New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-04-16
NICHOLS AND PACKARD.
TIE RIVAL GOVERNORS VISITED.

a
TWO SHADES OF REPUBLICAN OPINIONS
fvoou STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIDUSE.l
NEW ORLEANS, April 5.-The first thing a newspa-
per correspondent wants to do on arriving IN thlS
contentious city is to get look at the rival gov
erpments; and the superior dramatic attractions OF
The Packard establishment, bceaguered by unseen
forces in the State House, naturally takes nm IN
that direction first The old st. Louis Hotel SOFA 10
the Kellogg administration for state House
through the medium of jobbng commission VINO
first bought il themselves individuals and then
sold IL to themselves as commissioners representing
the State stands in the midst of the French quarter
II is reached by a ten minutes walk from Canal-st.
along narrow street of little French shops, each
tenanted bv man and woman carry
inc the marital relation into business, as
only tie Latin races do. The hotei
is a four-story parallelogram hung around with
broad balconies and inclosing court. All the re-
pon around il is dirty ll-smelng, and picturesque
At the entrance of the building two negro guards
in polcemens uniforms pace to aud fro carrying
Springfield muskets with fixed bayOnets upon their
shoulders few unarmed police lounge under inc
yeranda in company with miscellaneous rahDle
of 81 coors The gutter in front OF the sidewalk Is
the frontier line Of Packards domain AS lar as tle
buildinp extends his Tetainers can promenade upoh
the sidewalk but if they go across the street uleF
are liable TO be snatched up by the city pohce' III
side the door found two more armed negroes III
uniform who disputed my right to enter untli sans-
fed Of my pcaceablc intentions. Some stacks OF
uuskets stood in the hall. and upon the floor were
boxes of cartridges From the entrance hall hight
of stairs led ND under rotunda to the second oor,
and on the landing behind the baustrade were per
hans n dozen men with guns. posted so as 10
defend the passage of the stairs They had maze
sort of breastworll by plng up number OF large
account books against the railing ard on the top OF
the books they had handy supply of metallic car
tridges More guards, black or yellow stood he
fore the doors leading to the rooms above, ana Iohe
ING upon q vcranda that ovorhUng the court were
thirty or forty Others some in full uniform some in
half uniform and some in no uniform, but All win
shabby dsrcputablc look. The only men that APP
pcared intelligent and neat were the sentlneN below
miscellaneous rabble filed the halls and stairs
and the apte-room to the Governors office. Had II
NOT been for the predomnance of black visaSes the
scene would have strongly suggested the headqlar-
tiers of Communisc mob in Pans.
InresponSe to q card. Gov Packard left caucus
which ne was holding in his room and came out INTO
the ante-chambcr. 1t needed only glance at hlnl
10 show that he is the BRAIN nerve, and backboneoi
his Marty man of over SIX feet in hight, of M
usual muscular development, with large, well
poised head piercing black eyes, and nose ana
chin expressive of stubborn will, he seems to have
the snfl in him required for leadeTShlp0f dangerous
enterprises In whatever situation person OF ms
organization might he placed in life, he would find
something TO command. "Did you wish to see me
4 am the Governor" he said as he came into the
room. II was a simple announcement enough, but
in tbe Guict way in winch he said 81 am the Gov
erDorD there was an assertion of authority as posi-
five as was conveyed by the grand monarch ot
France when he said " EGdt c'est moi" The varl-
GUS officials and hapgcrs-on who filed the room
snnk into inspEifcance in the commanding presence
of their master. Seeing Packard, l could well
believe the reports that he has been from the first
the chief Of the Republican party i'll Louisiana and
that Kellogg and the rest of the supposed leaders
have been only instruments that he has used. lie
talked in rs easy and selfpossesscd a manner as
though he were the undispntcd head of the state
instead of a prisoner in the State House, not daring
TO 90 out of il for fear Of arrest. He claimed that
his title was every bit "a good rs that of President
Hayes, and said he meant to defend himself 10 the
last. He might be abandoned aud overtmown' he
added but lac did not mean to be quietly showed
aside lie would at least make a noise that the
country wOuld hear. The legal points III his favor
lac stated with great cleaness concluding by saying
that there was no way to asSa him on legal grounds
except by the I'D captGadum argument of denying the
power of the Returning Board to canvass The votes
The Acknowledgement a dignifed gentleman with
Spanish physognomy who took part in the CONVEX
sation aftcrward went into an explanation Of the
constitution of the two rival Supreme Courts, and
made ont strong case for the validity of the Pack
ard tribunal.
When the interview closed walked through the
binding and found il swarming with a motley
throng Of men of every shade of color, from white
to ebony. all engaged-if doing anything besides
LONGING and sinOking-n talking politics. About
fonrtb of the crowd were white whose faces
and garb indicated that they belonged to the lower
classes of the city. Entering the Hall of Repre-
sentatives-a large lofty room that used to be the
hotel parlOr-I got into conversation with group
of members all black but one. They were good
deal excited at the prospect OF the United states
Government abandoning them, and the white man
a particular friend of Packards. was aftcrward
tod-dcnounced President Hayes as a traitor in
bitter terms aud said that if be did not stand mp 10
Packard there would be evidence got up in this
State that would drive him from the White House.
asked how the President was to support the Pack
ard government without an army, aud reminded the
irate member that after the 30th of June there
vouId probably be no appropriation for the army if
the troops were not Withdrawn from New-Oricans.
"Tben let him call on the militia of the North"
he replied " He has no right to go back
us. What did he take the eight electoral
votes Of this State for if he didn't mean TO sustain
the Republicans here I" colored man in the crowd
said: 81 .et the President withdraw his army. We
can get along without it if lac viii recognize Packard
and send us our quota of arms" This Il view
which no one else seemed 10 share. The discussion
was getting warm, when | was eXtrcated by eX-
Gov Warmoth who said when we had escaped
from the press, that there was only one way ont OF