1t can be proved that the
night of the election after the votes were
counted and the box was being taken to
Houma, the parish seat, that on the road,
Keith (the Radical Commissioner told Mr..
Cage (the Conservative Commissioner that
the votes from their poll would not be
counted; that instructions had been given to
cause such Irregularities as to necessitate the
rejection of the box. Now this happened on
the road up from the eleventh poll to Houma,
q distance of fourteen miles, and about an
hour before the Supervisor refused to receive
the returns.
At the eighth poll, giving Conservative
majority of 161, F. R. Wright, Radical can
didate for the Legislature, was one of the
commissioners, and on his own suggestion
the returns were put in the box.
At the tenth poll, F. Marie, Radical candi- |
date for the Legislature, was one of the COM
Inissioners, and after the voting and counting |
was over, the commissioners made out the re- |
turns and gave them to him to carry to the |
Supervisor at Houma. It is needless to say
that these returns of the tenth poll, Civ
ing Conservative majority Of 70, were never
delivered to the Supervisor.
Now these are facts that have been sworn
to, and the afidavits Of them were sent to the
Returning Board. The Returning Board |
knew by the affidavits filed by counsel from
this parish, and Col. F. C. Zacharie, that
Wright and Marie were solely to blame for
the votes of the eighth and tenth polls, at
which they were commissioners, and which
gave a combined majority against them Of 239
votes, not being counted.
Had all these boxes been counted Wright
and Marie would both have been beaten. So
they secured their seats by their own fraud.
It should not be forgotten that while all these
facts were fully made known to the Returning
Board that the original returns from these
polls filed in the Clerks Office were sub
mitted to the Returning Board to show the
vote in those wards. The Congressional Com
mittee should investigate our parish. Can
any other two Radical Legislators boast that
they carried out personally the schemes Of
fraud that secured their election notwith-
standing their defeat by the people?
Respectfully, SEVENTH WARD.