New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-11-24

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officers on that day perform duties which
are, some of them, ministerial, some o.
them executive, and some of them judi
cial in their qualities. There was nothing
in the nature OK extent of powers which
might legally be imposed on returning
officers which could have prevented
the General Assembly from vestine
the judges of election at the various
polls with the powers necessary to
have enabled them to have rejected votes
openly and palpably presented under du-
ress and coercion; and in case where an
extensive conspiracy and wholesale ter
rorism should prevent whole neighbor-
hood or parish from voting at all, from
clothing the returning officers with power
to so certify the facts that an ordinary
canvassing board could have rejected the
pretended result Of such election as a
nullity. But the difficulty here met was
this: The same violence and force which
could intimidate and prevent whole neigh
borhoods and parishes from voting, would
also, in the nature of the case, as it bad
done in practice, overcome and intimi-
date the local returning officers, SO that
they would not perform their duties, and
thus. practically, the proposed remedy
would be Of no effect. 1t was tor this
| reason, that the Legislature of 1869 and
1870, took away from the commissioners
of election all the functions Of returning
officers and left them merely ministerial
and clerical officers to perform certain
Intermediary acts in the election,
between the first deposit Of the votes and
the final count of the same by the proper
returning officers. And in order to re-
move the returning officers from the
theatre of such scenes Of violence and in
timidation, and to place them in posi-
ton where they would be able in security
and perfect freedom to exercise their du-
ties, the Legislature took all these powers of
making returns, of counting the votes and
of declaring the result of elections, from
these scattered local officers, and vested
them wholly and completely in five persons
to be chosen as directed by law, who were
to be the sole returning officers for all
elections in the State; and then to these
five returning officers the Legislature gave
the additional power, when assembled to-
gether, Of receiving and determining evil
dence as to fraud, intimidation and vio-
lence which had nullifed any election at
any poll or in any parish; and where this
had been sufficient under the law to rem
der the election null at any poll, or at
any number of polls, to ascertain
this nullisy, and when ascertained to
declare it, and to carry it into effect by
rejecting from the count the votes so
made null and void.
This fundamental change in the num-
Der and authority of the returning Off
GERS. is the only feature in which the
election law of Louisiana differs mate
rally from those of other States. The
other differences are merely those of de-
tails to carry out and enforce this feature.
AS member OF the Senate, in the Gen.
eral Assembly which enacted this law,
and as chairman of the committee from
which it was reported, it became my duty
to prepare and draft the bill, which after
wards became a law. Act No. 100, sp-
proved March lG, 1870, is the law thus
passed 1t was written and drafted solely
and exclusively by me, and under my
direction. Of the original sections of the
act, which embodied this distinctive fea-
ture, to which have referred, which are
sections one, five, twenty-nine, thirty,
thirty-tive, fifty-one, fifty-two, ffty-three,
ffty-four, fifty-6ve and fifty-six, I was the
author. This act was afterward amended
and re-enacted in 1872, by act No. 90, ap.
proved November 90, 1872. Section one of
this act is the same as in the original act
section five of the original act is section
seven of the new act; section twenty nine
of the original act is section twenty six
OF the new act; section thirty of the
original act was repealed; section thirty
five of the original act is embodied in seq
tons twenty-nine and one of the new act
sections fifty-one and fifty-two of the old
act were embodied in sections ffty.six,
fiftyseven and fifty-eight of the new act;
section fifty-three of the old act is section
forty-three of the new act; section fifty
four, altered and amended, is section two
of the new act; section ffty-fve of the
old act is section three of the new act;
section fifty-six of the old act is section
forty-four of the newact The only material
change made by the new act, was the
change in the manner by which these Eve
returning officers should be selected. The
principal theory of the act of 1872, and |
its distinctive features, are identical with |
those of the act of 1870 Act No. 10 of |
1873, and act No. of 1876, amended the |
act of 1872 somewhat in relation 10 the |
Of commissioners of cleo |
ton. The act of 1870 made the commits
sioners appointive by the supervisors of |
the act of 1872 made |
them appointive by the police ju-
ries Of the several parishes; and
the acts of 1873 and 1875 again made
them appointive by the supervisors of
registration.
It will be seen that these five return