Year: 1877

state. Inc acUual EOHulll0H Vi dndIIS
on our arrival in this city may be
briefly stated as follows:


Governor Packard-we shall speak
of both gentlemen by the title they
claim-was at the State-House with
his Legislature and friends and an
armed police force. AS there was no
quorum in the Senate upon his own
theory of law his Legislature was
necessarily inactive. The Supreme
Court which recognized his authority
had not attempted to transact any
business since it was dispossessed OF
its court room and the custody of its
records en- the ninth day of January,
1877.


He had no organized militia, alleg-
ing that his deficiency i'll that respect
was owing to his obedience to the
orders of President Grant to take no
steps to change the relations of him
self and Governor Nichols. His main
reliance was upon his alleged title I;
claiming that it was the constitutional
duty of the President to recognize and
afford him such military assistance as
might be necessary to enable him to
assert his authority as Governor.


Governor Nichols was occupying
the Odd Fellows Hall as a State
House his Legislature met there and
was actively engaged in the business
of legislation all the departments of
the government of the city of New
Orleans recognized his authority the
Supreme Court nominated by him,
and confirmed by his Senate, was
holding daily sessions and had heard
about 200 cases. The time for the
collection of taxes had not arrived,
but a considerable sum of money in
the form OF taxes had been voluntarily
paid into his treasury, out of which
he was defraying the ordinary ex-
penses of State government. The
Nichols Legislature had quorum in
the Senate upon either the Nichols
or Packard theory of the law, a quo
rum in the House on the Nichols, but
not the Packard theory. The Packard
Legislature had quorum in the House
on its own theory of the law, but, as
already stated, not in the Senate, and
was thus disabled from any legislation
that would be valid, even in the judg-
ment of its own party.


The commission found it to be very
difficult to ascertain the precise ex-
tent to which the respective govern
ments were acknowledged in the var
ious parishes outside of New Orleans ;
but it is safe to say that the changes
which had taken place in the parishes
after tile organization ofthe two gov
ernments on the ninth of January,
1877, were in favor of the Nichols
government. The claim to legality
of the Supreme Court composed of
Chief Justice Manning ard associates,
who were nominated by Governor
Nichols and confirmed by his Senate,
rests upon the same basis as the title
of General Nichols and his Senate.
The claim to legality of the Supreme
Court composed of Chief Justice Lude-
ling and his associates rests either
upon their right to hold over, in case
the Nichols court is illegal, or upon
the legality of the Kellogg-Packard
Senate, which confirmed the judges
upon the nomination of Governor
Kellogg and while it had a Returning
Board quorum. The constitution of
the State of Louisiana requires that
returns of elections for members of
the General Assembly shall be made
to the Secretary of State. 10 also pro-
vides that the qualified electors shall
vote for Governor and Lieutenant
Governor at the time and place of
voting for Representatives.


The returns of every election shall
be sealed and transmitted by the proper
returning officers to the Secretary of
State, who shall deliver them to the
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives on the second day of the General
Assembly then to be holden. The
members of the General Assembly
shall meet in the House of Represen-
tatives and examine and count the
votes. 1t will be observed that this
provision of the constitution requires
that the returns of the votes for Gov
ernor and Lieutenant Governor are
to be sealed up and transmitted by
the proper returning officers to the
Secretary of State, and the same pro-
vision is made in substance as to the
members of the General Assembly !:
but in 1870 the Legislature passed an
act, amended in 1872, which created
body called Returning Board, con-
sisting of five members, to be ap-
pointed by the Senate, and to be re-
turning officers for all elections in the
State. The act provides that the COM
missioners of election at each poll or
voting place shall count the votes,
making list of the names of all per-
sons voted for and the offices for
which the votes were given the num-
ber of votes received by each; the
number of ballots contained in the
box and the number rejected, and the
reasons therefor; and to make dupli-
Gates of such lists and to sent one to
the supervisor of registration of the
parish and one to the clerk of the
district court, and in the parish of
Orleans to the Secretary of State. The