New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-17
! fH9 INJECTION IN DE gUTO.
AD1aVle 0f eho 9uDorv1so9s bf
NEW 0AIsArs, December rs, l0e.
NEW ORLEANS, December 70, !Ue
EDuoR REPuDaaoAM: FErs sszs2 -
Isend for publicetion tho report Of The
9uperyisor Of ReeiAtrAtion for the pafish
If De6oto Il WAS upon this reporf, sup.
ported by over thirty afidsvits equally
conclusive, thst the returDioe ofiesrs based
= :: J. MADISON WELLS, d
President Of tho Board sef Returning On

United States Of America, District Of
ENTHUSIASTICALLY appeared before me,
the undersigned authority, c. L. Ferguson,
who being 81 mo duly sworn, did depose
and say = follows, to Wit: .rc-f.
Afiant vas appointed supervisor OF reg
istrstion for the parish of De Soto In the
latter part Of August, 1876, and entered
upon the discharge Of his duties about the
twenty second Of September. Az soon as
affiaDt entered the parish he discovered
among the white population Of tho said
parish very intense feeling 0f opposition
to the Republican party, and especially to
the rights Of tho oolored people to vote. So
strong was this feeling that he soon saw
I that it would be necessary for him to tom.
able to register the voters and to perform
his duties. 1t was necessary to deter in .
small degree to the intense prejudices Of
the people in order to avoid trouble and .
probable exhibition of violence. By such
my course to the exigencies Of tho
occasion was able to proceed at all.
The disposition exhibited By the Dem
ocratic leaders was to have everything
party. Tho total registration of the parish
was 29H. OF these 1853 were white, and
1894 Weee colored. The entire vote deliver
ed at the election was 2203 on the electoral
ticket. From the information derived from
we'll informed Democratic leaders, ] know
that only 977 Of the registered whites voted.
from which 1t sppears that about 3a9 col
ofed votezs must have voted the Depo-
cratic ticket in this parish. The number Of
IA. Two hundred and eevenfy-sfx Of these
wepe white, according to ne statements Of
the Democrats, which leaves 460 colored
who did NOT vote at all. aas} = '' p
I do not hesitate to cay that ninety -nine
one hundredths Of the c0lored voters Of De
Soto parish would vote the RepIlioan tiCket
if left perfectly free from I'll extrADeous
influence to vote just % they should please
to do. 1t 10 extremely Faro to 6nd ono Who
pretends to be Demoorat, and little in
quiry will soon develop tho fact In all such
occasion Or special purp6ae only, and are ct
bottom % much RepubaicAn - the rest oa
their color. y tes -S
Aflsnt further states that in his opinion
based on an intimate knowledge Of the
business and s,cial relations Of the two
c0l0rs in De Soto parish, and upon the
necessary dependence Of. the blacks upon
the whites for employment and for lands to
work, that thoee Of the colofed voters Of
the late election held In said parish to elect
presidential electors, member Of Congress,
etc., did 90 vote through fear OF pereon Il
violence, moral cofhpulsion, fear Of losing
their crops, their houses, theif explOy msnt
and the like, and against their will. IT,
Adisnt Knows of NO instance of bribery of
voters Of his own knowledge; but from in
fol m stion derived from others, and which
he belieyes to he credible, he believes that
bribery In one form or another was largely
resorted to by the Democrats to influence
voters in favor of their candidates..
Afisnt further states that he verilv be-
lieves and has abundant reason to believe
that very many Of the colored voters Of said
parish refused to 20 to the polls at Ill on
the day Of SAID election, and thst many
others Of them who did 60 to the polls went
swsy without voting tor the reason that
they could not vote the Republican ticket
without mourning serious risks Of losing
their crops, their homes and, In many in
stances, Of personal violence.
A c. L FERGUSON.
= Sworn to and subscribed the seventeenth
of November, 1876. "A. B. LEvISEE,
United Ststes Commissioner, District oi
Louisiana.