The Portland daily press., 1878-02-25

Inc army ana the Navy and, by section q, article 4,
declare that.
The United States shall guarantee to every state in
l, this mon a republican form OF government, and
snail protect each of them against invasion. and on
appneauon OF the Legislature. or OF the Executive,
Swhen the Legislature cannot be convened) against
domestic violence.
Mr.. Garfeld-If my friend will allow me, 1 will
say that 1.-The understood saying that regarded
the course of the President in sending commission
to New Orleans after his Inauguration as being in
pursuance Of the Constitution he certainly msunder-
stood me-
Mr.. Hale-No; 1 am referring to the act of
the President which resulted in the withdraw
al OF the troops. As basis of my belief of the
ground upon which the withdrawal of the troops
was put refer now to his instructions to the COM
mission which he sent down there, and upon whose
recommendation the troops withdrawn. In Civ
ing his Instructions this language is used by Mr..
Evarts, representing the Administration:
Attentive consideration of the conditions under
which the Federal Constitution and acts of Congress
provide for the prompt military interference of the
President in the protection of State against do
nestle violence, has satisfied the Presdedt
that the use of this authority in determin-
ing the influence on disputed elections in State is
most carefully to be avoided. wherein every
department of the State government has disputed
representation and the State therefore furnishes to
onition of authority upon which the Federal Execu
tive can rely, will present of so much difficult
Is OF pressing importance the interests
OF Louisiana that it should be avoided.
There is in this language no statement anywhere
that indicates that the following out Of the purposes
which we must believe were then well matured in
the mind of the Administration was meant to be
grounded upon its duty as matter of constitutional
law; but that, matter of prudent action, as
matter of Cancellation, looking the ground all over,
the President determined upon, not what was his
his constitutional duty but what shouI be his pel
icy." And the act was the more generous TO the
State of Louisiana that it was placed upon that
ground These extracts which have read show that
at that time the 'spolicy placed upon no other
ground. 1t was in accordance with the mind of the
President in his determination toward the people Of
Louisiana and of all the the South
The commits ion was not sent down there, Mr..
Speaker, to determine the vexed question of who
was governor of Louisiana. Governor Packard
claimed to be the legal governor; he had legisla-
ture behind him which had elected United States
Senator Gov. Nichols, if you call them both gov
ernors claimed it because he had donn ant militia
ry force prevailing In the city of New Orleans and
had overawed the legal Legislature and the legal gov
ernor.
The President or the Secretary of State, for the
President did not instruct the commission composed
Of eminent civilians, good lawyers, men versed in
public affairs, to examine into the question of title
or to look into it in the least. But he says:
1t will be readily understood that the service de-
sired of and intrusted to the commission does not in
ciude any examination into report upon the facts
Of the recent State election the of the
votes cast at that election The President therefore
pal attention to the removal of obstacles to an ac
acknowledgement of one government for the purpose of
an exercise of authority within the State and rep
resentaon of the State in its relations to the Gene
al Government under section of article of the
Constitution OF the United States leaving, if
tn 10 iudi a.
ment within the State the question of ultimate right.
If these obstacles should prove insuperable, from
whatever reason, and the hope of single govern
ment all its departments be disap ,ointed, it
should be your endeavor to accomplish the
ognition of single Legislature as the the depository
This great department rescued from dispute. the
rest of the problem could gradually be worked out
by the prevalent authority which the legislative
power, when undisputed, is quite Competent to
ert in composing conflicts in coordinate branches of
the government.
That is excluded And in other parts of the instruc
tions, all of which have here, but which will not
consume time in reading this idea is enforced: that
single Legislature must in some way be secured by
this commission. Now take it that at that time it
was well understood in New Orleans, as it had soon
begun to be understood in the country, that the sin
gle legislature that would result from the action of
this commission would be the Nicho Is legislature,
because the President was pursuing the path that
he had determined upon beforehand in that direc-
ton. The republicans Of Louisiana found this
| out; and Governor Packard the 9TH of April
wrote to the President requesting that the commits
sou be instructed to inquire into these three things
| First. Which is the legal government entitled to
recognition? Second Which is the legal judiciary I?
Third. Do domestic violence and insurrecton pre-
vail? Getting no favorable response to this, on the
| 18th of April, thirteen days after the commission
had started out its work, he renewed the appca-
ton and offered to submit his title to the judgment
of the commission provided they conld be instructed
to enquire into its basis. That not granted, but
in the direction in which the President had started
| out, of extreme generosity and Of remitting the
government in the end to the Nichols organization,
# was denied. The result was that the 2ith day
| of April, 1877, when ths work of the commission
had been accomplished the Packard legislature had
dissolved, had crumbled into fragments; the Mich
oils legislature had received accessions from day to
day until its quorum was undoubte1. Thus the Leg
isature and the executive that had been elected by
the people of Louisiana, based upon the same count
that was sustained by the electoral commission for
presidential electors, were dissolved and broken up;
and Governor Packard notified his friends Of his ab-
dication, of his at least temporary withdrawal from
| the field.
i The commission on the 24.h of April, 10 long re-
port set forth the OF their action the services
that they had rendered. and theic final elimination
in the inauguration Of the Nichols legislature to full
power. They were thus in harmony with the course
that had been taken. 1 have called these proceed
ings extrajudical. have never yet found warrant
of law for them.
| lam tracing events in detail, so that gentlemen
here and elsewhere may know that there was moth
ing left undone in this course of concation by the
President. He held back nothing whatever that the
Ingenuity cf could devise in the course that he
was pursuing.
The commissioners in reportiug to the President,
i say:
The commissioners holding various shades of polit-
ical beef cannot well concur in any sketch Of the
| the past or probable future of Louisiana.
tits no wonder, in view of the number Of days
they spent there, that such skepticism this re-
| manned in their minds.
We have forborne in this report to express any
opinion of the legal question arising upon the FORE
going statement Of facts because our letter of in
instructions seemed to call for statement of facts
rather than expression OF opinion. We all, how
ever, indulge in confident hopes of better days for
all races in mo9ana . Among t the Ncn reasons toI
ature and the letter of Governor Nichols herewith
submitted, and which has already been given TO the
public. CHARLES b LAWRENCE.
JOSEPH r. HAwLEY.
/ JOHN M. HARLAN.
/ JOHN G. BROWN.
/ WAYNE MCVEAGH.
The letter which is referred to is one to which nc
reference has been made heretofore ON this floor.
have obtained from the Executive Department a
| copy of it, which now hold in my hand. 1t is the
letter which, following closely upon the proceedings
I have briefly and inadequatey sketched, the Gov
| ernor of Louisiana who had thus been given full
scope and sway in the State through the policy of the
Executive wrote to the Commissioner. 1t is as fol-
| lows:
| EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
| STATE OF LOUISIANA, (
| New Orleans, April 10, 1877.
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to transmit here
with copy of the joint resolutions adopted by the
| General Assembly of the State of louisiana. In SO
| doing desire to say that they express not merely
abstract ideas, but the convictions of our people,
| which will be practically executed by them through
their representatives, their courts and their
| tive government AS the chief magistrate of the
State, it will be not only my pleasure but my bounden
duty to give every assistance in my power leading to
| that end. am thoroughly satisfied that anv course
of political action traced narrower line than the
good of the whole people regardless Of color or con-
dtiOD, must inevitably leaf to disaster and ruin.
| My views on this subject fully stated to the
| convention by which was nominated, and to the
people by whom was elected and every uay's expe-
| Iience fortifies me in the belief that any policy
founded on these principles must necessarily result
in the attainment of the ends tor which all just gov
| ernments established. have earnestly sought
to obliterate the color line in politics. and consoli