The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1876-11-23
ADARK FACE ER0N HISTORY


Every int ligent citizen knows that
the legal government in Louisiana was
counted out by fraud four years ago
No fair minded Republican attempts to
deny the fact, in face of the refusal of
the URited States Senate to admit any
of Kelioggs Senators to seats. But in
four years the popular recollection of
these events has grown somewhat dim,
and brief outline of them Will give the
Nerth clear idea of the outrage, which,
there are too many reasons to fear, will
be attempted again, in order to deprive
Gov. TildeH of the position to which he
has been legally elected.
The Returning Board, of Infamous
memory, was composed of the Governor,
the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary
of State, and two Senators. In 1872
two of these officials, having been re
moved by the Governor, formed Re
turning Board of themselves, filed va
cancies and proceeded to count the bal
lots, which always remained in the pos
session of the ether aud legal Board
IL was this count of ballots, which the.
eanvassers never saw. Wr ich declared
" lillian Pitt Kellogg Governor of Lou
isiana. And it is the same Governor
who is now preparing, there is every
reason to believe, to use the same ma
| chinery to count IN Rutherford B. Hayes.
In 1872, j,st after the election, Kellogg
| fled a complaint before Judge Durell
that 10 900 persons had been denied
registration; that from 5000 to 5000
blacks had been deprived of the right to
vote, that bullUts enough to elect him
| had not been counted; that the returns
were about to be destroyed, &C., &c.
Dureli, who goes down TO history as the
drunken Judge" declared the Kellogg
Board legal, and enjoined Mr.. McEHery
from making any claim to the office of
| Governor. Warmoth checked this move
msnt BY approving q law which had
been passed at the last session of the
Legislature, but not yet acted upon
aboIishing all existing Boards sf Can
vassers and authorizing the Governor to
appoint a new one. tie approved the
law, and appointed Returning Board.
! This, under the Cone titution Of Louis
lana, he could legally do. This Return
ing Board cauVassed the votes actually
cast and declared McERerJ elected
Governor.
OF this order aud the others, Senator'S
Carpenter. Anthony, Logan, and Alcorn,
all Republicans, said, in their report
"Viswsd in any light, the order and in
functions made and granted ::by Judge
| Durell, in this cause, are most repre-
hensibIy erroneous in point of law, and
are wholly void, for want of jurisdiction;
aad your committe must express their
SORROW and humiliation that Judge Of
the United States would have proceeded
in Euch a fagrant disregard of his duty,
and have so far ovsrstepped the limits of
Federal jurisdictica ="
/ Under DuyaHs ordarN the Kellogg
Returning Board declared KellOggs
majority to be 1861 This extract
from the testimony before the Senate
Committee shows how this accurate
majority was obtained-[ Mr. Lynch was
member of the Kellogg Board, which
was called the Lynch Board, after him
Mr.. Lynch. We took all the evidence
we had bsfore US; and on knowledge of
the parishes and their political complex
ion, and thea ne decided.
Senator Carpenter. You estimated it,
then, upon the basis of what you thought
the vote ought to have been.
MIR Lynch. Yes, sir; that was just
the fact, and | think on the whole We
were pretty sorrect.
The "evidencs" was afterwards found
to consist of newspaper articles, letters,
and several Thousand afidaVits, discov-
cred to have been all forged. by negroes,
that they had been deprived of the right
90 vote. This Board, which declared
Ksllogg's majority to be 1851, never
bad an official return before it. and this
pretended accuracy was sheer, impudeDt
falsehood. Both Legislatures organized +,
aud John MeEnery and 100 of the
wealthiess citizens telegraphed to Wash
ington that they were about to come
North to lay their case before tie Pres
ident, and prayed him not to recognize
either government until he had heard
them. Williams, the Attorney General,
scot al insolent reply that the visit
would be ''unavailing;" and that the
"Prssidsnt's dec ision is made and will
not be changed y
The Senate investigation followed, and
the report of the majority of the Com
mistse, signed By Senators Carpenter,
logan, AlcOrn and Anthony, concluded
as follows:
ut IS the opinion Of your Committee
that but for the unjUsti1ia6Ie interference
Of Judge DureH tohOse orders soere ere
cltted by the United Stetes trooBs, tie
cGnUGss made by the De Ferret Board
and promulgated by the GoUernor, de-
ctGriRg Nc Emery to hare been elected
GoCeTasr, and also declaring soho Lad
been elected to the Legislature, toollid
haze been GcqUieseed an by the people
aud that GOUernnleEt Soottid haze entered
quietly upon the exercise Of the soreTeigT
pOu0er Of State We hare
already seen that the proceedings of tha