The daily gazette., 1877-01-22
Th Republicans and State
Rights in Louisiana,


All of a sudden, the Republican lea
ders, who have done their best to destroy
the self-government of tine States, and to
consolidate all political power in the
hands of centralized administration;
who have sustained all the usurpation
OF the Executive; who have justified the
rule OF bayonets and military interference
In elections; and who have passed laws to
make the Sc outrages possible, are ena-
mored of State rights and State sovereign
ty! f4tl ta
How and whence came this professed
conversion? When Grants partisan COM
mittee got through with their work in
New Orleans, they had two objects to ac-
complish in order to fortify the fraudu-
lent count for Hayes. One was to furnish
a character for the rascally Returning
Board, and the other was to declare their
action infallible and irreversible by any
tribunal in the land. In their report to
the President they say: l
"Not only is the action of this board indie
pendent of the State or national laws other
than those of Louisiana, but its determine
tion OF the votes cast and candidate elected
Is Undt, and substantially c0neiusiue''
They might take forged returns, fabri-
Gated certificates, reject whole parishes
on false pretenses, and elect whom they
chose, as the Lynch board did in 1872,
and as Wells and his present associates
did in 1874, land have now done again;and
still according to Mr.. Sherman, Mr.. Slough
ton, and other Christian statesmen, their
action could not be revived. After hav-
ing stolen the State for Hayes, these Semi
nent lawyers" maintain that the thieves
cannot be tried for the larceny. And
John Sherman boldly declared in the Sen
ate that any inquiry into the conduct of
the board would be violation of State
rights.
The House sent committee to New
Orleans to investigate the recent ntelection,
with the usual powers. They called for
the originalpapers ofthe Returning Board,
in order to report the exact facts. Wells
and his confederates, who had doubtless
been advised to their course by Sherman
refused to produce them upon the most
frivolous pretences, but finally offered to
allow copies to be made, if the committee
would furnish the clerks.
When the clerks appeared they were
not permitted to handle the papers at all
or to test their accuracy in any way, but
were required to take down only what
the subordinates of the Returning Board
read to them. These and other acts, as
well as the frauds of the same men in 1874,
naturally excited distrust, and the origi-
nails were again demanded and refused,
though within few minutes reach of the
committee.
Under these circumstances, the facts
were reported to the House, and the Re
turning Board were properly adjudged to
be in contempt. Garfield, Hoar, Kas-
son Lawrence, and others, who have
been foremost in crushing out liberty in
the States and in building up central
lied government, rushed to the rescue of
the Returning Board, and sought to shield
their iniquites by shouting that State
rights would be invaded by the produc-
tion Of the papers of the Returning Board.
1t was pretended that the election returns
were State records, which were sacred
and not subject to any examinations.
Now, it has never been proposed to re-
move these papers from New Orleans, land
all the defamation of the Republicans
was only intended to mislead the public
mind, and to throw dust inthe eyes of the
people. Investigation would make the
frauds of the Returning Board more pat
ent than they now are, and hence this de-
sire for concealment.