The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-15
Carpenters and Trumbull's Great
Speeches before the
Commission.
Carpenter Quotes from Hoar and Howe
to Show that The Returning
Board Infsiny Cannot
be Tolerated.
The Objections Raised to the Hayes
Elec!Ors.
Especial to New Orleans Democrat ]

ing or the session or the commission
to-day, Mr.. Carpenter resumed his
argument. Ile contended that the
Constitution Of the United States for
bid the comforting Of judicial powers
upon tho Returning Board Of Louisi-
anu, and that the law OF that State,
which attempted to confer such II
power. was null and void. One man
could not be punished for another's
offense.
Suppose, said he, "we take Milwau-
kee county, where the Democrats can
give five thousand majority, and one
hundred of us Republicans bulldoze
another hundred Republicans, and be-
cause of this the whole vote is thrown
out; would that be just, even II u Re-
turning Board did possess judicial pow
ers?"
This board, he continued, had gone
outside of It's power and had failed to
act In compliance with tho sta tute un-
der which 1t was itself created. He
then read the statute requiring dupli-
cate returns of the votes cast ut every
poll to be made within twenty four
hours after the election, and said the
facts were that such returns, instead of
being made in this time, were not made
within fifteen days; and then he read
from the congressional report Of
Messrs. Ho1r and Frye to show that
this delay could be taken adva ntage Of
to change the result.
He was prepared to show that ten
thousand voters had been disfranchised.
Senator Howe had not, he said, at
tempted to deny that there had been
fraud, great flauds, but he (Howe) went
upon the theory that II the plaintiffs
agents were to commit robbery tho de-
PENDANTS agents might commit robbery
also, and il the Democrats stole votes
from the Republicans, the Republicans
might do the same.
This matter. he claimed, was not one
for tho State OF Louisiana to set
tie for herself; the whole nation
was interested In the laws that
her Representatives and Senators
in Congress may assist In making, and
In the President Of the United States
that her vote would make. He read
from the report Of Messrs. Hear,
Wheeler and Frye, and said "Wouldn't
Mr.. Wheeler wake up astonished to
find himself elected by the very
means he condemned 80 heartily ?"
He did not deny that there were wrongs
perpetrated in the South, but these
were brought about by the smarts pro-
duced by the illegal acts by which q
fraudulent government was put upon
them. He denounced, In bitter terms,
the four men acting as Returning
Board who foisted the Kellogg govern
ment through fraud anu villa my upon
the people Of Louisiana. A careful and
thorough examination of this case by
this tribunal would, he thought, do
more to restore peace to Louisiana than
regiment Of soldiers.
Mr.. Trumbull followed; he said that
he supposed they should now present
their evidence. He proposed to show
l. That the VIM. P. Kellogg who
signed the certificates Of the Louisiana
Hayes electors, and W. p. Kellogg, who
received a certificate as an elector,
were one and the same person.
2. That VIM. P. Kellogg was not
legally elected elector, and that the
certificate given him was un-
true in fact, he having re-
oeived less than a majority Of votes.
This he proposed to prove by
certified copies Of the returns
furnished by the commissioners Of
elections to the office Of the clerks or
the district court in each parish in the
State, which are duplicates Of the
papers the Returning Board had before
them for their determination Of the
vote, and by these it would be seen that
the Tilden electors had from 1000 to 5000
majority.
8. That, in many instances, the super
visors Of election omitted in their con-
solidated statements Of the returns
from certain parishes. the votes for the
Tilden electors to the number Of two
| thousand.
4. Irregularity and illegality on the
part Of the Returning Board in various
| forms.
The general character Of his allega-
tions was that there had been majority
Of votes cast for the Tilden Electors,
and that the Returning Board had, in
carrying out conspiracy to which said
Board, Gov. Kellogg and others were
parties, to count the State for Hayes,
regardless Of the number cast, SO fraud
ulently and illegally counted the votes
as to count the State for Hayes
I in the face Of Democratic ma