Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-07-05
Gov. PacLard's Views on the Louisiana
settlement

The sub.Potter committee which has gone
to New Orleans has found out from Gov. Pack
ard himself what he thinks of his election
and of his being set aside to make room for
Gov. Nichols, but exactly how that bears
upon what the committee got itself appointed
for is not plainly evident. Gov. Packard told
his questoners that he regarded himself as
the legally elected governor of Louisiana, and
that his majority was between the highest and
lowest majorities received by the electors on
the Hayes ticket. The returning board
counted the votes and the legislature declared
the result and in his opinion his title to the
governorship was as good as that of Mr.. Hayes
to the presidency. The same legislature which
canyassed the gubernatorial votes and declared
Packard governor, elected William Pitt KEEL
logg United States Senator, and there is strong
force in Packard's statement that if the sena-
torial election of that legislature was entitled
TO respect, so also was It's declaration of the
gubernGtorial vote. Gov. Packard speaks
very calmly and dispassionately in regard to
the work of the Louisiana commission, and
the Potter inquisitors will not find anything
in his testimony that will give them any hold
for impeaching the President,
He attributes the whole matter of his being
ousted from the governorship, and the Mich
OILS government being recognized, to the ag-
gressive and defiant attitude taken by the
democrats who sympathized with Nichols
An armed mob called militia crowded the
streets and weakened confidence in the Pack
ard legislature and caused some of its mem
bers to desert, and the commissioners, whose
= -. A.. .F
full settlement, found that the Nichols party
would not give up the contest while the Pack
ard party would. The Packard Legislators
were willing to go over to the Nichols legis-
lators and help make quorum, but not vice
versa. Packard charges no hostility to him
self upon the President or the commissioners.
but says that the commissioners would as
gladly recognized him rs Nichols if they
could have induced the Nichols legislators to
meet with the Packard Legislators. Coy.
Packard declares his belief that he could
have maintained himself had he been allowed
troops and that if the President had recog-
nized the returning boards decision he could
have maintained his government Irrespective
of troops. But President Grant telegraphed
him March !, that he could nd longer allow
United States troops to support candidates for
state Offices and Stanley Matthews wrote him
ON the 10th, repeating this statement. With
no troops and no arms, with no recognition at
Washington, and with the Louisiana deRoc-
racy insisting with arms in their hands that
Nichols must have the governorship, there
was but one peaceful result possible, and that
was for the republicans in Louisiana to give
up to the democrats. He gives no support to
the charge that this result was brought about
by any corrupt means on the part of the com
missioners, but his testimony, as well rs that
of others, shows that the parties who made
the least creditablc exhibition of themselves
in connection with the Louisiana settlement
were the democrats themselves, who had made
up their minds to have Nichols recognized as
governor, or Aght