The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-03-21
HAYES AND PACKARD.

A great many OF our good people,
warm supporters of the Nichols gov
eminent permitted themselves to
doubt as to the success of that gov
eminent, upon the sole ground that
the radicals have heretofore claimed
the success of Packard, viz: that be-
cause the electoral vote of Louisiana
as counted by the Electoral Commits.
sion was given to Hayes, the vote of
the State must also be given to Pack
ard, else Hayes invalidates his own
title. There is no force in this posi-
ton for it does not follow that the
electoral ticket of one party and the
State ticket of another may not be
elected at the same election. South
Carolina is a conspicuous example.
The Democrats concede the election
of the Hayes electors, and claim the
election Of Hampton, which is only
outdoned by Chamberlain through
fraud. Florida is another example.
The Democratic Governor was cleo
ted and installed without opposition
and yet the electoral vote was coun-
ted for Hayes. Hayes as President
is under no more obi CATION to sus-
tain Packard in Louisiana than he is
to resurrect and install Stearns in the
plan of Drew in Florida, except that
Stearns had the manhood and homes
ty to acknowledge his defeat, and
Packard is trying by bold assertions
to hide his defeat and crawl into Of.
fee under federal protection.
Nor is this all. The Electoral
Commission was body created by
Congress with only such authority,
as the Commission decided, as Con
gress itself had and with pretended
great respect for the rights of the
States it declared it could not 60 be-
hind the returns Of the Louisiana
Canvassing Board as to Presidential
Electors. The question as to the
Legislature and State officers Of Lou
isiana is. a very different one. By
the Constitution the two Houses of
the Legislature are the exclusive
judges of the election and qualitica-
tions of its own members, and the
Legislature as thus constituted are
to count the votes for Governor and
Lieutenant Governor. The Legisla
ture not only can 60 behind the Re-
turning Board, but they ignore that
body and count the votes for them
selves. They can not go behind the
ballot box, but the Returning Board
can, and therein lies tie case in nut
shell. 1t is the difference between
Returning Board or no Returning
Board, and we have learned to
our cost what that difference means.
The Packard Legislature never was
organized according to law, because
the clerk Of the old House was not
there to call the roll and because
guards and policemen backed by U.
S. soldiers prevented the duly elected
members from entering the Hall.
They did not have legal quorum of
the House without seating notorious
ly defeated candidates and they did
not have, nor pretend to have a quo
rum of the Senate, even after seating
Kelso and another Senator who were
returned as defeated by the Board.
Nor did they even as organized,
count the votes cast, but adopted the
count of the Overturning Board. On
the other hand the Nichols Legisla-
ture with a legal quorum in both
bodies, organized according to law,
did count the votes for Governor and
acknowledgements from the &C
tual returns as certified by the Clerks
of the Court from all the parishes in
the State. Thus two results have
been found, one by the Electoral
Commission following the Returning
Board as to electors, and another by
the Nichols Legislature as to Gov
ernor and Lieutenant Governor.
Non constat, as the lawyers say, that
both may not be true and according
to law and the actual result of the
election held in this State on the 7th
of November, 1875.
And more than all this Hayes does
not discredit his own title by decli-
ming to recognize Pockard because it
is no part of his duty as President
either to pull down or build up State
governments, and he has said that
he proposes to let the people settle
that question for themselves. And
that is how Packard goes by the
board and Hayes does not SANDER
own title.