The daily gazette., 1876-08-09
BAYARD OR BOUTWELL,

BAYARD OR BOUTWELL,.
Instead of the grave judicial report
which would have become committee
Of the Senate appointed to investigate
the last State election in Mississippi,
subject that demanded the most careful
and discriminating treatment, the ma
1 jority of that committee have produced
thoroughly partisan document. Its
authors make NO pretense even of hav-
| ing examined both sides of the ques.
tion. Not 10 speak of thei. unqualified
! Endorsement of the imbecile Ames,
I and, their statement that but very
small proportion of the "carpet-bag"
| ofhce-holders in Mississippi have abused
their opportunities--an Endorsement
and statement too ridiculous to be
made by aey partisan newspaper
their repor. recites three alleged OUT
RACES upon the persons of Republicans,
and in proof OF these gives the testi,
mony only of the prosecuting witness
SEES, with not so much as an allusion to
the evidence of the other side! This
may seem incredible, but it is strictly
true. The report contains only few
lines OF the cross.exeminatiOn by
Senator Bayard of one of these witness
ses, who was asked by him at the con-
clusion Of her testimony
20. Did you ever take an oath
beforey A. No, sir.
70. Do you know the meaning of
taking an oath? A. No, sir.
1! @. Do you know what the con-
sequences are of swearing falselye A.
No, SIR"
i Fortunately for the interests CT
truth, Senator Bayard, whom the ma,
,jority, by the way, appear to have
treated with signal discourtesy in pre-
,paring and presenting their report, has
prepared his own statesmanlike story
OF the investigation. and with this story
before them candid readers will see for
themselves how utterly false and un-
trustworthy arc the raw head and
bloody bone tales of murders for opin-
IONS sake collated by the committee
and their facile clerk. Since the dis
closures in the infamously famous case
at Memphis of Frances Thompson, the
negress who appeared in ex Senator
Washburne's report as "the victim OF
sixteen successive ravishmeuts" by
white ruflians in that city, but who
has since turned out to be negro man
keeping disorderly house in woman's
attire; since the case OF State Senator
Twitchell, of Louisiana, who was
: paraded from an Indianapolis pulpit as
"the victim offiendish malignity in his
"adopted section;" but who was after
ward declared by the unanimous
report of Congressional investigating
| n iffan tn ha a r,1 /, rf .olifSon
. dead beat, who had brought down
upon himself the vengeance of a tel-
low charlatan by certain disreputable
practices; since the case Of Deputy
United States Marshal Perrin, of Ala,
bama. who was discovered to have
shot his own coat full of bullet holes
in order to prove his narrow escape
, from Democratic assassins; since the
exposures before the same Alabama
investigating committee of reported
murdered men who were found in most
exuberant health; since numberless
other similar cases of deliberate false.
hoods. concocted for party purposes,
have long been familiar TO the public,
the intelligent reader might well be
excused for receiving Senator Bout
wells new Mississippi ''outrages''
with a whole sackful of salt, even were
they not proven to be utterly unreliable
by the testimony of Mr.. Bayard. AS
this majority report stands, its animus
is so patent that it must tend to defeat
: the ends of its authors, although its
effect upon the merely partisan crowd
lconld NOT have failed to prove mis-
chievous, had it not been so promptly
counteracted by the plain statement OF
the minority.
The main facts in the report have al
ready been published in the columns OF
a New York paper, by a correspond
ent who was al the same time clerk OF
the Mississippi committee. Without
discussing the question whether it is
proper that an individual in tho EN-.
ploy of the Federal Government
should use his position to subserve
! party ends, the letters of this corespon
ding clerk have been marked by such
extreme bigotry and such an obvious
hough deXtrous manipulation of facts
to warrent the belief that their pub
lication must have been part of a
general scheme of Misrepresentation
contemplated by the committee. They
prepared the way for the majority re.
port now made. 1t has for some time
been evident that the intent of the in~
vestigatiol was to declare the election
of the Democratic Legislature illegal
and void, and therefore to prevent the
admission of Mr.. Lamar to his seat in
the Senate. The majority report de
clares that the testimony taken by the
committee "fully supports the allie a.
"tion that force, fraud and intim o,
"tion were used generally and sue s.
: fully in the canvass of 1876" and
: further, that in certain counties named
If there had been free election, Re-
publican candidates would have been
"chosen and the character of the Leg.
, "islaturc SO changed that there would
shave been 66 Republicans to 80 DEM
"ocrats in the House, and 20 Republi
Q leans to II Democrats in the Senate
''and that consequently the presen,
Legislature of Mississippi is not le
: "gal body, and that its acts are not en-
| Htitled to recopnitiOn nv tho ,,olitco