The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-30

what believe to be the account of the organ
| lzation Of the House aud Senate. Witness
| then read page from hls pamphlet. These
! recognize as members elected to the Legis
lature. Three names, Tremoulet, Cressy anC
the other were not elected confessedly. In
the ncaynae of November 10, and, perhaps
IN the DEMOCRAT OF the ninth, there was pub
llshed what purported TO be statement
sworn to bya Democratic cnmmitte, in which
three Republicans were returned as elected IL
| their stead.
| The full House was 100 members: sixty-ont
were a. quorum: Exclusive, of members
claimed to be elected by either party there
were fifty-nine members both recognized
| In the proceedings for the canvass OF the
votes the same proceedings were used in the
Nichols House and in ours. The form was
! the same SO far as / have been inform ed
there were only ffty-nine members present
| In the Nichols House then. There being nc
| legal quorum even II they had had the legal
returns before them they could give no legal
title to Gov. Nichols. SO far as / can recol.
three disputed districts were those from
which Weber, Blunt and Hamlet came.
| Witness then read further from bis
pamphlet Even claiming all that were
| claimed to be elected in the House, the Mich.
| oils government did not have quorum In
the House, and not a quorum returned In the
Senate, and therefore Gov Nichols cannot
DERIVE ANY TITLE
| from a vote on such Joint assembly.
| There were present in the Nichols House
| forty or fOrty-four that had return certificates
| from the board. Of thatforty-three the mem
Der from Bienville had not arrived. The list
published by the Democrats claimed sixty as
elected, / think; | am not certain. There
were, it Is claimed sixty in the Nichols
House, and all above forty-two were sitting
without title, and three IN the Senate.
The Clerk of the House, holding over,
n yvbinh do inn olf Ia
he was required by law to make q list Of
members furnished him by the Secretary of
State. / am told he made this list arbi-
trarily. This was the first of January 1877.
The two houses assembled, and in my state
ment, as have given 1t, the secretary finding
the State House barriCaded, went to st.
Patrick's Hall, and there organized House
with Slxty-two members, or claiming to be
such. Gov Nichols and myself were inaug-
urated the same day, and Gov Kellogg was
the Governor recognized up TO my inaligura-
ton. During that week there was a Gov
ernor and Secretary OF State whose titles
were not disputed-Kellogg and Deslonde
the latter had the legal returns. 1t was after
the eighth of January when the first interior
ence was had by taking possession Of the
courts.
The officers Of Gov. Kellogg performed
their duties until their terms expired. The
interference did take form requiring the in
terposition of the United States troops. The
Legislature assembled In the State House
January l called upon the then President,
Grant, for the Presence of United States
troops. Witness then read from proceedings
of the Kellogg Legislature. showing the pass
age OF joint resolution asking for troopsl
| cannot find in the journal when this Joint
resolution passed the Senate will seek It
and give 1t to the committee, with the action
Of both bodies and the Governors Kellogg
action.
do not recollect Of any agent of the gov
eminent coming to Louisiana previous to the
arrival Of the commission to find out how the
affairs here stood. The commission came
without any application from me as Gov
ernor After they came, however / asked
the President TO increase and enlarge their
instructions. In the New Orleans Republican,
OF April 7, Is published my application to the
President. 1t is about column long.
The commission Is known here as the
Harlan McVeigh commission. do not recol- |
lect Of ever having desired the presence OF
that commission here, or heard that any |
State officer did. l presume that they did |
not have instructions to investigate domestic |
violence here, for | see in the second point in |
my. letter that ask that they be instructed |
to do SO and their duties enlarged. | sent my |
letter as an open letter, giving 1t to the press
the same dav | mailed it. The original in |
5truCtions given by the President did NOT con |
tain all that desired, and hence 1 wrote that |
letter.
| never received any answer to my appiica-
lion for the enlargement Of the instructions, |
9ither to my first or the second letter |
which was afterwards sent and published in |
he Republican dated April l6. The last let
er was wgitten before my abdication and nv
legislature had broken up. It was dated |
wo days before q letter was published by
tov Nichols in which the Democracy gave
hedges Of good behavior. At the time | |
wrote my last letter was under the impress
ion that the commission was advising the
MEMBERS OF my Legislature
TO GO OVER
0 the Nichols. Regarding the action of the
commission In the matter knew but little of
heir action personally.
When the commissioned arrived here was
waited upon by the Republican members of
!, and was shown
A MEMORANDUM
do not know where that now is. / have not
OOked for 1t, and cannot tell unless 1t Is In the
rints Hooking over the newspaper fileE |
ee no mention made of it here. | do not re-
oilecG the substance of 1t, nor have | any
collection about it. | do not think it con-
any action on my part, They
waited upon Gov. Nichols the sameday and
hey may have submitted the same thing to
i'm. 1t made no impression on me at the
ime save that it gave me an opportunity to
ay what | wanted to say.
Mr.. Stenger-What did you say?
Packard-That would give ME more trouble
han TO tell what was In the memorandum. |
presume stated that my title was legal and
ny government entitled to recognition. They
allied several times afterwards, and / had
conversations with the Republican members
Il the commission. l have no direct knowl
dge of the fact that improper means were
lsed to take off members of the Legislature
t is only from rumor, When the commission |
,ame here, it was my impression that they
,ame
TO BREAK UP
ny Legislature The result shows that such
was the case.
have no knowledge that there was an ar
between the President and the |
to secure a legislature for the |
Nichols government. | had no means of |
knowing. / know and can Judge of the action |
Of the commission here because that was
within my view, but | cannot say what was
done in Washington. | know about a meet |
ing between the commission and several |
members of my House In this very room
Parlor p, perhaps, and was informed by
those members that it was very evident the |
wanted them to go over to the |
Nichols House.
have an opinion that some members of