The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-01-22
HorToM FACTS,

The report OF Congressman Il
Phelps and Potter Endorsed BY Congress G
man Marshall, thus making it the report 2
of the majority of the committee appoint
al NV Sneaker Blaine to investigate Lou
isiana affairs,) leaves no doubt about the
correctness of the following propositions
That no person could enter the state
house in New Orleans on that dreadful
Monday without the permission OF Gov,
ernor Kellogg, who controlled the feoerai
army and the local force surrounding t.
2. That within the bar of the nan O.
assembly were admitted only those certiti,
ed by the returning board, the clerk ana
sergeant at arms Of the former legislature,
ton persons admitted as messengers Tor the
Conservatives, and q few others. IKE
Messrs. Foster and Phelps. entering ny
3 That full legislative body would pc
III members, and Sc q quorum; tnae INC
former clerk called the roll ana luz an,
wered, Of which 81 were Republicans anu
so Democrats. :,
ished the members who had answered to
their names, on motion of one OF their
number. and rejecting the authority or as
sistance of the clerk Of the former house,
and on popular vote, elected atemporary
chairman, clerk, and sergeant-at-arms, and
the members were sworn.
5. That after this temporary organiza
ton the house seated the members the
validity of whose election was referred by
the returning board to the legislature to
decide.
6. That then the house elected a per-
manent speaker by the clerk calling the
roll of names and keeping tally OF the
names answering He reported S. votes
for Wiltz; 2 for Hahn, and blank.
7. Immediately after declaring Wlltz
elected to be speaker he was sworn, ana on
members came forward and were sworn by
him. ~.
8. Outside the bar and in the iobD1
were 1877 persons by actual count the dool
of the hall was kept by q policemen, con
trolled by Kellogg: the Republican mem
beers started to leave the assembly and tn
speaker forbade them; disturbance the
arose in 1.-THE lobby which the legislature
by resolution, asked General De Trobrlan
to auell, and the latter did by a word
two. ,n| ms
9. That thereupon the deliberations {
the house went on quietly for hour or SO
a committee on contested elections wa
created, minor officers selected, and debai
had. when 1--WE quote the committee
words) lat length Colonel De Trobrian
returned and stated he had orders to r
"move the five members sworn in wi
.had not been returned by the returnir
''board; and, after the protest and resis
lance of Mr. Wiltz and the persons 7
"ferred to, and after General Campb'
"had been sent for to point them out,th
"were removed by the United States 81
"diers." -,
To-. Then, as the clerk of the old hou'
Vigers (Wiltz leaving the speaker en-
after the arrest of the mempersl' peean
an the roll made out by the returnl
board, and two Democratic members B
answered to their names, MIR. Wiltz,
terrupted the clerk and called upon
Conservative members to refuse to ans1
and to leave the hall.
H. The interruption over, Mr.. Wig
began anew his roll-call, and obtained o
fifty responses, but as the two Democr'
members had just before answered on
roll call which was interrupted, he assur
it right to announce that fifty four hi
beers had answered to their names, WI
was less than a quorum of the whole hoi
H. Those who remained after
Wilt and his friends withdrew cleo
Hahn speaker by exclamation. There
no subsequent roll call by which the n
Der of those members whose names '
returned by the returning board, and
tons, could be determined.
From these facts, attested by the c
mittee, it appears that General DE
BRAND declared that he was ordered to
rest and remove ''thc five members sv
in"
On this statement of the committee
to intelligently discuss law question
must assume certain facts as true)
will deny that the peaceably assem-
legislature had the right, after roll-ca
dispense, by a majority Uote, with the
sistance of the old clerk, and elect a
temporary clerk and a temporary cl
man, and then. by majority vote, to
manently organize? Vino can deny Il
majority of the l02 members then
there present had legal right to
when they did the five members W
claim the returning board had referre
the legislature? But some one says I
were 10 the body so Republicans tc
Democrats, and Wilt therefore could
haye had majority, The obvious diff
ty with this logic is, that SIS members
vote for Wilt.
And now. on the power of the bod
seat the claimants who were arrested
removed by De Trobriand, we will q
the opinion of Reverdy johnson in
Baltimore speech:
..The only ground upon which Governor Ke
the military officers seek TO justify the C
they adopted Is, that the members whom they
ted from the hall had not certificates Of their
tion fr m the returning board. A few word
show how utterly unfounded Is this prvtense.
board not substituted and could not have
substituted for the legislature In passing upo
election returns and qualifications # It's men
The legislature has the right to pass upt
legality Of the proceedings OF the board thai
would have had to pass upon the proceedings
superv sors of election, II no such board had
provided for The board was constituted, IL
stituted for an honest purpose. merely to fac
the legisatu in discharging its duty to pass
fhp ole inn rein rns md ma
hers, and not to depr We it OF that power
board acted ignoraltly or corruptly; II they RI
TO hear evidence pertinent the ISSUE
evidence totally inadmssible, their return NO
altogether migratory"
This is, to be sure, the opinion of a
yer" like unto whom the President
army officers are not, but we thin
countrv will heed IT,