The daily gazette., 1878-07-05
WAsHINGTOS.D ID. C. July 2.

" rnoiii''ip'b ~ Ss - uiN
| The Investigating Committee met at
| ten minutes before eleven q. m., Mr.
! Hutton presiding, in the absence of Mr..
Potter, the chairman. Mr.. Shellabarger,
counsel for Secretary Sherman, by unani-
nous consent, was allow ed to appear in
the place of Mr.. Cox and to note any OBJ
jections that might be deemed exDedient
upon the republican side.
| MR. WEBER RECALLED.
Emil l.. Weber, who testified on yes-
terday, was recalled and questioned by
Mr.. Hunton as follows:-
q. You spoke yesterday of conferences
between the visiting statesmen aud the
local republican leaders in Louisiana
State when and where they were held
| and who were the parties holding them
| A. They were held in the Custom House
| and in the st. Charles Hotel, from the
l4th until the latter part of November /;
all the parties i can recall as being pres
ent were Mr.. Sherman, Mr.. Stoughton,
MIR. Eugene Hale, General Garfield,
Governor Packa,d, Governor Kellogg,
| General Anderson. Governor Wells and
Mr.. j. p. Harris; Mr.. Sherman was un-
| derstood to be the active man both in
| these caucuses and in the correspondence
| that took place between the democrats
and the visiting statesmen.
q. What was the subject matter of
! conference in these meetings? A. They
spoke of the application that was to be
! put on the election law by the Returning
4 Board, and considered statements made
| to them by parties who seemed to be ego
betweens" for the republican and demo-
cratic statesmen and the republican yis-
itisg statesmen and the Returning
| Board.
Q Was the matter of protests in East
and West Feliciana parishes talked of in
that conference. A. Yes, sir.
q. Tell us what occurred in these con-
| ferences or caucuses in regard to these
two parishes and the protest which was
| filed by your brother and Mr.. James f.
Anderson A. AT that time my brother
had filed his protest and was hesitating
whether he would let il stand, and l have
understood that Mr.. Anderson's protest
had then been filled up or altered SO as to
| make such a protest as the republican
leaders wante /; | recollect very Iistinct-
Is that Mr.. Anderson kicked up big row
about it with Mr.. Pitkin and cursed all
| the republican leaders, and said they
were going to use his protest against his
! wish, and that they were making such a
protest as they wanted and not the pro-
| test that he had intended to make.
| q. Were these visiting statesmen
aware of the protest made by your broth
| er and Anderson? A. Yes, sir; they un-
derstood all about it; 1 had conversa-
| ton with Mr.. Sherman about it on the
18th or 10th of November, and he must
| have been told about it by Kellogg,
| Packard and others.
CONVERSATION WITH SHERMAN.
q. Give the conversation that took
place between you and Secretary Sher-
| man on that occasion. A. AS | stated
yesterday some one told me that Secre-
tary Sherman wanted to see me, and
went there and found him, and he said
there was some trouble; that my brother
was hesitating to let this protest stand
and he understood it was because he was
afraid it would endanger him, as it was
| against his conscience and against the
facts in the case; Mr.. Sherman himself
told me that; our conversation was very
short, but he said that this matter could
| be arranged and if my brother did not
| want to return to East Feliciana that he
\ would provide for and protect HIM, and
| ! understood by that that he proposed to
| satisfy him in some way with an office
away from there. The witness then re-
peated the particulars, as stated on yes
terdav, of his going after his brother ID.
A. Weber and Mr.. Anderson, and added
| that his brother had partially agreed to
let the protest stand, but was never fully
satisfied to do so; the temptation, how
ever, was so great at the time that he
could not well do otherwise.
=. Were you ever present at any in
terview between Mr.. Anderson and Se-
cretary Sherman? A. was not present,
but on the evening of the Goth of Novem-
ber, while passing by Moreaus restaur-
ant, on Canal street, noticed my brother
ID. A. Weber, and James A. A nderson In
there talking with Secretary Sherman; |
was not within hearing distance and
don't know what transpired, but they
were in there together at a table, one on
each said of Mr.. Sherman.
=. Did either of them tell you what
was the purport of that conversation A.
On the fol owing day, after my brother
showed me the letter of Secretary Sher-
man, he said he had obtai ned 1t from him
and that it was the best they could do;
that Mr.. Sherman's assurances to them
were that they both should be provided
for and protected, yet they even hesita-
ted to let their protest stand after that.
By Mr.. Springer-Did you take this
Sherman letter i'll your hand? A. Yes,
sir, l did, and read it over carefully; it
was written ON ordinary sized note paper
IA double shetland began on the first
page and was continued on the third
page, Skipping the second page entirely.
MEETING OF THE RETURNING BOARD.
Mr.. Hunton then examined the witness
as to the time of the meeting of the Re-
turning Board and other matters copnec-
ted Herewith. The witness stated that
the Board met on the Both of November
and the returns from the two Feliclana
parishes were opened on the 9th; that
the visiting statesmen knew about these
returns from the supervisors before they
were sent in to the Board
The witneSs-I know that Mr.. George
l.. Smith, formerly a member of Congress |
and now collector of customs, was charg-
ed with having returns from some of the |
parishes through the supervisors and the |
supervisors denied it in the newspapers, |
but the impression still remained that he |
had been manipulating the returns. Two |
or three days after the election it was well |
known that the republicans had been bea- |
ten; that was the comon talk; the result |
of the election in the different parishes |
was made public in the newspapers, and |
1t was conceded that the State had gone |
for Nichols by majority of ten or
twelve thousand on the face of the re-
turns and that the democratic electors |
were elected according to the face of the |
returns.
Q. Did the visiting statesmen know /
these facts? A. suppose so; saw many |
of the supervisors talking with them; the |