Year: 1875

SPECIAL MESSAGE ON LOUIS


lana AFFAIRS.


WASHINGTON, Jan. 13.-Following
is the full text of the special message
Oh Louisiana affairs sent to the Sen
ate to-day by President Grant.


TO the Senate of the United
States:


| have the honor to make the fol-
lowing answer to a Senate resolution
of the sth inst, asking for intorma-
ton rs to any interference by any
military officer OF any part OF the
army of the United States with the
organization or proceedings of the
General Assembly Of the State of
Louisiana, or either branch thereof,
and also inquiring in regard to the
existe..cc of armed organizations in
that State hostile to the government
thereof, and intent on ovcrturning
such government by force.


SO say that


LAwLEssNEss, TURBULENCE, AND
/ BLOODsHED


have characterized the affairs of that
State since its organization under the
reconstruction acts, is only to repeat
what has become we'll known as q
part of It's unhappy history; but it
may be proper here to refer to the
election of 1868, by which the Re-
publican vote of the State, through
fraud and violence, was reduced to a
few thousand, and the bloody riots of
1866 and 1868 to show disorder.
These are not due to any recent
causes or to any late action Of the
Federal authorities. Preparatory to
the elections of 1872 a shameful and
undisguised conspiracy was formed
to carry that election against the Re
publicans, without regard to law or
right, and to that end the most glar-
ing frauds and forgeries were COM
mitted in the returns, after many col
ored citizens had been denied regis
tration and others deferred by fear
casting their ballots. When the
time came for final canvass of the
votes, in view of the foregoing facts,
William p. Kellogg, the Republican
candidate for Governor, brought suit
upon the equity side of the United
States Circuit Court for Louisiana,
and against Warmoth and others
who had obtained possession Of the
returns of the election, representing
that several thousand voters of the
State had been deprived of the cleo
/ tive franchise on account of their
color, and praying that steps might
be taken to have their votes counted,
and for general relief. TO enable
the Court to inquire as to the truth of
these allegations, temporary re-
straining order was issued against
the defendants, which was at once
wholly disregarded and treated with
contempt by those to whom it was
/ directed.


These proceedings have been wide
ly denounced as an unwarrantablc
interference by the Federal judiciary
with the election of State officers,
but it is to be remembered that, by
the fifteenth amendment to the Con
stitution of the United States


THE POLITICAL EQUALITY OF COLoRED
is secured, and under the second Sec
ton of that amendment, providing
that Congress shall have power to
enforce its provisions by appropriate
Legislation, an act was passed OH the
3lst of May, 1870, and amended in
1871, the object of which was to pre-
vent the denial or abridgement of the
suffrage of citizens on account of
race, color, or previous condition of
servitude, and it has been held by all
the Federal judges before whom the
question has risen, including Justice
Strong of the Supreme Court, that
the protection afforded by these
amendments and these acts extend to
State as well as to other elections.


That it is the duty of the Federal
courts to enforce the provisions of
the Constitution of the United States,
and the laws passed in pursuance
thereof is too clear for controversy.
Section Is of said act, after numerous
provisions therein to prevent an eva
sion of the Fifteenth amendment,
provides that the jurisdiction Of the
Cirouit Court of the United States
shall extend to all cases in law or
equity arising under the provisions of
said act and of the act amendatory
thereof. Congress seems to have
taken prompt and equitable as well
as legal proceedings to prevent the
DENIAL Of suffrage to the colored citi-
zens, and it may be safely asserted
that if Mr.. Kellogg's bill in the above
named case does not present a case
for the equitable interposition Of the
court, then no such case can arise
under the act. That the courts OF
the United States have the right to
interfere in various ways with State
elections, SO as to maintain political
equality and rights therein, irrespec.
tive of race or color, is comparatively
new, and to some it seems to be a
startling idea; but it results as clear
ly from the Fifteenth amendment OF
the Constitution and the acts that
have been passed to enforce that
amendment as the abrogation of State
laws upholding slavery results from
the Thirteenth amendmant of the
Constitution. While the jurisdiction
of the court in the case of Kellogg
VS.. Warmoth and others is clear to
my mind, it seems that some of the
orders made by the judge in that and
the kindred case of Antoine were lille
gal, but while they are SO held and
considered, it is not to be forgotten
that the mandate of his court had
been contemptuously defed, and they
were made while


WILD SCENES OF ANARCHY


were sweeping away all restraint o1
law and order. Doubtless the Judge
Of this court made grave mistakes