Year: 1876

sENATB.


WASHINGTON, December THE chai
lald before the senate a communication
| signed by Hons. Carl Schurz and J. B
henderson, praying that constitutional
amendment be submitted to the various State.
| by which the counting OF the electoral vote
| for President and ce-Prasident. and declar.
ing the result thereof, may be conferred upor
the suprese court of the United States.


Senator EdInunds moved that the commu-
neaticT be laid on the table, the subject hav.
! ing already been reported TO the senate. Sc
| ordered.


Senator Anthony, from the committee on
| printing, to which was referred motion to
print the depositions accompanying the COM
munication of Hon. John Sherman andothers
to the President, in regard to the late election
in Louisiana, reported in favor of printing all
the depositions.


Senator salisbury, member of the COM
mlttee on printing, dlssented from the report
of the majority and said thai he could not
give his consent 10 publishing such matter;
he honestly believed that all these exparte
statements should not be distributed to the
public as testimony.


Senator NJ Donald said he way willing to
print all the testimony on both sides bearing
on the late elections in South Carolina, Lou
lsiana end Florida, He sent to the clerks
desk and had read the address of the Demo-
cratic committee which attended t4e sessions
Of the returning board IN New Orleans to the
effect that the Tilden electors had a majority
OF the votes In louisiana; and also from the
preamble from the report made to the house
OF representatives by committee of that
body on the twenty-tbird day of February.
1873, IN regard to the elections in that State.


Senator Sherman. in reply to the question
Of Senator Merrimon, said that there were
three classes of testimony present, which was
the .lrst orni testimony taken before the re-
/ turning board, and the proceedings of the
board seemed to be q statement of the super
visors of election, and the affidavits sworn to
by them. This testimony was taken accord
ing to the laws Of Louisiana, on interrogato-
mes and crOss-interrogatories


Senator Eaton opposed the printing of the
documents, because they were not brought
here by the action of the senate. The proper
testimony in regard to the late election in
South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana, would
be taken both by the senate and house of
representatives, and that should be printed
not this partisan matter.


Senator Thurman said he did not object to
the printing of thepapers because he wanted





he did not want public opinion to be fore
stalled by premature publication Of only a
part of the facts. If this matter should be
delayed until all testimony was fully pro-
duced, as 1t would be shortly, he would not
object to its publication. He commented on
the action of the Louisiana returning board,
and said this was the third time that board
has set aside the will of the people of that
State; now the matter concerned not only the
State OF Louisiana alone, but the whole re-
public, and he Thurman wanted to scrl-
tlnlze the Testimony on which this extraordi-
nary result had been reached by the board. If
his colleague sherman had stated the acts
of the returning board so far as he knows,
then he Sherman had not sad anything in
regard to the secret sessions of taat board !:
the country wanted to know what the secret
resolutions of that board were, by which an
apparent majority of seven thousand for Til
den was converted into a majority of three
thousand for Hayes and Wheeler. Itwas done
Ii seeresy, and the worst kind of secresy. The
vacancy in the board was never filed,
and the miserable spretext for this was that
tie board could not agree upon a man. Not
one Of the eighty thousand men in Louisiana
who voted for Tilden could be named. The
very thing on its face showed a determined





Democrat on the board he would have seen
what was done in secret. All the white
washing IN the world could not wipe out or
hide their guilt. The majority IN this senate
might make efforts to forestal1 public opinion
by distributing the testimony, but it would 90
to the country stamped with the stigma of
being a onesided statement. He protested
against the publication of the dispositions in
the name Of fair play. He hoped they would
be allowed to lie on the table until
the other side should be heard from, and
then print it all. Senator Morton said the
senate had a singular spectacle here of de-
nunCiatiOn of the returning board of Louisi-
ana for fraud, while at the same time resist
ance was made to laying before the country
the evidence upon which the action of the
board was based. The Democratic committee
in New Orleans was invited by the Repubh-
can committee to publish the testimony taken
by it, together with that taken by the Repub-
hcans; but the Democrats were not willing
TO make public their case as it was before the
toard, they wanted to wait to get more testi-
mony, and thus have case which was not
before the board. They had
confessed that they were not
satisfied with their case, but wanted
30 make a new one. This free denuneiation
of the returning board was unfair. If the
board had acted unfairly let the Democrats
bring forward their evidence 10 that effect.
He was not afraid Of the testimony, the more
the better.


Senator Thurman said he did not know
that the Democratic committee in New Or
leans declined to furnish their testimony TO
the Republican committee, but had he been
a member of the Democratic committee he
would have refused TO furnish the testimony.
and he thought the committee acted fairly in
refusing to furnish the Republicans with their
testimony His colleague IShernanl and
comrades went to New Orleans at the request
Of the President. They did not ask the
Democratic committee to Join them in
making a report 10 the President,
but asked that the Democratic testimony
be placed in their hands, that they,
five Republican gentlemen, might make up a
verdict and send il to the President. Who
constituted the senator from Ohio Sherman
and hlF four associates in New Orleans the
sole judges in this case: There was never d
time IN the whole history Of this nation when
our form Of government and constitution
were put to a severer test than now. and ev-
eryt ling done by congress should sci an ex-
ample to the people OF coOlness.


Mr. Morton SAID that all the ingenuity that
could be brought to bear on the other side.
would not change the dilemma in which the
Democrats were placed when the Republican
committee m New Orleans offered to lay the
whole testimony OF both sides before the
country. The Democrats declined to furnish
Their side, and when the Republicans came
forward to publish what they had. they were
asked by the Democrats nor 70 do so.


Senator Sherman defended the committee
with which he acted, and said the committee
presented every particle Of testimony they
could get. They tried 10 get it all on both
sides, but could not do So He argued that II
was on testimony now before the senate that
the decision Of the returning board wa- made


Senator Thurman said il was upon one side