Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1875 — Reports of the Louisiana Committees. [ARTICLE]

Reports of the Louisiana Committees.

Washtm«ton, Feb. 28 Ik the House, this morning, the majority report of the Louisiana Investigating Committee, signed by Messrs. Foster, Phelps, Potter and Marshall, was presented. The following conclusions,have been arrived at: The wndereitnied majority of the Committee on the Slate of the South renpeclfullv report that thev cannot agree to the report made to the committee by Messrs. Wheeler and Frye. The law* Inimical tn the colored people of Louisiana, referred to in their report, have been repealed for year*. Except during the schi»m of Gov. Warmoth. in 187*. the Republican party liar long had control of the machinery of the State. The late registration ehowe an excess of the colored over the white voters, giving 90.781 colored to 76.KZ3 white. In the absence of any direct evidence that the late election war not free and fair, the assumption of the minority, that enough colored voters must therefore have been prevented from voting'at the late election bv the recollection of the Colfax and Coushatta killings (tne cause* and circumstances of which are disputed), and by other acts which occurred years before, to have changed the result of the election throughout the Slate, is au assumption so violent, when it is recollected that both those parishes elected the full Kellogg ticket by increased Republican majorities, as not to be received ii any other causes for the vote oflhe State can be found. Such causes exist and are obvious. Among them are: first— The registration was incorrect, and exceeded the true colored vote. The registration was whollv in the hands of the Kellogg officials, with whom a Republican committee, with United States Marshal Packard at their head, co-oper-ated. In only three parishes did the Republican Supervisors of Registration make any complaint of unfair or insufficient registration. On the other hand very great complaint was made by the Conecrvatives.’who specified, with proof. 1.800 cases of conceded false registration in New Orleans alone. and those Conservatives who had been co-operating in the Joint Party Committee to secure lair registration gave up the effort in despair. The census of 1870, the correctness of which is not impeached, showed 87.086 whites and 86.918 colored males over twenty-one years of age. AH the statistics and evidence before' ns indicated no change in this proportion in favor of the coibred voters. Yet the registration of colored voters exceeded by ■i Oiothe total number 01 adult males returned by the census, while the registration of white voters was W.'W less.

Neco-uv—The w hole number of voters registered was 167.607. Of these 146,528 voted. This is a larger proportion of registered voters than usually vote in auy of the Northern glares. Inan agricultural bta'e. scantily settled, where long Journeys had often to be made to reach the polls, it is unreasonable to suppose that a greater proportion of the registered blacks would nave t r.rtieil out to su-tain the Government under which the prospeiity of the State and their wages and the valueHtoir -shares of.-ptudltcriou hid .sieadtly . declined than usually vote at elections Noitii or South. Third— lß74 was a year of political change, in which the vote tlicoiighoiu all the. States was seriously affected aghiuet the Rcpub.ienn party, a •c-hr 11 ov_roiiltlargely from flnantiit! distre-s of tile people,and wmen shoiiid flienijore nnturally have been even greater in Louisiana than elsewhere. XottrfA —It became t he interest of 1 he Uuusers - alive*. a, least at the last election, not to ii;tiir.i—date,but to acquire by every Jsir n.uws the colored vote Panics who were alleged to have threatened the blacks even with fg*usai of cfirs' iiloyment were subject to prompt arrest.' It was mown that pretexts would be sought to deprive the Conservatives of the result if they prevailed hi the election. It wa- therefore their interest to avoid giving any such pi etexts. Aeci'rdiii-.-ly, they determined everywhere toco-operate With rind Conciliate the blacks. They voted down the propositions or suggestions which were made in the early parf-of the campaign for a refusal to employ those colored voters who.would no; co operate with then., and georally sought by comlnning with colored voters .to eairy the election. Local combinations agaii.yt ■■ Kellogg .candidates were made in many ; a sin'-s hy men of till parties ami colors. Tn-se'. e.nl pa; i-he- a union ticket ~f colored and y’onse'v'aiive voters was voierl for and elected. Au intelligent colored witness testified that he desired oetter government,” and to that end "was witling to swallow the. white matt if the white lie-n would swallow the colored. ' These causes luuiafe tings naturally united to swell the Conservative vote in such localities as indicated by the returns. - 'Fifth — The entire want of anv direct evidence to show any general intimidation of colored voters. Cl course, in so large a State it would be impossi Ide there should be npi ust au c <■of ref usa I to employ, or of intimidation. such occur in every State; bat the evidence certainly indicate no general intimidation of colored voters, and that such intimidation as did exist in the State was rather in the interest of the Republicans than o! the Conservatives. United States Marshals. whose efiief was the Chairman of the Republican Stale .Commitlee. armed, in some cases, with blank warrants of acre-1, and aided by Fed' oral troop*.—made constant arrests; before the election, but not afterward. The oversight of the election and returns was iu-the hands of Gov. Kellogg's officials. Their account and return did show twviity-nine majority of members of the Tower house eiected’byThe Conservatives without any protest whatever, except in three parishes. although it was their province and duty to protest in any case where violence and intimidation, or traud. existed. Indeed, the direct evidence, as to the . lection of 1874. as well as the ciic-umsiaiicuss. clearly indicate a peaceable and fair election. In fact.after the visit of the first committee and revisit oi the special committee, the Kellogg party, with all their machinery for collecting evidence, were unable to produce in the entire State'more than half-a-dozen persons to testify to anything impeaching the freedom and fairness of the late election who were not officeholders or connected with officeholders. Against such facts it seems toils idle to assume that the disturbances so vividly pictured by the minority could have kept up throughout their State such a feeling of intimidation as would justify the assumption that but for that feeling the State would hare gone Republican. all experience show s that the result of the election of 1874 in Louisiana.’ as returned to the Returning Board, was natural and to be easily accounted foi by the reasons we have given. We hold, therefore, that in November, IS7-4. the people of the State of Louisiana- did fairly have a free, peaceable and JUlll registration and election, in which a clear Conservative majority was elected to the lower house ot the Legislature, of which majority the c onservatives were deprived by the un,ir.’st. illegal and arbitrary action of the Returning Board. ’ _ To the resolution reported to the House from the commiii-v as to th< action of the Returning Board w e ail agreed. We nuuerstand the committee to be unanimous iu finding the fact that the ac don of the Returning Board lias defeated the will of the people as expressed by them at the polls .n November. 1874. The people then elected to the low er house of their Legislature a majority of Conservative members. A portion of the" Conservative members thus elected were refused their certificates. This is an act of great injustice to individuals, of the gravest danger to the State and free government^and ought to be immediately corrected by any power'competent to correct it. The resolution commending the recognition of' Gov. Kellogg is based upon the general impression, not upon evidence. On this point no testimony was taken either by the committee or any part of it. Kellogg may or may not have been elected in 1872. but there is no evidence to show the tact, or if there be it has been neither sough; nor found by this committee. Messrs. Foster and Phelps think that the popular belief. taking both Conservative and Ra deal circles, inclines on the whole to justify Kellogg’s claims, and that, as Ke I! ogg is and has been acting Governor of Louisiana for the past two years, to dent his right and insta'l another in his ptace after this lapse of time might involve incalcu able mischief to the legal anti political interests -of the State. v The committee conc’ude as follows; To avoid m-chief and the confusion of a change, the majority of the citizens of Louisiana seem willing to accept, as a compromise. Kellogg’* recognition and the restoration to’the Conservatives of the control of the lower house. For these reasons Messrs. Foster and Phelps do not wish to oppose the recommendation that the administration of the Governor. Kellogg, be recognized Neither, in view of the fact that they know nothing of its meriu-as judged by competentcvidjßce. do they wish to be understood as urging it. 1 bey only wish to accord their agreement with those of their associates who believe scch a conference might, bv making a termination to the uncertainty in Louisiana, be, on the whole, les* intolerable than the present situation of that distracted people, but. to any resolution recognizing Kellogg, Messrs. Potter and Marshall are utterly opposed. They find nothing to justify the belief that Kellogg was elected; that he seized the Government by the aid of the Federal troops, through a void and fraudulent order. which prevented the counting and returning of the votes, should be a standing presumption against him. When the people, outraged by the abases of his Government, had successfully regained the office which be had usurped, he was again reseated by the Federal power through forma of law' by which he had intrenched himself. He onte more sought to nullify the choice of the people at ibe late election. and to that end called in tne’Federal troops to break up the meeting ot the Legislature. For Congress tq recognize a usurps Jon.eo gross, so oppressive, la, they think.

to establish a precedent by which, under pretexts that can readily be found, any State Government may be overthrown. the will of the people nullified! and fraud and • violence made permanent, and republican forms perverted to destroy liberty. - In their judgment all that is needed in Louisiana is to withdraw the Federal troops and leave the people of that State to govern themselves. Chaiu.es'Fostkr. William Walter Pheltsi ClarKson N. Potter; Samvel S. Marshall. ■ THR MINORITY HEPOUT. G. F. Hoar, Chairman of the committee, made the minority report, closing with the following resolutions; Whereas, Both branches of the legislature of Louisiana have requested the Select Committee of the House to investigate the circumstances attending the election and returns thereof in that State lor the year 1874-'5; and Whereas, Said committee has unanimously reported that the Returning Board of that State, in canvassing ano compiling said returns and promulgating the results, wrongfully applied an erroneous rule of law. by reason whereof persons were aw arded in the House of Representatives seats to which they were not entitled, and persons entitiedto seats were deprived of them : He^otred. That H i# ■recommentied to the House of liepresentathes of Louisiana to take immediate steps to remedy said injustice and to place* the persons rightfully entitled in their seats. 7?rso?red. That William P. Kellogg be recognixed as the Gov< rnor of Louisiana until the end of the term of office fixed by the Constitution of that State. The majority and minority reports were ordered printed. As the result of the colloquy between members as to which was the majority report and which the minority report, it may be stated that all the members of the committee report against the action of the ReturnBoard: that Messrs. Foster, Phelps, Potter and Marshall unite in the majori ty repoi't that there was no general intimidation in the State, but a free and fair election, which resulted in favor of the Conservatives, who werejjjeprivedof the result by the wrongful action of the Returning Board; that Messrs. Hoar, Wheeler and Frye unite in a minority report, and that Foster assents with Hoar, Wheeler and Frye to a compromise recognizing Kellogg’iis Governor, and giving the majority in the House to the Conservative delegates. The report signed by Messrs. Hoar, Wheeler and Frye is summarized under eleven heads, which are brieliy as follow s: That there <";ists m the While Meu'» -Hpur.p.i*,:. i.i Takvepuisu-ts.turn hy._fuam._ur. I f.aud, of thi State Goveiiiiiii at. witbo.ut regard to ■ the <|iii‘siidi: who may hliie iiufueileal majority nt j auv fair election. I .'e-curttf—That, in the execution of this pur- ! pre-e. they iviß-noi hesUaee—to «h> any inairumyntalitief which.thev thiuk_designed to ai eom“j >Tlr‘ lit heir cnii, whether tfie smne be mUrdbr. fraud, civil war or coercion of laborers by their J employers. /7<7/-i/--While there, .'uar-many wbile, men of THoiterare means who do not—tircmsvtves-aise i>r approve these unlawful means, such men desire the accomplishment'ot the same end, and are powerless under ih<‘ leadership of their more inIliii lilial associates. t-'burtk— Three causes have made it easy for the I whit - men to so unite: The far; that the Adniin- | isiTation party in Louisiana is made up almost altos’, tlier of negro votes, with a few white votes, largely from other Mate-: the fact that there has been.matiiilmiuisti'ation by R jiuMicHti otlicials; the beliel bv a large number of the white people thaj thee have been twice defrauded of the results ot 'the succi-sstul ele lion. Fifth- While these thjyig-L.are deplorable, the course of the white people themselves has tended to bring them about '1 he simple and peaceful reniediesLot obedience to law and decent 'treatment of opponents would, if they had pursued them have-proven. < liectii.e long 'ago. >i.i't/, -While we believe Gov Kellogg received' a imijority ot votes, in Is.'.’, and while we believe .there wa*.violence and fraud ill i.iiany of the.par-i.-lies in 1874, Hie illegal order ol Judge-Burell and the illegal conduct of the Returning Board in attempting to cure one wrong by another have furnished substantial basis lor complaints. 5. te There has been much dishonesty and corruption iu Louisiana. For these the Republican officials under \\ armotb’s rule are largely’ responsible. although many of their opponents have been equally guilty. Ki'jhth —The effect of all this has been to put an end to the authority of law throughout a large portion of Louisiana, to deprive the negro of freedom ami suffrage and to destroy the safeguards provided by law to secure fairness in elections. Phis state of things overthrows repubiican goveinnieut in Louisiana and seriously menaces the whole country. % Xihth—X new election under national authority is desired by neither side. . ~ Tenth- Congress should exercise its constitutional powers. We thiuk William Pitt Kellogg was the choice of the majority of the voters of 1872, and should be recognized. A7< t'rnth -These remedies are bnt superficial. Efficient educational aid would have done much to prevent the evil, and may do much to effect the cure. The public seutinieiil of the rest of the country, without distinction of party, may do mueb to remove, as it has already unfortunately done much toaggiavate. the evils of Louisiana. The people should be made to understand that ■ the authority lodged in thy National Government to preserve a republican form of government and to protect the rights of all citizens will be kindly but fearlessly and steadily exercised, and that no party in this country will accept the alliance of men who are seeking power by such methods as We b.-'.ve been competed to describe. Unless this can be done the overthrow of the free institutions of the w hole United States will not long survive the destruction of those iu the South.