St. Landry democrat., 1879-11-08
A CA KeD.

Ll6 lctlOH Oh Uf 1JeulOCIHllC executive
committee Of the parish in not directing
the convention, which met here Oh the
37th Of September to make nominations
for judicial Offices, do me the favor to
publish the agreement. 1t speaks for
itself and needs no explanation. 1t
reads thus:
oPELousAS. Ia. Sept. 71h, 1876?
The undersigned lrrne 10 abide by the actlon
OF tho central executive committee OF the
!. Democratic party oT the parish OF ST. Landry,
ia the call 'ssts'd for u convention. on Saturday
last August 1Qth. and in 20 far the. -;ine Is in
their power, will disSuade Aleir friends from
making; noInnationH for tR offices OF Judge
ana district attnil't'; as they are i'll their III
tllrp. non political, aud In attGrpring to make.
nominations fOr the salnc, the harmonious ac-
tinn OF the convention, In regard to offices
purely political mi iellt bc endan9 9ered.
GRO v. IIrpsrLIH,
r. T. LEWIS.
Witnesses:
WILLIS PnEsCnrT,
". Il. ROEEnT@ON.
The proposition to me to enter INTO
the agreement, came from afr +. L.
Lewis, through DR.. VIM. 4. Roberts son.
DR.. Robertson, between half past eight
and nine o'clock, on tho night Of Thurs
day, Sept. 9th, six days after the meet
ing, OF tie committee, came to mr. house
and stated that he desired a private
in company with my wife aud q lady
relative. They Immediately retired,
and the Dr., drawing his chair up
TO me said, he had come to see mr,
nas tho bearer Of a message from r. T.
FLeWis, and if | doubted that be had 50
come, to 60 10 the gate and would find
Ii" had come III Lewis own buggy"
i He then proceeded to state that Lewis
proposed TO abide By thc action Of tic
parish convention, if would, and had
requested him to 50 state to me.
He further proceeded to state, that in
the event Of the acceptance Of this pro-
position by me-, Mr.. LOWS would i'm
mcdiAtely cease eIectiOnccring ior dele
gates to the parish convention, and in
future would clectiOnear for hiaxt|,
alone. | immediately asked him. is
my acceptance Of this proposition.
coupled with any condition. that am
10 cease working. as far as in my power,
for any OF my friends, and especially
for pcrrodIn, Chaciere and Duson, for
IL it is, shall decline to accept" He
answered no. That Oh the contrary,
was left free TO do rs y caSed for them
After discussing the probable effect .of
such all agreement on the chances ,f
my friends in th" convention, inclutiin,-
the DR.. himself, told him 10 say 10 u +,
, Lewis | would accept. On Friday. Se',,t,
9th n slight personal alteration occur red
between Lewis and myself. On 50 tuT-
day Sept: 'tI' Robertson was iy. nt
office. The matter of the acrecmenf
! put in writing. This was dome. He
left the office, and in a short time r.
turned and said, rs written. il was
satisfactory to Lewis, who wonI,l sim,
! it | would sign first. I remarked TO
him, aint there a trick in this REQUESTING
me to 81 gn first No sold he, didn't |
come to yonr house Night he fore last
and make this Identical proposition To
YOU for Lewis. This is the same promo
sitlon, and your signature amounts
! SIMPLY to an acceptance, whcrenpon |
signed it. DIR. Robertson was tie in
termetiiary between Lewis and myself.
. | had had no conversation with Levi
about tho agreement, nor had | sce r
! him in reference t0 it. For fifteen n,
! sixteen days preceding this proposit inr
to me, had suffered intensely IRON
acute in1amatory rheumatism IL, thu
right ankle. | had been unable t., walk
without crutches. had therefore been
{ unable to canvass the parish and had
not been out OF town. In my thcn con.
dltlon, It was appa' cnt | could 10 next
to nothing canvasslng, and that my
| friends would have to carry me. This
[ did not feel at liberty to require them
| to do longer as ! knew they had enough
| to do, to take care of themselves, with.
out looking after me.
| Therefore 1@accepted my opponents
proposition, to abide the action Of s,e
parish committee:
1st. Because Of my inability 10 par
ticlpate actively in the canvass fol
delegates to the convention.
Cd, because by accepting it I was
satisfied that [ could make myself q
potent agent and assistant to my friends
candidates for clerk and sheriff in the
convention, instead of a burden and
incambrancc, as ] would have proved in
my crippled condition.
Sd. BY eliminating the nomination OF
Judge and district attorney. from the
work Of the convention. | was satisfied
it would only be matte the more har-
moniouS in making nominations fo1
other ofnces.
4th. had announced subject to nomi
nation. The executive committee, when
it ordered tho convocation Of the cen
vention, had directed it 10 make nomi-
nation for every Office except indigo and
district attorney. To have persisted
after the action OF tho comnlittcc, in
demanding q nomination, would have
put me in opposition to the only
recognized authority Of the party in
! tho parish for the time being; would
have engendered dissension and re-
suited perhaps in disruption of the
convention, when assembled
9th. 1t was we'll known to me that
these judicial Offices, were strictly non
political, and that according to the
precedents of the party in this district,
they had never been made the subject
Of a political nomination; the nearest
approach ever made to nomination
in this District, for judge and district
attorney, being IN 1872. when Judge
Morgan and myself were endorsed as
the choice of the party in this parish.
/ When Mr.. Prescott attempted to force
nominations for these offices in the
convention, friends Of mine called on
me 70 put MY name in nomination in,
medatelv. / called on Mr.. Lewis at
once and I understood him to disavow
Prescott's action; he expressed surprise
when I told him what Prescott had
said, and stated he would see him at
once. Subsequently understood him