The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-01-18

+ millions OF debt alleged to be fraudulent
e. lso. that Under the gnfse OF reducing the az
q knowfdged deb &c gave. pdft nfify f6SMf
, the Fraudulent debt ssntnstthe State. Thi
!, nominal reduction OF Tie State taxes has bee
!, accompanied by provision tnat fhe, paris
. taxes shall not exceed the STATE. But ID
IEanshes have, notwithstanding, created liza
bilities: judgments being recovered on them
4 for their BAY nent.. and thus the aetuai take
4 have been carried far beyond the authorized
4 rates. - ,t53ss: sass; q r. .s.Fsansij.i Il 81
Rings have been found in parishes com
posed of the parish officers, their relatives
and of cooperating Democrats, who would
buy up these obligations, put them in judg
ments, and cause them to be enforced, to the
great distress OF the neighbdrhood dis.
tress so general that the sales of land fol
taxes have become almost absolutely iDpos
sible. But the reduction Of wages, the non
4 fu!filment of personal Or political pledges
the misfeasance of some local officials, dis.
lputes among the leading colored persons In
other localities, the loss or ENLIGHTENMENT In
some cases of the school funds, and the failure
Of the Freedman's Bank, all combined to
divide the views of colored voters du.
ring the last campaign. An effort
was accordingly made by the Conservatives
to acquire a part of the negro vote. With
that it was sought, In many quarters, to
propitiate them. Frequent arrests by the
United States marshals for intimidation or
threats of unemployment, and the appre-
tension that was felt that the Returning
Board would count out their men, if excuse
for such course was offered, all combined
especially after the 14th of September, to put
the Conservatives on their good behavior
and the result was that in November, 1874
the people of the State of Louisiana did fairly
have free, peaceable, and full registration
and election, in which clear Conservative
majority was elected to the lower house of
the Legislature, of which majority the Con.
servatives were deprived by the unjust, lille.
gal, and arbitrary action OF the Returning
Board.
That there were turbulent spirits cannot
be denied. Those returned to office by the
Returning Board in violation of the wishes
Of the people are especially odious. In one
instance the editor of the Shreveport Neos,
in anticipation of the Illustration by the Re.
turning Board of the will of the people,
openly declared that the only remedy was
"to kill the usurpers," and declared this to
be the sentiment of the Conservatives of his
section of the State. But beyond newspa.
per editor or two no declaration even Of that
sort was brought to our own notice, al
though it was admitted on all hands the
white people of the whole State felt greatly
outraged by the action of the Returning
Board. Indeed, it is conceded by all parties
that the Kellogg government Is only upheld
by the Federal military. Withdraw the mil
itary and that government will so down.
This was true before the 4th Of January as
we'll as now. Governor Kellogg says this is
owing to the doubt that Congress has per-
mitted about the legality OF his government.
The Conservatives say that this Is not only
because his government is illegal, but be-
cause it has been abused and corrupt.
In this connection we refer to the White
League mentioned in the message of the
President. In the last campaign in Loufsi.
ana the Opposition was composed of various
acknowledgements, Reformers, disSatiS-
fed Republicans, liberal Republicans, old
Whigs-and, in order to induce the CO.
operation of all, some of whom refused to
unite with an organization called Demo.
cratic, they took the name of the Peoples
Party "-called in some localities the Soon
servatiYe Party" in others the "White
Mans Party" in others the "White
League" -and had ordinary political clubs
under these names throughout the rural dis.
tricts, which were ordinary political clubs,
and nothing more-neither secret nor armed,
nor otherwise different from usual political
organizations. These must not, however, be
confounded, from similarity of names, with
the White League of the city Of New Or
leans. That League is an organization com.
posed of different clubs, numbering in all
between $500 and $500, the members Of
which have provided arms for themselves,
and with or without arms engage in military
drill. They have no uniform, and the arms
are the property of the individuals, not Of
the organization.
They comprise large number Of reputa-
BILE citizens and property-holders ia LOUISE
ana. Their purpose they declare to be SIM
Div protectiye-a necessity occasoned by the
existence of leagues among the blacks; OF
the hostility with which the Kellogg govern
ment arrayed the black against the white
race; of the want Of security to peaceable
citizens and their families, which existed for
those reasons, and because, also, of the pecu-
liar formation of tae police brigade.
On the other hand, the Republicans assert
that this is an armed body of volunteers eX-
istine for the purpose Of intimidating the
blacks and overthrowing the Kellogg gov
eminent. That it had any considerable rela-
lions outside of the city of New Orleans, or
that it was intended in any way 10 interfere
with the rights Of the colored citizens, did
not appear. Nor, on the other hand, did II
| appear that there was any extensive secret
leapue amongst the blacks of any kind. That
the White League would readily cooperate
in any feasible scheme for overthroWins the
Kellogg government your committee do not
doubt. So will substantially all the white
citizens OF Louisiana. Such organizatlons
may be dangerous, but are very rarely 10 De
| justified.
The affair of the 14th of September is an
illustration of this. The members OF the
White League had purchased arms; the po-
lice had seized these arms without process OF
law. taking them forciby from the merchants
who had sold and from the members who
had bought them. A consignment OF arms
was to arrive by the steamer Mississippi
The League were called out on the morning
of the 14th to go and take them IN BODY !;
the police undertook to seize the arms; the
TWO bodies came into collision on the wharf,
with loss Of several killed and wounded.
There were then hardly any Federal troops
| in New Orleans, and the disintegration Of
the Kellogg party was such that before night
Penn and his associates had only to take
possession of the executive Offices without q
struggle.
The movement was everywhere quietly
accepted by the whites throughout the
State until the Federal Government in
tervened, when Penn and his associates
at once surrendered. Ii Louisiana
were a country by itself McEnery and
his associates would at once be in
stalled in power; but the Conservatives Of
Louisiana do not propose to fight the Fede-
| r,l Government They submit not because