Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-02-14
LOUISIANA.
Secretary Sherman ON the Tri.
nj and Conviction Of An
dersOn.
A judicial Outrage Too Monstrous
to Bear Name.
The Complaining Witness . Marlsssus white
Lacquer. The Judge . Public Thief,
and the Entiss Jury Packed.

The Complaining Witness . Muslsssus white
Lacquer The Judge Public Thief,
and me Entiss Jury Packed.
WAsHINGrON, Feb. ll.-Secretary
Sherman beng asked it it was true
that he, Matthews, Garfield. Hale and
White bad sent dispatch 80 Ander-
son, said it was true, and as that fact
had been made public be would fur
nish copy OF the dispatch, and they
meant all they said. Mr.. Sherman
then stated that he regarded the ar
rest, trial and conviction of Anderson
as great outrage under color Of the
forms of law. Anderson was not in
dicted. The Grand Jury had refused
to indict him. The proceeding against
him is called an information, and is
expressly prohibited in cases Of felony
by the constitution of the United
States and of most of the States. and
is provided for by the law of Louis
lana. The information was signed
and filed by man who was an officer
Of the White League, and identified
with all the numerous crimes Of that
organization. The Judge who tried
the case is public defaulter for over
x600 900. When Anderson was ar
rested he was acting as Collector of
the Port of New Orleans, and the ar
rest was made while he was in the
discharge of his duty at the Custom
House, which stands, as Mr.. Sher.
man thinks, upon ground under the
sole jurisdiction of the United States
by cession from Louisiana. He was
hurried to prison, requested to give
excessive bail, and failing to do so
was kept in custody, denied all post
ponement, forced to trial, convicted
aud is now held for sentence without
benefit of bail. The jury was picked
to convict. The panel had been
carefully selected. almost to the ex-
exclusion Of one political party and
one race. Their examination as
called showed the deepest and strong
est prejudice against the defendant,
and in any tribunal he (Sherman)
knew nearly every one would have
been rejected on his oath, and yet
though challenged they were sworn
in as such jury. l arm prepared to
believe the story telegraphed this
morning that the two cOlored Jurors
were tricked into agreeing to this
verdict by the empty appeal to the
mercy of the court.
The cause of this excitement against
Anderson and his associates, is that in
the performance of public duty in
plain pursuance of law, and upon am
pie testimony. they eliminated from
the election returns in Louisiana the
result Of the violence and intimida-
ton, though this was not alleged in
the information. Yet everybody knew
this was the ground of offense, and
without it no man on the jury would
have convicted Anderson. 1t is this
that excited the populace and heated
them with passion to the highest state
of resentment. The pretense set up
for the accusation was, that Anderson
had participated in forgery, or the al
teration Of Vernon parish returns, but
there was not one particle of evidence
to connect them with this act. The
whole had been thoroughly examined
here by committees OF Congress, and
all the records and returns had been
spread before them, and even Little
field, who made the alteration had ex.
culpated Anderson from the knowl
edge of it. The truth is, the Vernon
returns were opened by the Returning
Board before hosts of witnesses on
the 9th day of the examination and
were found to be precisely as they
were printed in the daily papers and
laid before both Houses OF Congress,
and the subsequent alteration by Lit
tle6eld OF one copy of these returns
was done either as put-up job by
him or in the interest of local candi>
dates having no effect upon the gen.
eral result, and there does not appear
to be single scrap of testimony
showing that Anderson participated
in it in the slightest degree. There
was no motive for such alteration by
Anderson. The true return had been
printed in so many forms it was alb.
surdlto think that he would alter t,ana
yet upon this false pretext he was
convicted.
still hope this conviction will not
be carried into effect. If it is it will
create the deepest feeling of resent
ment, and hostility will exist ia the
minds of great mass of our people
who believe that these returning off.
GERS did but their duty. 4
Nothing has been done pending
trial to interfere in any way with the
course of the judicial proceedings,
but If Anderson is imprisoned under
this sentence it will be mockery Of
public justice, and will bring into
contempt all efforts at peace and con-
citation. It is an unlocked for and
terrible commentary upon the efforts
of the President to quiet the turbu
lence and violence of Louisiana poll
tics, and seems to me an act of folly
| and madness.
The following Is the dispatch re.
ferred to:
Washington, D. c., Feb. 4, 1873
Gen. Thos. G. Anderson, New Or.
leans ! The undersigned feel it due to
you under the present circumstances
to assure you of our Undertaking be
lief that in the matter wherein you
stand charged you are altogether
guiltless of any offense against the
law that you are falsely accused and
maliciously prosecuted /; that the pro.
ceeding against you, though in the
form Of law, is without the semblance
Of justice that we hereby tender our
deepest sympathies and express our
hope that the sense of justice and love
of peace of the people Of Louisiana
will protect you, and not permit the
interests of the whole country to be
disturbed by revival Of sectional an
imosity. In any event, we are conf.
dent that the American people will
redress any injustice of which you
may be made the victim, GSigned,]
JOHN SHERMAN,
| STANLEY MATTHEW'S.