The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-16
THE LOUISIANA CASE.
What viii Iie bone With tho Dewn-Tred-
den Statt2
Can the Electoral Commission Honestly
Count Its Vote for Nayes7
New York Herald. ]


disappointed and ehagrined. are not
brought to despair by the adverse deoi-
sion In the case Of Florida. They do
not quail under their first defeat
Nor bate lot
or heart or hope; but still bear up and steer
Right onward.
They affirm that the cases Of Florida
and Louisiana are 80 different that 1t is
not to be expected that tho rules by
which the frat was decided can be- held
| to apply also to the last, and they main
tain, therefore, that the Commission,
whose duty is 10 "examine the votes
| Of tho Stale, will at least make an at
tempt to obtain an intelligent notion OF
| the facts.
The order or rule which was adopted
| In regard to Florida applied to u State
which had enjoyed selR-governmenti
whose people might be reasonably held
responsible for their own acts and for
the acts Of the officers, including the
Governor and Returning Board, whom
they had chosen by their votes. But
how stands the case In Louisiana? The
people OF that State elected neither the
Governor whose certificate pretends to
authenticate the acts of the Hayes cleo
tors, nor the Returning Board which
counted in those electors. The people
of Louisiana have not, since 1879, en-
joyed government or their oheloe.
This Is O notorious fact. Gov. Kellogg,
the State officers and tho Legislature
acting with him, were imposed upon the
State of Louisiana by federal military
forces, acting upon the midnight or
der" OF the federal Judge Durell-
an order which was SO contrary to law
that to escape impeachment for having
issued it he resigned his judgeship. The
men thus put In power over Louisiana
have been maintained there by Federal
troops ever since. Their right to the
places they usurped has never been as.
serted by any branch OF the Federal
government. The President said he
did not know who was elected. The
when he came with certificate OF cleo
ton by the usurping Legislature and
from the usurping Governor. The peo-
pie OF Louisiana have never ceased to
protest against the usurpation, and 1T
Ia notorious that the whole so-called
State government would disappear OF
itself X the Federal support were re-
moved. It has never had any root
among the people Of the State.
Now, Kellogg, thus forced upon the
people Of Louisiana against their will ,
and whom they have never acknowl-
edged, signs the certificate Of the Hayes
electors. The Returning Board which
counted in those electors was framed
and chosen by the usurping Legislature
was made self-perpetuating by that
body, which had not even the lawful
authority to create it; has been detected
and exposed in the commission OF gross
frauds upon the voters OF the state since
then by q committee sent by Repub.
lican House of Representatives, and
In it's present action, In counting in
| the Hayes electors, has openly VIC,
lated even the law, or pretended
law, OF the usurping Legislature
which created 1t. The president OF thai
) Returning Board. Wells, was exposed
by the Congressional Committee OF 1876
for having sworn to matters, in an aft
davit, Of which he had to confess he hat
no knowledge. IF the Commission
should accept the certificate Of Kellogg
and the acts Of his Returning Board, /
= would be the very first time that an!
branch Of the Federal power has direct
. ly ventured to declare that usurpint
y government legitimate. It would do al
Senate has Judged it right to do. Th
> Democrats believe that, however parti
: san spirit may rule the Senators ant
Representatives in the Commission, tn
: Justices OF the Supreme Court will
:, and will refuse to declare valid
q and much less final and con
. elusive, the acts of body OF men wh'
. derive their authority from fraud an
: violence which are infamous in on
8 history, and who have ve neve
. In the State, but have openl
a confessed that they existed a
. = ru:ers only under the continual protet
% tion Of Federal soldiers. They believ
. that when such proposition comes be
" fore these judges they will prefer, 6
:. least; to throw out the vote Of the State
% They will say to the people Of Louis
% isiana, 1--WE will not do you the inju'
~ ~ tice, the wrong, to ignore your protests
y or to legitimatize the usurping conspir'
10 tors whom neither Congress nor tn
,, Executive have thought 1t right to thr
= habilitate.'
-, But suppose that so monstrous
40 wrong should be attempted as to recol
" nize these persons as having lawful an
y rightful authority to rule over Louis
ana, even then the Commission will no
Il, the Democrats believe, venture to just
~, -. fy and accept the unlawful and fraud1
~ lent acts by which the Returning Boar
- caused to disappear from the poll lists
majority of ten thousand cast for M
Tilden, and to substitute in its place
pretended uhIollby VI sGfoAoi oho
a sand for Mr.. Hayes. They cam
be touch the proceedings Of the boal
rd anywhere without coming upon wro1
st or upon violation Of the State law, und
IL which it is bound to act. If testimol
ia admitted they will be shown that I'll
as board had no authority under the law
to count the electoral vote; that its TO
le Republican members refused, In vi
ch lation of the law, to admit even sing
Democratic member; that they oher
ro- the vote Of the State for sale that IN
threw out votes in violation Of la
of that they procured fraudulent certi
a Gates of Intimidation to be made at NJ
he Orleans. whereas the law expressly ,pl
he yides that certificates must be made
the place of voting and within twen'
IN four hours after the election. They W