The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1875-02-03
Bottom Facts.

Inc report or MeSSrS. Foster, Phelps
and Potter leaves no doubt about the
correctness of the following PROPOSE
tons:
l. That no person could enter the
Statc-House Oh that dreadful Monday
without the permission of Governor
kellogg, who controlled the Federal
army and the local force surrounding
it.
2. That within the bar of the hall of
Assembly were admitted only those
certified by the Returning Board, the
Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms of the for
mer Legislature, ten persons admitted
as messengers for the Conservatives,
and few others, like Messrs. Foster
and Phelps, entering by courtesy.
3. That full legislative body would
be Ill members, and Sc a quorum; that
the former Clerk called the roll and lO2
answered, of which 80 were Repubii-
cans and 80 Democrats.
4. That the instant the roll-call was
finished the members who had answered
to their names, on motion of one of
their number, and rejecting the author
ity or assistance Of the Clerk of the for
mcr House, and on popular vote,
elected temporary chairman, clerk,
were sworn.
5. That AFTER this temporary organi-
cation 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 per-
manent Speaker by the Clerk calling
the roll of names and keeping tally of
the names answering. He reported 50
votes for Wilt; for Hahn and one
blank.
7. Immediately after declaring Wilt
elected to be a Speaker he was sworn,
and 60 members came forward and were
sworn by him.
8. Outside the bar and in the lobby
were 127 persons by actual count; the
door of the hall was kept by u police
men, controlled by Kellogg; the Repub-
| lican members started to leave the AS
sembly and the Speaker forbade them !;
Il disturbance then arose in "the lobby
which the Legislature, by resolution,
asked General De Trobriand to quell,
and which the latter did by a word
or two.
8. That thereupon the deliberations
of the House went on quietly for an
hour or SO; a committee on contested
elections was created, minor officers Sc
lected, and debate had, "when' 1--WE
quote the committees words) Sat length
Colonel De Trobriand returned and
stated he had orders to remove the five
members sworn in who had not been
returned by the Returning Board; and,
after the protest and resistance of Mr..
Wilt and the persons referred to, and
after General Campbell had been sent
for to point them out, they were re
moved by the United States troops"
10. Then, as Clerk of the old House,
Vigers (Wiltz leaving the Speakers
chair after the arrest of the members),
began to call the roll made out by the
Returning Board, and two Democratic
members had answered to their names,
Mr.. Wilt interrupted the Clerk and
called upon the Conservative members
to refuse to answer and to leave the
hall.
IL. The interruption over, Mr.. Vigers
began anew his roll-call, and obtained
only fifty responses, but as the two
Democratic members had just before
answered on the roll-call which was
interrupted, he assumed it right to an
swered to their names, which was less
than 4 quorum Of the whole House.
II. Those who remained after Mr.
Wilt and his friends withdrew elected
Hahn Speaker by reclamation. There
was no subsequent roll-call by which
the number of those members whose
names were returned by the Returning
Board, and who still remained present
at these deliberations, could be deter.
mined.
From these facts, attested by the
committee, it appears that General De
TrObriand declared that he was ordered
to arrest and remove THE FIVE MEM
BEERS SWORN IN" Thus De TrobrianC
and the committee justify Governor
Til(en's description which the Time:
criticised.
On this statement of the committee
for to intelligently discuss law ques
ton we must assume certain facts a:
true) who will deny that the peaceably
assembled Legislature had the right
after roll-call, to dispense, BY MAJOR
ITY VOTE, with the assistance of the ole
Clerk, and elect new temporary clerl
and temporary chairman, and then
by majority vote, to permanently or
ganize? Who can deny that a majority
of the l02 members then and there
present had legal right to seat wher
they did the five members whose
claims the Returning Board had re
ferred to the Legislature? But some
one says there were in the body 50 Re
publicans to so Democrats, and Wilt;
THEREFORE could not have had a major
ity. The obvious difficulty with Thu
logic is, that So members DID vote fo
Wilt.
I And now, on the power of the body tt
seat the claimants who were arrested
and removed by De Trobriand, we will
quote. the opinion of Reverdy johnson
in his Baltimore speech:
1.-THE only ground upon which Governor
Kellogg or the military officers seek to jus
tify the course they adopted is, that tn
members whom they elected from the hal
had not certificates of their election from
the Returning Board. A few words will
show how utterly unfOunded is this pre-
tcnce. That board was not substituted
and could not have been substituted fol
the Legislature in passing upon the cleo
ton returns and qualifications of it's mem
bers The Legislature have the same
right to pass upon the legality of the pro
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