New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-02-17

in such manner as the Legislature directed,
| while there was evidence conclusive in law
that neither of them had been 90 appointed;
also on the ground that there was no evil
| denee that McEnery was Governor of
Louisiana in the year 1876, while there was
cOnclusive evidence that Kellogg was,
during 1876 and for several years prior
thereto, Governor of that State, and was
recognized as such by the judicial and leg
islative departments of Louisiana, and by
all the departments of the government of
thetUnited States.
The Presiding Oficer-"Are there further
objections to the State of louisiana" After
| a pagse-"TheTe being no further objection,
| all the certificates from that State, with the
| papers accompanying the same, together
with the objections, will be submitted to
| the Electoral Commission for Judgment and
decision. The Senate will now Withdraw to
/ its chamber"
The Senate thereupon withdrew.
The Electoral Commission was called to
order at four o'clock, and received the Ger
tihcates and accompanying papers in the
| Louisiana case.
Messrs. Field, Campbell, Trumbull, Car
| penter, Merrick, Hoadly and Green, counsel
for Democrats; and Evarts, Matthews. Shell
labarger and StoughtOn, for the Repnb.
| licans, appeared.
The commission adjourned to eleven
| O'Clock on Tuesday.
| 1AppOluLuk W Iuo GoulLHib-
mission met at eleven O'Clock on Tuesday.
Justice Clifford announced that two hours
| for argument for each sidewOuld be allowed,
| and the commission was ready to hear OBJ
jectors to Hayes certificates.
Senator Mcdonald opened, claiming that
| the Hayes electors were not legally elected
| quoting the statutes Of Louisiana, showing
two sets of electoral laws. Whether one law
repealed the other, or whether they should
run together, the proceedings of the L4Ouis-
ana Returning Board were alike irregular
| and unlawful.
Mr.. jerks concluded by asking the COM
| mission to let the truth shine upon the
whole transaction. If you do, said he,
there can be but one single result; the
| wisest of men, the strongest of men, can
not make the false true. No false govern
ment should be set up. Solomon set up a
| false government to his cost. II you at
| tempt to blind the eyes of this mighty ma
ton, your edict will be void, for history
| will know the truth and record it. No, we
want to clear out all the pollution, and to
| purge the nation of the disgrace of the
fraudulent act Of this vile Returning Board.
Mr.. HurlOut, one of the DIRECTORS to the
certificate No. 2-the Tilden papers-atter
briefly reviewing the history OF Louisiana
for several years since, claimed that the
Kellogg government bad been officially
| recognized by the President of the United
| States and by both houses of Congress
John McEnery has not attempted to exer-
| else the functions of Governor since 1874
and yet he now comes forward and attempts
| to give certificates to men who claim to
have been elected Tilden electors.
Mr.. Hurlbut read one of the certificates
| to show its peculiar phraseOlogy, aud that
| McEnery did not sign himself as Governor
and did not use the great seal of the State;
| he had no seal, nor did he have any Office
| The fact being settled that Kellogg is the
| nnlu lauful RvaanTiUa nf I.OnisiAno ha
| would ask the commission whether they
| had the right or the time to investigate the
election in that State2 He read from the
| laws of Louisiana to sustain his argument
Mr.. Howe followed Mr.. Hurlbut on the
| same side.
The commission adjourned to six o'clock.
On reas assembling at E P. NJ. Mr..
Carpenter asked the indulgence of the
court fer an argument on the statutes pre-
| vious to the opening of the case, and the
! submission of proof, the time to come out
OF the four and half hours The request
was granted, and Mr.. Carpenter began his
| addrt IS, asserting that he appeared not
only for the present elected President, but
| perhaps for the next Republican candi-
date. He wanted precedent established,
so that if he should receive majority of
10000 in that State, no returning board
could cheat him out of it. If the precedent
of returning boards was tolerated, who was
SO hopeful as to believe that there would
be another President ell eeted by the peoplel
Why go into the expense OF a political
campaign, when returning boards can be
brlbed for 1.-THE of the COST He next went
into an inquiry as to the nature of the tri-
bunal, and the character of its powers He
argued that as Congress had reserved the
right to review the action of the tribunal,
it did not and could not exercise judicial
power. He submitted that wherever any
measure was pending before it, the commits
sion had the power to investigate TO its
hearts content; there was no limit to their
power to investigate. 1t might be done by
a committee of either house, or by joint
committee, or by a commission; the lat
ter had become common practice
in England. He maintained that by
no construction could this committee
be made to appear as anything else than
a legislative investigating committee. The
duty conferred upon the commission was to
inquire who had been duly appointed elect
ors in such States; not who seemed to be
elected, but who was duly appointed elect
Ors of the State of Louisiana; and to do it
it was clothed with all the powers Of both
houses.
Itthis commission could not go to the bot
tom of the question, then, indeed, it was
bOttomless, and there was no means to pre-
vent the greatest fraud that had ever been
| put upon the country. Neither the defeat.
ed candidate, nor the country, would be
satisfied with the action of the commission.
If it was taken without an inquiry into the
facts, while all would cheerfully abide by a
decision reached after due investigation, ii
the decision here was technical one on
false certificates, the case would go to the
judicial tribunals to vex the country for
months, and perhaps for years.
Mr.. Carpenter continued his argument,
claiming that the title to an oftioe rested in
the election to the office and not in the
certificates, and cited authorities for this
view of the law. He held that it was the
duty of the commission to go back of the
certificates, and, if Iced be, TO the election,
to ascertain Who were the legally appointed
electors.
He next went into consideration of the
election laws of Louisiana, covering the
act of 1868, which was Incorporated in the
Revised Statutes, which were made effeot.
i've by the act of March IA, 1870, to take
effect on the first of April. The general
election law was passed on the sixteenth oil
March, two days later, but sixteen days
before the Revised Statutes went into Oper
alton, and a question arose whether the
act going into effect latest recalled the act
passed subsequently, bat first to go into
effect.
If the law of 1868, as carried into the Re
vised Statutee, was in force, then the vote
of Louisiana came up here four years ago,
and when the two houses, each acting iol
itself, voted that there had never been 8
canvass of the votes, and that the vote Of
the State should not be counted. If the
vote could be rejected for neglect, this tri
bunAl, acting for the two houses, could re
jeet it for frauds. If the act of 1870 was in
force, it provided that the election for cleo
| tors should be held with the general cleo