Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-21

OF the state SlOulQ ever again &c pcImltJe
? to exercise the rights Of free g0VeEnmenl
One Circumstances overlooked By The n
: turning Board would be Of the highest In
! portance, if a contest should ever come {
a decision BY the rules Of law. That Va
that the Board had expressly abstaine
from making any decision in the case {
: five members who were duly returned b
the local boards as chosen. All Of Ties
were Conservatives, and with the Con
~serTatiYes who received certificates froE
5 the Board, constituted a clear majority. !
was assumed that the failure to certify il
their cases would preclude their takinI
their seats until the House should SO de
eide. But this was a palpsble error. The
had in the returns Of the local board
primd fdcie evidence Of their election
which, in any case, would prevail until Sc
aside by competent authority. Assuming
the Board to be such competent authority
it had not acted, but had referred the cases
to the House. Those members would, con,
sequently, gOtO the House taking the PTfmO
fdcie evidences Of their right with them,
and would be as competent TO act in all
stages as any other members Of that body.
The Board, itself, must be understood TO
have recognized their primG fdcie right by
ANNAAAAAE W NIAA4N aEoAncH Aa nv AGOa
that a failure to pass upon it could exclude
them from the House until that body
should decide in their favor, is not TO be
entertained for a moment. That would be
giving 70 the Boards non-action all the eff
feet Of an adverse adjudication, which
would be prepOsterous.
When, therefore, the members, declared
by the Returning Board TO have been
chosen, and these five members who had
the proper local evidence Of their election,
appeared in the hall of Representatives on
the 4th day Of January, 1875, for the or
ganiZation Of the House, the Conservatives
had a clear majority Of members holding
the evidences OF their right to participate
In the legislative proceedings. All Of them,
together with Contestants Of seats, were ad-
mitted to the ball through files of soldiers
who excluded the general public. What
followed is a long story if full particulars
are given, bat the substances may be
stated as fellows: The Clerk of the
last House proceeded to call the roll,
which embraced the names of those
only who had been declared elected
by the Returning Board. Immediately on
his concluding, Mr.. BOileau, a member,
rose and nominated Mr.. Wilt for tempo
rsry chairman. Amid considerable ex-
element he put the vote, and declared it
carried. Mr.. Wilt Immediately stepped
forward, took from the old Clerk the gavel,
and called the House 10 order. The official
oath was at once administered TO him by a
magistrate who was present, and Mr.. Wilt
then administered the oath to the other
members, who rose for the purpose. a
member nominated Mr.. TrezeVant for
Clerk; the motion was put and declared
carried. Mr.. Irrelevant came forward and
took his seat. In the same manner Mr..
Flock was chosen Sergeant-at-Arms. As
sistant SeTgeant-at-Arms were then ap-
pointed, and a motion to seat the members
whose cases had been referred to the Legis-
lature was put and carried. During all
these proceedings Republican members
were protesting, but the protests were not /
regarded. The five members were sworn
in, and the House then proceeded to the
election of a Speaker. On that election IS |
members voted, of whom IS voted for Mr..
Wilt. During the roll call when Mr..
Hahn's name was called, he desired to
make az explanation, and was permitted
TO do so. He spoke at some length, deny
ing the validity Of the proceedings which
were being taken. All this time, outside
the bar, were a large number Of police,
supported by Federal troops. Mr.. Wilt
maintained control for some time after his
election as Speaker, and when at length
Republican members attempted TO with
draw from the Hall, be instructed the Ser
geant-at-Arms to prevent them. This led
10 disturbance, and pistols were displayed,
.hen a Conservative member moved that
Beforehand be requestedtO preserve
The General was not in the room,
.hough his soldiers were, but he was sent
or, and seems 10 have quieted the
by a word, and then
The Congressional com
say, "the action Of the House pro-
,eeded for an hour or so without Interrupt
ion, during which time a committee on
contested seats was appointed, minor Off
elected and debate had, but no mes
age was sent to the Senate or to the Gov
lrnOr, notifying them that the House was
organized and ready to proceed TO business,
when at length Col. De Trobriand returned
md stated he had orders to remove the i've
members sworn in who had not been re-
Urned by the Returning Board" The sub
proceedings are given in the words
u Speaker Wilt embodied in a memorial
Congress:
"While the proceedings Of the House we're
Iuietly progressing, about the hour Of 3 O'Clock
:. n, Gen p. K. De TrObriand, commandment the
United States troops in and around the State
louse, entered the hall in uniform, his sword at
lis side, accompanied BY two Of his stat, and
dT. Nigers, the former Clerk Of the House. and
addressed Speaker Wilt, exhibiting documents,
f which the following are copies:
tat OF LOUISIANA, EXECUTIVE DEPART
rrobriand, Commanding: An illegal assembly
f men having taken possession Of the hall OF
be House Of Representatives, and the police not
able TO dislodge them, 1 respectfully re-
.Uest that you will Immediately clear the hall and
he State-hOuse Of al persons not returned as
egal members Of the House OF Representatives
y the Returning Board Of the state.
aGovernOr Of the State Of Louisiana.
Executive DEPARTMENT, NEW ORLEANS,
"A, Jan. +Gen. De TrObriand: The Clerk Of
uedby the Secretary Of State, Of thelegalmem
Of the House OF Representatives, viii point
ut 10 you those persons now in the hall Of the
House Of Representative returned by the legal
Board OF the State. L
(signed) "WM. P. KELLOGG, Gov. OF State.
9Th Speaker refused TO allow Nj. Vigers to
esd these documents, he not being Clerk Of the
louise, and at the request Of Gen. De TrObriand,
hey were read by his adjutsnt. Speaker Witt
hen asked Gen. De TrObTisBd:
"Have you submitted these documents to Gen.
,mOry2
0Gen. De TrObriand- have not, butt presume
hat duplicate copies have been sent TO him.
Speaker wish to say to you that since
ur organization we have admitted, sworn in and
Gated I've members from the referred parishes.
these members to beiejeCted?
"Gen.D De TrObriand-l an but a soldier, There
re my orders. l cannot enter into q considera-
ion Of that question. The General further
tated that he was under instructions to obey the
riders Of Gov. Kellogg.
"SpeRker Witt respect you, General, as q
and a soldier, and dislike to give you
rOuble, but ], Ike you, have a duty 70 perform,
which / owe 70 my Stste-tO maintain the digni-
Y and authority Of my position as Speaker Of
he House Of Representatives. Force viii have
o be used befOreI can permit o to execute your
riders.
Upon the refusal Of Speaker Wilt and Mr..
rrezevant, Clerk, TO point out the persons, and
he refusal Of Speaker Wilt TO allow Mr.. Vigers
o call the roll for the purpose Of identifying the
members, HughJ. Campbell andT D.. Anderson ,
lssisted Gen. De TrObriand in identifying the
members 70 be elected.
"Gen. De TrObIiaud then ordered his soldiers,
'ully armed with fixed bsyunets, into the hall
rom the lobby, and approached the members
Juccessively, while in their seats namely,
quinn, Vaughan, Stafford, Jeffrys, Luckett,
Dunn, Kelly, Koran and Land-and, one BY one,
he caused them to be taken from the hail by his
.Oldiers, each gentleman first rising in his place
md Uttsrlng his solemn protest, in the name of
his constituents, against the unlawful expulsion.
Thus we're gentlemen ANONYMOUSLY arrested,
md, despite their public prOtestatiOns and their
appeals 70 the Speaker andthe House for prOtec-
ion, which neither could afford, were taken from
heir seats and fOrcibly elected from the hall Of
he House Of Representatives Of the State Of
Louisiana, at the point Of the bayOnst, by officers