Litchfield enquirer., 1875-03-04
LoussIARA.

LOUISIANA.
 The Louisiana committee reported on
 Tuesday of last week. The majority, two Republicans and two Democrats. present
 tie following: z-sis ss
 THE MAJORITY REPORT.
 WAsHINaTos, Feb. g. The under signed, a majority of the Committee on the State of the South, respectfully re- port that they cannot agree to the report
 made to the committee by Messrs. Hoar,
 Wheeler, and Frye.
 The laws 1nimical to the colored peo- pie of Louisiana, referred to in their re- port, have been repealed for years. Ex- cept during the schism of Gov. Warmoth,
 ln 1872, the Republican Party has long
 had control of the machinery of the State. The late registration shows an excess of
 the colored over the white voters, giving go, 781 colored to 76.823 whites. In the absence of any direct evidence that the
 late election was not free and fair, the as- sumption of the minority that enough colored voters must, therefore, have been
 prevented from voting at the late election
 by the recollection of the Colfax and Cou- shatta killings. (the causes and circum- stances of which are dsputed,) and by other riots which occurred years before, to have changed the result of the election Throughout the State, is an assumption so violent-when it is recollected that both these parishes elected full Kellogg tick ct by increased Republican maiorities- not to be received if any other cause for the vote of the vote of the State can be found.
 Such causes exist and are obvious. Among them are:
 Frst-The registration was incorrect, and exceeded the true colored vote. The registration was wholly in the hands of the Kellogg officials, with whom a Repub- hcan committee, with United States Mar shal Packard at their head, co-operated. In only three parishes did the RepubG- can Supervisors of Registration make any complaint of unfair or insufficient registration. On the other hand, very great complaint was made by the Conserv- atiyes, who specified, with proof. 5.2OO cases of conceded false registration in New Orleans alone, and those Conserva- tves who had been cooperating in joint party committee to secure fair registra- ton gave up the effort in despair. The eensus.of 1870 (the correctness of which is not impeacheO showed 87, ,O76 whites and 86,913 colored males over twenty-one years of age, all the statistics and evidence before us indicated no change in this pro- portion in favor of the colored voters. Net the registration of colored voters ex- ceeded by 4,OOO the total number of col cred adult males returned by the census, while the registration of white voters was 1000 less.
 Second. whole number of votes registered was 167, ,6O4 Of these 146, ,523 voted. This is larger proportion of reg istered voters than usually vote in any of the Northern States. In an agricultural State, sparsely settled, where long jour- neys had often to be made to reach the polls, it Is unreasonable to suppose that & greater proportion of the registered blacks would have voluntarily turned out to sus- tain government under which the pros perity of the State and their wages, and the value of their shares of production had steadily declined than usually vote at elections North and South.
 . IhsTd.-1874 was a. year of political change, in which tho vUte throushout all the States was seriously affected against the Republican Party, change resulting largely from the financial distress of the people, and which should therefore nat urally have been greater in Louisiana than elsewhere
 Fourth. became the interest of the Conservatives, at least at the last election. not to intimidate but to acquire by every fair means the colored vote. Parties who were alleged to have threatened blacks even with refusal of employment, were subject to prompt arrest. It was known that pretexts would be sought to deprive the Conservatives of the result if they pre- vailed in the election. It was, therefore, their interest to avoid giving any such pretexts. Accordingly they determined everywhere to cooperate with and concil- late the blacks. They voted down the proposition or suggestions which were made Tn the early part of the campaign for refusal to employ those colored voters who would not cooperate with them. and generally sought by combining with col ored voters to carry the election. Local combinations against the Kellogg eandi- dates were made ID many parishes by men of ali parties and colors. In several par lshes union ticket of colored and Con servative votes, was voted for and elected. An intelligent colored witness testified that he desired better government and to that end "was willing to swallow the white man if the white man would swallow the colored." These causes and feelings naturally united to swell the Conservative vote in such localities as in- dicated by the returns.
 Fyh.-Ihe entire want of any direct proof to show any general intimidation of the colored voters.
 Of course, in so large State. it would be impossible there should be no instance of refusal to employ, or of intimidation. Such occur in every State. But the evil dence certainly indicates no general in- timidation of colored 3ters, and such in- timidation as did exist in the State was rather in the interest of the Republicans than of the Conservatives, The United States Marshals, whose chief was chair man of the Republican State Committee. armed inSome cases with blank warrants to arrest, and aided by Federal troops. made constant arrests before election, but not afterward. The oversight of the cleo ton and the returns were in the hands of Gov. Kellogg's officials. Their account and return did show twenty-nine majority of members in the lower house elected by the Conservatives, without any protest whatever, except in three parishes. al- though 1t was their province and duty to protest in any case where violence and in- timidation or fraud existed. Indeed, the. direct evidence as to the election of 1874 as well as the circumstances, clearly indi- cate peaceable and fair election. In fact, after the visit of the first committee and the revisit of the Special Committee. the Kellogg party, with all their, machin- cry for collecting evidence, were unable to produce in the entire State more than half dozen persons to testify to any, thing impeaching the freedom and fair ness of the late elections, who were not officeholders or connected with officehold- CTS. Against such facts it seems to us idle to assume that the disturbances SO vlvidly pictured by the minority could have kept up throughout this State such feeling of intimidation as would justify the assumption that but for that feeling the State would have gone Republican. All experience shows that the result of the election of 1874 in Louisiana. as re turned to the Returning Board, was natu- rai, and to be only accounted for by the