Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-12
Being Made More apparent by the Potter
Committee-In Washington kellogg
Uaie Evidence Showing that
Judge King was
Made Collector OF the Port by Mr.. Hayes
TO Break Up the Supreme Court, SO
az 10 Prevent any Appeal TO il
by Packard.
In New Orleans Hiram Smedle5 Siistains
A. l.. Weber, who, though Subjected
TO a Rigid CrOss-ExaminatiOn by
Cox, Sticks to his First
Statement.

WASHINGTON, July 1.-THE Potter in
vestigahon committee resumed to-day, and
Senator Kellogg was examined by General
Butler. He testified thai the election in Louis
lana in 1876 was entirely legal; a great many
people in New Orleans thought the ret1rn-
ing-board had acted Improperly In refusing
to return as elected certain persons who they
elsin,ed ought to have been elected. AT the
request of General Butler, witness gase 1e-
tailed statement es 10 tie composition OF
the respective houses of the legislature, and
after reciting the law of Louisiana at a con-
siderable length, he stated that Governor
Packard was legally -inaugurated on the
eighth. of Ianuary, 1877, at which time there
Yves Republican quorum in both houses.
General Butler Produced some tables COM
puted from the returning board figures, which
showed that after the Board had thto~h oft
a sufficient number of Democratic parishes to
elect general assembly, that it was found
there were still two Hayes electors defeated,
whereupon the returning board threw out
parishes and precincts until they had sue
ceeded IN securing majority OF Hayes eiee-
tors. Witness stated: Assuming the figures
tn be the correct findings of the returning
board, it left the general assembly Republic
Tan in both branches, and still left two Hayes
electors in the minority,
By General Rutler-W hereupon the board
proceeded to give the screw another turn?
Witness-That is not my testimony.
Ques-How much on the returns, as re-
turned by the returning board, did the lowest
Hayes elector run behind PaekardS Ans
These tables show majority for governor of
four hundred and one, while two Republican
electors, Levissee and Joseph, were in a mi
nority.
After recess the examination of the witness
was continued. He said: The Tilden electors
had majority. believe, on the face OF the
return of the votes as cast in the different
parishes originally, and so did Nichols.
By Mr. Buter-Dld you telegraph to Flor
ida any statement as to how the State had
gone at any time before the sixth of Deem
Der? Ans.-I telegraphed two or three
times, perhaps, that it had gone favorably..
Ques.-From what source did you obtain
information? Ans.-From my knowledge of
the result of the election as indicated by the
returns from the different parishes and the
Notorious fact that in certain parishes there
was degree of terrorism that L believed
would show the absence of a fair election and
justify the returning board in throwing out
the vote; my opinion was IN relation to the
general result only; telegraphed to friends
In Florida TO that effect and also to Chandler,
Of the National Republican committee; l
happened recently to come upon one OF my
kilograms to Chandler, dated the seventh OF
November, in which l predicted my belief
that we had really carried the State, judging
from the returns as they came In from the
close parishes and from parishes where they
had before been Democratic and where we
were then polling a larger vote than since
reconstruction.
The witness produced the telegram referred
to, addressed to Zach Chandler and dated
November 9th, which states that terrorism
existed in certain parishes, and that colored
people were prevented from voting on &C
count of intimidation, etc.
The Witpess-That was the kind of dis
patch that ] sent; Chandler asked me IT |
believed we had carried the State, and | said
| did, and sent him this dispatch. The re-
turning board, in all cases where the parish
was not disputed, would announce so many
votes for the Hayes electors and so many
votes for the Tilden electors, but where there
were charges of irregularities these parishes
would be set aside for further action. The
parishes that were laid aside were seventeen
in number. where there was more or less IN
timidation claimed, to the best of my knowl-
edge and belief; | think the returns from the
unquestioned parishes would give majority
to the Republican ticket throughout. In sew
enteen of the parishes where there was more
or less intimidation, In five of which, namely
East and West Feliciaua, Ouachita, Moore
house and East Baton Rouge, where the Re-
publicans Were thoroughly terrorized, the col
ored registration was n ,269, and the white
registration 20, $50, giving a colored majority
of the registered voters of 6949. The vote
in these seventeen parishes as cast on the face
of the returns, of which there was no dispute
about, was 1890 Republican only, and d.
123 Democrats. That is, these seventeen par
lshes with colored majority of nearly 1000,
gave Democratic majority OF ~, l53. That
Is the basis of intimidation. In the forty
parishes where we all agreed there was no in
timldation and the election was fair and
peaceabie, the colOred registration in 1876,
which was about the same as during the pre-
vious years was 1899, and the white regis
tration u ,034, showing colored majority OF
Is 65. These forty parishes returned the
following vote: Republican, IS. ZOO; Demo
cratic. SO 1902; giving a Republican majority
of 5000 and upward. These are undoubted
statistics, compiled by me from official pa
pers.
Ques.-How did you ascertain in the regis
tration whether man was Republican or a
Democrat? Ans.-We ascertained it only
| from the fact that the different officers kept
| a tally of the cUlored people registering ano
| the white people registering, and we as
| sumed that the colored people voted tbs Re-
publican ticket and the white people thG
| Democratic ticket, and the result showed
| the fact in all these forty parishes, not only
in 1876, but for the previous two years.
| Ques.-Gou assumed by the same reason
| ing that all men who voted the Democratic
ticket were white and all men who voted the
| Republican ticket were black? Ans.-Not
| exactly that; but we calculated from that
! basis with this modification, that we got as
| many white voters to vote the Republican
| ticket as they got colored men to vote the
| Democratic ticket; we Judged the present
| by the past, because we had tested it In quite
! number of elections; East and West Fell.
| ciana parishes were the most thoroughly Re-
| publican parishes in the State; the registra.
| ton of 1876 in West Feliciana shows about
| three hundred and min, ty- nine white voters
| and two Thousand two hundred and thirteen
| colored voters. You must bear in mind thai
/ there was a new registration made in 1871
| and another in 1876, which was the registra
] ton of 1874 corrected and amended; the reg
| istration of 1875 in East and West Felicians
/ was substantially the same as that of 1874
| with the proper corrections made.
| Ques.-The duty of the supervisor of cleo
ton was to correct the list, then, of 1874
| Ans.-Yes, sir.
| Ques.-Therefore there were about tht
| same number rejected in East Feliciana par
! ish, whether Anderson did or did not u
| there and act as supervisor? Ans-Yes, sir
| about the same.
| Qles.-What then had intimidation to d.
| with altering the registration In 1876? Ans
! i do not think it had SO much TO do witt
| altering the registration; it had probably haC
| not much to do with that except that the new
| colored men would not come forward and reg
| ister; the bulldozers never affected registra
| ton. The witness next referred to the inau
guration OF the Nicholl' government and re
ferred at length to the events connected viii
the seIzing by force of the court building, tx
breaking up of the court, and the subsequen
appointment OF Judges by Governor Nlcholl
| as their successors.
Ques.-Do you know of any ground OF lie
gal right, or form of law, Or constitutions
provision by which Nichols and his people