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

isterial. It is the returns Of these i've ON
GERS, and these alone, which, under the
law, constitute the prina tacie evidence o.
the result of the election. Their power
; to inquire into and determine the results
ofviolence and intimidation where alleged,
is not the power of counting out or count
ing in votes, but the power to decide
whether alleged votes are votes OF
not; it is the power to examine into cases
where an election has already been
nullified by acts of violence and &c
forth, and if the nullity is proved
according to law, to ascertain and declare
that nullity. These powers do not differ
in their nature and character from those
vested in returning officers by the laws Of
other States; they differ only in the ex-
tent to which these powers may be exer.
cised. That extent is enlarged by our
law to meet the peculiar circumstances
and exigencies of our political condition
as have above described it.
I will simply add that the question
with regard to certain parishes of
this State known as the bulldozed
parishes, is not whether their votes
shall be counted out or counted in;
it is whether the tickets deposited in the
ballot boxes in these parishes on the day
| of the election were votes or not votes.
I believe that if true and impartial his
tory of the events which have occurred in
any one of these parishes should be given,
which should include an account of the
secret or open armed political societies;
| which should include a history of the
murders, whippings, assassinations, burn
ings and other acts Of outrage and vio-
lence, traceable directly to political rea-
sons, and committed for political OBJ
jects; which should also include the
evidence OF the colcred people of those
parishes themselves as to attempts made
to force them to join Democratic clubs
and to vote the Democratic ticket, or to
abstain from voting the Republican ticket;
and which should also include q tabular
statement of the census and registration
and previous votes of these parishes, it will
appear conclusively to every candid and
impartial mind, that the occurrences
OF 1868 have been repeated in
these parishes in 1876, and that in
law and in fact there was no election
at most of the polls in these parishes;
and that the ballot boxes, instead of
containing votes, contain simply the rec
ords of an organized, premeditated and
deliberate system of violence and init
midation such as has no parallel in any
other State of the Union, excepting those
States where the difference in population
and the political lines drawn between the
populations are similar to those existing
here.
see in the Chicago Tribune of Novena-
Der Is supposed case stated in Chicago
to illustrate these late elections in Louis
lana. It is as follows:
LIE. US see if we can bring home the ex-
listing state of things in the bulldozed par
ishes of louisiana to the comprehension of
our Democratic readers in this city. We
premise that the G. lOred men in the South
are a. nearly unanimously Republican as
the Catht ! G Irish are Democrats. 1t re-
quires fully as much persuasion to change
Southern negro into Democrat as it
would here in Chicago TO change Demo
cratic Irishman into Il -pu blican. Bridge
port casts about 800 Democratic votes and
100 Republican votee; of the former per-
haps 5000 are Irish Catholics, and OF the
latter 1875 are Protestants. Supp Dse on the
morning after the election it had been an
nounced that Bridgeport had voted as fol-
lows: HAYES aud the whole republican
ticket, 1853; Tilden and the Democratic
ticket 3-wbat would the Times have said7
How would Perry II. Smith, General Cam
eron and Miles Kshoe have talked! What
opinion would Captain Comet, Tom Foley,
Mike Evans and Dave Thornton give OF the |
causes that produced such a RESULT The |
sstonishment of the Republicans of New
Orleans was equally great when they learn.
ed that the Overwhelming Republican par
i-h of East Feliciana had been returned
1883 for Tilden and 3 for Hayes, when |
every mar in Louisiana knOws there is |
Republican majority in 'he parish OF be- |
tween 1000 and 1000 Suppose. further.
more, that the Irish sixth ward had been re- |
turn 500 majority for Hayes, the case would |
have been no worse than the return of 500 |
Democratic majority from West Felicians |
instead of 1900 Republican, which it can |
give. Suppose the Irish seventh had been |
returned at 600 majority for Hayes and the |
Irish eigth ward al 1910 for Hayes, instead |
Of l400 and 1900 for Tlden, then you have |
parallel case to what was done in More
house and Ouachita parishes against the |
Republicans. The registered vote in West |
Fellciapa is 400 Democrats and 224S Rapub-
!icans, and yet this parish, with its 1912 Re- |
publican majority, is returned by the Con-
federate thieves who conducted the election
as having cast 465 majority for Sam Til !
d. II! The registered vote of MorehOuse |
parish is 93S Democrats and 1880 Republi- |
cans, but it is returned by the scoun-
drels who bulldozed it at 528 for
1ilden! Ouachita parish has 925 regis
tered Democratic votes and 2lG7 Repnb-
licaD, but the bulldo zers have returned
a majority of 1910 tor Tilden! No man but |
or defend fraud, corrupti' and vilainy Of |
this sort. OF course the Returning Board,
upon proof of these alleged frauds, must
throw out the spurious ma jority returned |
in those bulldozad parishes, and, wkile this
is as far as the law allows them to proceed.
yet then the Republicans will be deprived
OF the 5000 majority they have in those par
ishes. And now the country is threatened |
with civil war by the Democrats who ex.
pect office or have bets pending if the
fraudulent votes of those bullbozed par.
ishes are rejected and Tilden thereby loses
the State OF Louisiana!
The illustration is a forcible and true
one in almost all particulars, but it lacks
one very essential feature which belongs
% 1 r