Year: 1874




Although the Louisiana election was held
on the I'd of November, nearly two months
ago, the Returning Board but yesterday COM
pleted their canvass of the votes. They had
proceeded so far, however, toward the con-
summation of their meditated villany that the
conservative committee withdrew in disgust
on Wednesday, the frauds perpetrated on that
day being SO gross and monstrous as to prove
that the Board had abandoned all shame and
that the presence of conservatives to watch the
proceedings would be no check. They pre-
sented protest against the extinguishment of
heavy conservative majorities in several
parishes by throwing out legal votes. To this
protest the Board refused to listen, so the
conservative committee put it on file and
washed their hands of the whole business by
withdrawing from any further attendance on
the proceedings. The Board then proceeded
with their shameless purpose of nullifying
the election by counting in a set of candi-
dates whom the people rejected by their votes.
Out of clev and decisive conservative ma
jority they have manufactured a radical ma
jority, making the members Of the Legis-
lature stand 54 republicans to SO democrats
The consequences of this wholesale falsifi-
cation of the election returns no one can
foretell,> but it is to be hoped that
the people will act with GOODNESS and
foresight as we'll as determination and
be hurried into no blunders by mere inn
pulse and passion.


\ The source of all this chicanery is the inter-
ference and coercion of the federal govern
ment, and nothing can be hoped for save from
the people of the whole1country who have
already made so much progress toward
putting the federal authority into different
hands. If this unscrupulous Returning
Board had not recently received fresh assur-
ances that their action, whatever it may be,
will be upheld by the President, they would
not have dared to perpetrate this great outrage
on the rights of the people. How. glaring the
frauds have been will be learney from the
resignation of one of the membsFs of the
Board. Resistance by force to this startling
outrage would be worse than vain, TOR it would
enable the republican party to suffocate the
real question under a new ISSUE 1t
behooves the people Of Louisiana to keep
the great subject of their wrongs naked
and distinct. They must not permit it to be
encumbered and dwarfed; much less must
they assist in encumbering and dwarfing it by
stirring up the excitement that would arise if
they should resort to violence. They cannot
afford to be put in the position of rebels
against the federal authority, which would
fatally weaken their defenders in the North.
Their redemption depends on the impression
their wrongs will make opthe Northern sense
of Justice and fair play, and the fall elections
afford sure pledge and guarantee of redress,
if the people Of Louisiana do not themselves
confuse and obscure the issue by bringing a
dferent order of questions into the fore
ground, as they would do in attempting to
rectify their wrongs by the rude hand of
violence. That q deep sense of depression
should prevail among the conservatives is not
to be wondered at, or that Kellogg in his
interview with our correspondent should apol-
ogize in advance for the infamous Returning
Board by his naive assertion that the con-
servatives had still strong minority if not
all they were entitled to, for this is fair con-
struction OF his comment. Truly sinister
Christmas present to the shattered South.


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