Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-12-15
LOUISIANA.
SPECIAL MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT
GRANT.
A CLEAR STATEMENT OF FRAUD.
Report Of Hon. John sherman and
Others.

Report OF Hon. } ohm sherman and
Others.
WASHINGTON, Dec 6.-The following is
the message which the. President sent to
Congress to-day:
To the Senate and House of Representatives
have the honor to transmit herewith
letter accompanied by testimony addressed
to me by Hon. John Sherman and other
citizens, in regard to the
canvass of the vote for Electors in the State
of Louisiana. U. S. GRANT.
Executive Mansion, Dec 6, 1876.
The letter transmitted to the President is
as follows.
To the President Of the United States:
In pursuance of your request that sever
al of the undersigned should proceed to
New Orleans and there witness the canvass
by the Returning Board of the State of
Louisiana of the votes cast in that State
for Electors of President and Vice Presi-
dent of the United States, we have per
formed that duty, and now respectfully
report that, ON our arrival in that city, we
found several gentlemen who came repre-
senting the Republican State organizations
and who have throughout co-operated with
those who went at your request, and whose
names are also appended to this communi-
cation. Between the gentlemen represent
ing the Democratic party and ourselves a
correspondence in writing ensued, a copy
of which is appended here. Reference to.
it will disclose that a conference with us
for the purpose of exercising an influence
upon the Returning Board was declined,
upon the ground that the.only duty deYolv-
ed upon US was to attend before the Board,
carefully note its proceedings, and finally
to report faithful history thereof, with
opinions concerning the same as truth and
justice should demand. Such report we
are now able to present, and we take pleas
ure in stating that our ability to do so is
due to the exercise ofa courtesy and kind
ness by the Returning Board, which en-
titles its members not only to our thanks,
but to that confidence which Just public
extends toward every tribunal which de-
sires that all its proceedings should be du-
ly presented to public scrutiny. 1t was our
earnest wish that this publicity should be
attained, but we should have felt delica-
cy in requesting any privilege not in har-
mony with the usage Of the Board. We
were, however, relieved from all embar-
rassment by the receipt of formal invita-
tion, hereby annexed, delivered to US and
the gentlemen who attended at the re-
quest of the chairman of the Democratic
committee, inviting the attendance of five
gentlemen from each delegation as speeta-
tors and witnesses as the proceedings of the
board, and this invitation was accompanied
with an offer to furnish stenographic re-
porters, selected by each committee, to be
present and make a full report of all the
proceedings and testimony, and to secure
daily publication thereof by the press. The
undersigned made arrangements for that
purpose with the prOprietors of one daily
newspaper printed in New Orleans, and
thus, perhaps, there and elsewhere, have
been enabled to give such proceedings and
testimony the widest circulation. In JUS
tice to the board it should also be stated
that this privilege was freely. accorded by
its members without solicitation, and that
they cordially united with us in the desire
to have all their proceedings published
throughout the country. The scrutiny in
vited by the board has been constantly ex-
ercised. Day by day both committees have
been in attendance before the board with
their stenographic reporter, and in addi-
ton the privilege rendered to both com
mittees, of inviting gentlemen from States
other than Louisiana, has been several
times availed Of As the returns were open
ed, whether contested or not, the papers
enclosed have been freely rendered to the
committee for examination, and have usu-
ally been carefully inspected, and as a
means of detecting any possible changes in
the returns after leaving their respective
parishes, both committees were furnished
L.,
of the vote as claimed by them. that by
comparison it might be known if any alter
alton had been made in the returns to be
passed upon by the board, with which
statement the returns usually agreed.
Whenever it was known to the board that
a return was to be contested the. attorneys
for the candidates interested were sent for
to be present at the ceremony of opening,
and when such, knowledge was attainable
only by the inspection of the inside of the
package containing such returns, these at
torneys were invited TO be present before
any action was taken upon it. There was
thus secured, in the manner mentioned,
the publicity of all the proceedings Of the
board, the most careful scrutiny of every
package Of returns opened by it, and op-
portunity for candidates insisting upon
itlC O1 uC W
sonally and by counsel before the board, in
many instances before the returns. were
opened, and in every instance before ac-
ton was taken upon them. 1t has been be-
ieved quite unusual to give such full and
widespread publicity to the proceedings of
a Returning Board, nor do we think that
better means for permanently recording
every word and act of its members whilst
engaged in the discharge Of their duties,
could have been afforded than were enjoy
ed Having thus presented a statement Of
the means accorded of witnessing the can
vass, it may be well to state briefly the
causes which led TO the creation ofsuch q
board in Louisiana, and to call attention to
the statute which dey0lves on it powers
and duties of great public Importance. The
white people of that and other southern
States had, by their rebellion, forfeited all
right to representation in Congress, or to
any participation i'll the government of the
Union, and had been compelled, as con-
dition of resumipg their former political
rights, to assent to the constitutional
amendment by which, in hostility to their
will, those who. had been but late their
slaves were made citizens, and although 1t
was their duty to submit to this political
reorganization, the journals of the. South,
and especially of Louisiana, disclose a
widespread and persistent determination
of its ruling white people to prevent the
exercise Of the elective franchise by the
colored race, except subject to their will.
This was manifest by the violence, out
RACES and murders perpetrated in that
State just preceding the Presidential cleo
ton of 1858. They will be found stated in
various congressional reports, From these
it appear that over 2.G00 persons were kill
ed, wounded and otherwise injured in that
State within few weeks of the presiden-
tial election of that year. Half Of the State
was overrun by violence, midnight raids,
| secret murders and open riots, which kept
the people in constant terror, until the Re-
publicans surrendered all claims, and then
the election was carried by the Democrats.
The parish Of Orleans, which contained 29,-
91O voters 5000 Of which were colored,
and which in the spring had given IL, ga
Republican votes, in the fall cast for Gen.
Grant but 1, ,17S falling off of IL, 79t
votes, Riots prevailed for week, filling
New Orleans with scenes of blood, and ku'
Klux notices were scattered throughout
the city warning the colored people not tt
vote. In the parish of Caddo, there were
29S Republicans, who, in the spring o.
1883, carried the parish, which IN the fai
gave to Gen. Grant but one vote, and there
also, bloody riots occurred, In the PaTist
of Saint Landry the Republicans had {
registered majority of 1911 votes, and il
the spring Of that year carried it by 67t
votes, whilst in the fall not vote was cas-
for Gen. Grant, whilst for Seymour anC
Blair the Democrats cast the full vote o
the parish-4,97 votes, and there occurred
one of the bloodiest riots on record, II
| which the Kn Klux killed and wounded