New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-02-14

The Senate subcommittee on Louisiana
affairs had Judge A. B. Levisee, Hayes
slectoi, before them lset Friday. In thu
course of his examination the witness said
that proposition was made for consider
alton to cast his electoral vote for Samuel
j. Tilden. On the fourth of December the
witness was at the residence of Mrs. Bar
low, on ConstantinOple street, New Orleans;
had dined out, and was returning home.
Mrs. Barlow and her daughter being pres
emit, one of them gave witness a note, asking
him to meet T.. w. Johnston at Cassidy's
Hotel on important business. Johnston
wrote the note at Mrs. BarlOW's. The ladies
asked witness what it meant; he replied he
had no idea. The ladies thought Johnston
wanted witness to vote for Tilden. Mr..
Johnston, who is an active Democrat,
called next morning and asked the witness
to meet 8. M. Ashur, whom the witness had
known as a banker in Shreveport, at Cas-
sidy's. The witness did so, fret informing
Marshal Pitkin of his suspicious. Ashur
and the witness walked to q retired part of
the town. Ashur said he had important
business to propose, and would make fair
proposition as q broker. He then pre-
sented his offer, whether witness would be
willing to receive a certain sum of money
say $50, 600 or $40, 000-Rnd refuse his GER
tifcate as electOr. Witness gave no direct
answer, as he had arranged to do with Pit
kin, and asked several questions, and
finally said the price was too small; that be
might as well receive 100000 as $4,000;
that it was big chance TO make big thing;
that it only happened once in hundred
years that one man had an opportunity to
make President, aud finally that Johnston
might say to his frienos that Levisee was
not unwilling to listen to the proposition,
but that they had not got up to his price
yet, and left him, after appointing another
meeting that night. At the second inter-
view, Ashur said the witness would be re-
quired to cast his vote for Tilden. Witness
replied that this was new question; and
put him off, and stuck TO his price of $780,
600. Finally, after a more close inquiry,
witness wanted to know who his hackers
were. Then he went off to see his friend or
prompter, and was back in half an hour.
Witness asked whom he had seen, and he
gave the name of Walter Pugh. Ashur
said 500, 900 was the utmost that could be
raised by Pugh or his hackers, and asked
the witness to go with him next morning
to Common street and they would meet two
men, Pugh and the mOneyed man. Wit
ness and Ashur went to the place ap-
pointed, and met the two men as described.
The man said to ba the mOneyed man
the witness recognized as Hernandez, q
prominent New Orleans broker. Herman
DEE spoke to witness, and witness intro
duced Ashur to him. Hernandez wished to
DEE could talk to Ashur, as he was the par
ty to talk to. Witness then went home
after making an appointment for the next
morning at the st. Charles Hotel. Net
Ashur next day at eleven o'clock, and
made an appointment for noon, when they
again met, and Ashur said 100000 was all
that could be raised. Witness stuck to his
5000, 900, and said it was not worth while
to talk about it any more. Ashur is Jew,
q fine business man, and q good neighbOr
Witness regrets to have to expose mis- name.
Witness reported all these proceedings to
Marshal Pitkin as they took place, ana Pit
kin was well satisfied with what witness
had done. He had never seen Johnston
since.
During the crOss-examinatiOn Judge Lev
isee stated that when johnston came to
Mrs Barlow's he remarked that he would
like to be in the witness shoes, as he could
make 5000, 900 in two days. Witness never
suggested that he would aceede to their
proposition and make speech to the Re-
turning Board, placing his action for not
voting for Hayes on high moral grounds.
Such suggestion was made by Ashur, but
witness did not agree to It. At the last In
terviOw Ashur stated that the $l00,000 was
waidng for him. At the meeting of the
electors the witness announced that he had
been offered 100000 to cast his vote Tor
Tilden.
A special to the Chicago Tribune, of the
tenth, SAYS:
When Dudley Fields committee met this
morning Field was in an extremely petu-
liant mood. He was SO testy and irascible
that, to conceal his exhibition of temper
and cloak his quarrels with his associates,
the room was cleared for half an hour that
the differences might be adjusted. When
open session was resumed, Charles Cavanac,
who was privately introduced by Field as
"the dynamite witness of the Democrats,
was put on the stand. His testimony proved
TO be dynamite to the Littlefield conspira-
cy, and to all those who have aided to en-
gIneer it, including, apparently, Governor
Palmer, Of Illinois.
Littlefield's great point has been to prove
that the Vernon parish return was changed
from two HAYES votes TO 178 votes at the ex-
press order of Governor Wells, and that
this change was taken advantage of by the
Returning Board. "The dynamite witness"
Cavanae proved clearly that whatever
change was made in the Vernon parish re-
turn could not have affected the votes for
the Hayes electors. Cavanac was Demo
cratic lawyer before the Returning Board.
He testified that he saw the return from
Vernon parish opened in the presence of the
board; that it contained the return of two
votes for Hayes when opened; that it was
counted, tabula0ed, and canyassed by the
order Of the board two votes for Hayes,
and that the proceedings were soon after
published by order of the board in 8 public
newspaper two votes for Hayes. He also
swore specifically that, If any changes had
been made in the return increasing it
above two votes, they were made subse-
quent to the time of the canvass by the
board. By the testimony, therefore, of a
leading Democratic witness, Littledeld's
story that the return was changed by order
of Governor Wells to increase the vote OF
the Hayes electors was transparent false
hn0d