New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-06

cluded the evidence Of innumerable muir.
den brought before them, from political
causes. The mutilated woman, Pinkston
was introduced to show the utterly law
less character of an element which hal
controlled free will suffrage. It has a
much to do with politics as had the muir.
der of John Gair and Dinkgrave and the
horrible mutilation of Mr.. Twitchell.
The finding of the Democratic COMMITTEES
in regard to this shocking deed was iden-
teal with that of the Democratic visitors
in the case Of Pinkston. Neither finds
any evidence of political connection in
either.
General intimidation affects the whole
vote of this State, and determines the
majority of the whole vote cast for presi.
dental electors. If the President of the
United States had marched an army into
any State and prohibited one party from
coming to the polls at all, would such a
result have been regarded anywhere as
legal2 When General Butler administered
the oath of allegiance to people who
were almost unanimously Confederates,
was it considered obligatory upon them2
Then it was intimidation, duress, and the
oath was regarded as nullity for that cause.
When an election occurred under such a
state of constraint, was it an expression
Of free will suffrage? Look at the Constitu-
tional Convention of that period. Would
these men have been chosen, or would
their doctrines have been embodied in
law and adopted at the polls by the free
will suffrage of that day?
There has scarcely been . time since
that much of that constitution could not
have been repealed but for the intimida-
ton of the law. If the Democracy had
the power to have done so they would
have annulled the legislation of the past
few years on the plea of general intimida-
ton and political duress. The doctrine
is without doubt sound. The difficulty
lies in obtaining the power to impose
their own construction upon the acts Of
Others. The Democracy has not this
power of construction. The Returning
Board has this power, and will no doubt
exercise it if it be necessary to the protec-
ton of free will suffrage. The military
organization of the Democracy, the
threats and actual violence toward white
Republicans, and the systematic murder
and whipping Of the colored voters prove
state of general intimidation which
affects the validity of the whole election,
and establishes cause of nullity which
the returning authorities may apply
whenever they have cause to believe it
has affected the free will suffrage of either
party. We shall expect the returning au-
thorities to employ this doctrine of gen.
eral intimidation, and reinstate the suf-
frage of those who voted under duress, or
who did not vote through intimidation.
They may anticipate the anathemas of
those disappointed of Office.
We do not disguise that they might
Rpprehend personal violence if such
means would affect the validity of their
decision; but they must also recollect
that this general intimidation is by no
means at an end. They will long remem-
Der the signal service they have rendered,
in defeating the great conspiracy against
The Union, and it will be q consoling
conviction that in performing this great
luty to freedom they will have, perhaps,
saved the lives, property and persons Of
thousands from the unbridled
vengeance of the defeated Democracy.