Judge Baker, the United States Commis sioner and parish judge, together with O'Neal, the sheriff, and Walker, the clerk of the court; and they have compelled the parish and district courts to suspend operations. Judge Baker states that the White Leaguers notified him several times that if he became a candidate on the republican ticket, or if he attempted to organize the republican party, he should not live until election. par unable to arrest, convict and punish perpetrators. Consequently, there are no correct records to be consulted for information. There is ample evidence, however, to show that more than twelve hundred persons have been killed and wounded during this time, on account of their political sentiments. Frightful massacres have occurred in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, Catahoula, Saint Bernard, Saint Landry, Grant and Orleans. The general character of the massacres in the above named They also tried to intimidate him through parishes is so well known that it is unneces- his family by making the same threats to sary to describe them. The isolated cases his wife, and when told by him that he was can best be illustrated by the following in- a United States commissioner, they notified stances which I have taken from a mass him not to attempt to exercise the functions of evidence now lying before me of men of his office. In but few of the country killed on account of their political princi- parishes can it be truly said that the law is ples. In Natchitoches Parish, the num- properly enforced, and in some of the ber of isolated cases reported is thirty-ishes the judges have not been able to hold three. In the parish of Bienville, the court for the past two years. Human life number of men killed is thirty. In Red in this State is held so cheaply, that when River Parish the number of isolated cases men are killed on account of political of men killed is thirty-four. In Winn Par- opinions, the murderers are regarded rather ish the number of isolated cases where men as heroes than as criminals, in the localiwere killed is fifteen. In Jackson Parish ties where they reside, and by the White the number killed is twenty; and in Cata- League and their supporters. An illustrahoula Parish the number of isolated cases tion of the ostracism that prevails in the reported where men were killed is fifty; State may be found in a resolution of a and most of the country parishes through- White League club in the parish of De out the State will show a corresponding Soto, which states, "That they pledge state of affairs. The following statement themselves under (no?) circumstances after will illustrate the character and kind of the coming election to employ, rent land these outrages. On the 29th of August, to, or in any other manner give aid, com1874, in Red River Parish, six State and fort, or credit, to any man, white or black, parish officers, named Twitchell, Divers, who votes against the nominees of the Holland, Howell, Edgerton and Willis, white man's party." Safety for individuals were taken, together with four negroes, who express their opinion in the isolated under guard, to be carried out of the State, portion of this State has existed only when and were deliberately murdered on the 30th that opinion was in favor of the principles of August, 1874. The White League tried, and party supported by the Ku-Klux and sentenced, and hung two negroes on the White League organizations. Only yes28th of August, 1874. Three negroes were terday Judge Myers, the parish judge of shot and killed at Brownsville, just before the parish of Natchitoches, called on me the arrival of the United States troops in upon his arrival in this city, and stated the parish. Two White Leaguers rode up that in order to reach here alive, he was to a negro cabin and called for a drink of obliged to leave his home by stealth, and water. When the old colored man turned after nightfall, and make his way to Little to draw it, they shot him in the back and Rock, Arkansas, and come to this city by killed him. The courts were all broken way of Memphis. He further states that up in this district, and the district judge while his father was lying at the point of driven out. In the parish of Caddo, prior death in the same village, he was unable to the arrival of the United States troops, to visit him for fear of assassination; and all of the officers at Shreveport were com- yet he is a native of the parish, and propelled to abdicate by the White League, scribed for his political sentiments only. which took possession of the place. Among It is more than probable that if bad gov those obliged to abdicate were Walsh, the ernment has existed in this State it is the mayor, Rapers, the sheriff, Wheaton, clerk result of the armed organizations, which of the court, Durant, the recorder, and have now crystallized into what is called the Ferguson and Renfro, administrators. Two White League; instead of bad government colored men, who had given evidence in developing them, they have by their terregard to frauds committed in the parish, rorism prevented to a considerable extent were compelled to flee for their lives and the collection of taxes, the holding of reached this city last night, having been courts, the punishment of criminals, and smuggled through in a cargo of cotton. In vitiated public sentiment by familiarizing the parish of Bossier the White League it with the scenes above described. I am have attempted to force the abdication of now engaged in compiling evidence for a detailed report upon the above subject, but P. H. SHERIDAN, President Grant said in a special message to Congress, January 13, 1875: "It has been bitterly and persistently alleged that Kellogg was not elected. Whether he was or not is not altogether certain, nor is it any more certain that his competitor, McEnery, was chosen. The election was a gigantic fraud, and there are no reliable returns of its result. Kellogg obtained possession of the office, and in my opinion has more right to it than his competitor. "On the 20th of February, 1873, the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the Senate made a report, in which they say they were satisfied by testimony that the manipulation of the election machinery by Warmoth and others was equivalent to twenty thousand votes; and they add, to recognize the McEnery government 'would be recognizing a government based upon fraud, in defiance of the wishes and intention of the voters of the State.' Assuming the correctness of the statements in this report, (and they seem to have been generally accepted by the country,) the great crime in Louisiana, about which so much has been said, is, that one is holding the office of governor who was cheated out of twenty thousand votes, against another whose title to the office is undoubtedly based on fraud, and in defiance of the wishes and intentions of the voters of the State. culty, which grew out of an attempt of white persons to drive the parish judge and sheriff, appointees of Kellogg, from office, and their attempted protection by colored persons, which led to some fighting in which quite a number of negroes were killed, the judge states: "Most of those who were not killed were taken prisoners. Fifteen or sixteen of the blacks had lifted the boards and taken refuge under the floor of the courthouse. They were all captured. About thirty-seven men were taken prisoners; the number is not definitely fixed. They were kept under guard until dark. They were led out, two by two, and shot. Most of the men were shot to death. A few were wounded, not mortally, and by pretending to be dead were afterward, during the night, able to make their escape. Among them was the Levi Nelson named in the indictment. "The dead bodies of the negroes killed in this affair were left unburied antil Tuesday, April 15, when they were buried by a deputy marshal and an officer of the militia from New Orleans. These persons found fifty-nine dead bodies. They showed pistol-shot wounds, the great majority in the head, and most of them in the back of the head. In addition to the fifty-nine dead bodies found, some charred remains of dead bodies were discovered near the court-house. Six dead bodies were found under a warehouse, all shot in the head but one or two, which were shot in the breast. "The only white men injured from the beginning of these troubles to their close were Hadnot and Harris. The courthouse and its contents were entirely consumed. "There is no evidence that any one in the crowd of whites bore any lawful warrant for the arrest of any of the blacks. There is no evidence that either Nash or Cazabat, after the affair, ever demanded their offices, to which they had set up claim, but Register continued to act as parish judge, and Shaw as Sheriff. "Misinformed and misjudging as to the nature and extent of this report, the supporters of McEnery proceeded to displace by force in some counties of the State the appointees of Governor Kellogg; and on the 13th of April, in an effort of that kind, a butchery of citizens was committed at Colfax, which in blood-thirstiness and bar-stand them to be admitted.' barity is hardly surpassed by any acts of savage warfare. "To put this matter beyond controversy, I quote from the charge of Judge Woods, of the United States circuit court, to the jury in the case of the United States vs. Cruikshank and others, in New Orleans, in March, 1874. He said: "In the case on trial there are many ficts not in controversy. I proceed to state some of them in the presence and hearing of counsel on both sides; and if I state as a conceded fact any matter that is disputed, they can correct me.' After stating the origin of the diffi "These are facts in this case, as I under "To hold the people of Louisiana generally responsible for these atrocities would not be just; but it is a lamentable fact that insuperable obstructions were thrown in the way of punishing these murderers, and the so-called conservative papers of the State not only justified the massacre, but denounced as Federal tyranny and despotism the attempt of the United States officers to bring them to justice. Fierce denunciations ring through the country about office-holding and election matters in Louisiana, while every one of the Colfax miscreants goes unwhipped of justice, and no way can be found in this boasted land of civilization and Christianity to punish | such awards shall be made, we hereby the perpetrators of this bloody and mon- severally agree to abide by the same: strous crime. "Not unlike this was the massacre in August last. Several northern young men of capital and enterprise had started the little and flourishing town of Coushatta. Some of them were republicans and officeholders under Kellogg. They were therefore doomed to death. Six of them were seized and carried away from their homes and murdered in cold blood. No one has been punished; and the conservative press of the State denounced all efforts to that end, and boldly justified the crime." And such of us as may become members of the House of Representatives, under this arrangement, hereby severally agree to sustain by our influence and votes the joint resolution herein set forth. [Here follow the signatures of the Democrats who claimed that their certificates of election as members of the House of Representatives had been illegally withheld by the Returning Board.] [Here follow the signatures of the Democrats, who made a like claim as to seats in the Senate.] And the undersigned claiming to have been elected Senators from the Eighth and Twenty-Second Senatorial Districts, hereby The House on the 1st of March, 1875, agree to submit their claims to the foreby a strict party vote, 155 Republicans to going award and arbitrament, and in all 86 Democrats, recognized the Kellogg gov-respects to abide the results of the same. ernment. The Senate did the same on March 5th, by 33 to 23, also a party vote. Under the influence of the resolution unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives of the United States, recommending that the House of Representatives of that State seat the persons rightfully entitled thereto from certain districts, the whole subject was, by consent of parties, referred to the Special Committee of the House who examined into Louisiana affairs, viz.: Messrs. George F. Hoar, William A. Wheeler, William P. Frye, Charles Foster, William Walter Phelps, Clarkson N. Potter and Samuel S. Marshall, who, after careful examination, made an award, which was adopted by the Legislature in April, 1875. It is popularly known as the "Wheeler Compromise." Text of the Wheeler Compromise. NEW ORLEANS, March, 1875. Whereas, It is desirable to adjust the difficulties growing out of the general election in this State, in 1872, the action of the Returning Board in declaring and promulgating the results of the general election, in the month of November last, and the organization of the House of Representatives, on the 4th day of January last, such adjustment being deemed necessary to the re-establishment of peace and order in this State. Now, therefore, the undersigned members of the Conservative party, claiming to have been elected members of the House of Representatives, and that their certificates of election have been illegally withheld by the Returning Board, hereby severally agree to submit their claims to seats in the House of Representatives to the award and arbitrament of George F. Hoar, William A. Wheeler, William P. Frye, Charles Foster, William Walter Phelps, Clarkson N. Potter, and Samuel S. Marshall, who are hereby authorized to examine and determine the same upon the equities of the several cases; and when And the undersigned, holding certificates of election from the Returning Board, hereby severally agree that upon the coming in of the award of the foregoing arbitrators they will, when the same shall have been ratified by the report of the Committee on Elections and Qualifications of the body in session at the State House claiming to be the House of Representatives, attend the sitting of the said House for the purpose of adopting said report, and if said report shall be adopted, and the members embraced in the foregoing report shall be seated, then the undersigned severally agree that immediately upon the adoption of said report they will vote for the following joint resolution: [Here follow the signatures of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives in relation to whose seats there was no controversy.] JOINT RESOLUTION, Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana, That said Assembly, without approving the same, will not disturb the present State Government claiming to have been elected in 1872, known as the Kellogg Government, or seek to impeach the Governor for any past official acts, and that henceforth it will accord to said Governor all necessary and legitimate support in maintaining the laws and advancing the peace and prosperity of the people of this State: and that the House of Representatives, as to its members, as constituted under the award of George F. Hoar, W. A. Wheeler, W. P. Frye, Charles Foster, Samuel S. Marshall, Clarkson N. Potter, and William Walter Phelps, shall remain without change except by resignation or death of members until a new general election, and that the Senate, as now organized, shall also remain unchanged except so far as that body shall make changes on contests. TEXT OF THE AWARD. Representatives. Exciting events were NEW YORK, March 13, 1875. now daily transpiring. On the 1st of JanThe undersigned having been requested State House without exhibitions of viouary, 1877, the Legislature organized in the to examine the claims of the persons here inafter named to seats in the Senate and lence. The Democrats did not unite in the House of Representatives of the State proceedings, but met in a separate buildof Louisiana, and having examined the re-ing, and organized a separate Legislature. turns and the evidence relating to such Telegraphic communication was had beclaims, are of opinion, and do hereby find, award and determine, that F. S. Goode is entitled to a seat in the Senate from the Twenty-second Senatorial District; and that J. B. Elam is not entitled to a seat in the Senate from the Eighth Senatorial District; and that the following named persons are entitled to seats in the House of Representatives from the following named parishes respectively: From the Parish of Assumption, R. R. Beaseley, E. F. X. Dugas; from the Parish of Bienville, James Brice; from the Parish of De Soto, J. S. Scales, Charles Schuler; from the Parish of Jackson, E. Kidd; from the Parish of Rapides, James Jeffries, R. C. Luckett, G. W. Stafford; from the Parish of Terrebone, Edward McCollum, W. H. Keyes; from the Parish of Winn, George A. Kelley. And that the following named persons are not entitled to seats which they claim from the following named parishes respectively, but that the persons now holding seats from said parishes are entitled to retain the seats now held by them; from the Parish of Avoyelles, J. O. Quinn; from the Parish of Iberie, W. F. Schwing; from the Parish of Caddo, A. D. Land, T. R. Vaughan, J. J. Horan. We are of opinion that no person is entitled to a seat from the Parish of Grant. In regard to most of the cases, the This adjustment and award were accepted and observed, until the election in November, 1876, when a controversy arose as to the result, the Republicans claiming the election of Stephen B. Packard as Governor by about 3,500 majority, and a Republican Legislature; and the Democrats claiming the election of Francis T. Nicholls as Governor, by about 8,000 majority, and a Democratic Legislature. Committees of gentlemen visited New Orleans, by request of President Grant and of various political organizations, to witness the count of the votes by the Returning Board. And in December, 1876, on the meeting of Congress, committees of investigation were appointed by the Senate and by the House of tween the State House and the Custom House, where was the office of Marshal Pitkin, who with the aid of the United States troops, was ready for any emergency. About noon the Democratic members, accompanied by about 500 persons, called at the State House and demanded admission. The officer on duty replied that the members could enter, but the crowd could not. A formal demand was then made upon General Badger and other officials, by the spokesman, for the removal of the obstructions, barricades, police, etc., which preVented the ingress of members, which being denied, Col. Bush, in behalf of the crowd, read a formal protest, and the Democrats retired. Gov. Kellogg was presented by a he replied, that as chief magistrate and committee with a copy of the protest, and conservator of the peace of the State, believing that there was danger of the organization of the General Assembly being police force to be stationed in the lower violently interfered with, he had caused a portion of the building; that he had no motive but to preserve the peace; that no interfered with in any way, and that no member or attache of either house will be United States troops are stationed in the capitol building. Clerk Trezevant declined to call the House to order unless the policemen were removed. Upon the refusal to do so, he withdrew, when Louis Sauer, a member, called the roll, and 68 members-a full House being 120-answered to their names. Ex-Gov. Hahn was elected Speaker, receiving 53 votes as against 15 for Ex-Gov. Warmoth. The Senate was organized by LieutenantGovernor Antoine with 19 present a full Senate being 30-eight of whom held over, and 11 were returned by the Board. Gov. Kellogg's message was presented to each House. The Democrats organized their Legislature in St. Patrick's hall. The Senators were called to order by Senator Ogden. Nineteen Senators, including nine holding over, and four, who were counted out by the board, were present. The Democratic members of the House were called to order by Clerk Trezevant, and 61 answered to their names. Louis Bush was elected Speaker. January 3d-Republican Legislature passed a resolution asking for military protection against apprehended Democratic violence, and it was telegraphed to the President. On Sunday, January 8th, Gov. Kellogg | date to the Secretary of War, conveyed telegraphed to President Grant to the same the assurances that Nicholls had promised the disbandment of his armed forces. effect. January 8th-Stephen B. Packard took the oath of office as Governor, and C. C. Antoine as Lieutenant-Governor, at the State House at 1:30, in the presence of the Legislature. January 8-Francis T. Nicholls and L. A. Wiltz to-day took the oath of office of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, respectively, on the balcony of St. Patrick's hall. * * * It was my understanding, that neither side should be 'permitted to interfere with the status of the other side. Yet the day after this order was received and the pledge given by Nicholls, a force of several hundred armed White Leaguers repaired to the State Arsenal and took therefrom into their own keeping five pieces of artillery, and a garrison of armed men was placed in and around the Supreme Court building. That on the following day, January 11, an armed company of the White League broke into and took possession of the office of the Recorder of Mortgages. In view of all these facts it seemed to me that to give the pledge verbally asked of me this morning would be to sanction revolution, and by acquiescence give it the force of accomplished fact, and I therefore declined." By the 11th of January both parties were waiting for the action of the authorities at Washington. Gov. Packard to-day commissioned A. S. Badger Major-General of the State National Guard, and directed him * to organize the first division at once. Two members of the Packard Legislature, Mr. Barrett, of Rapides, and Mr. Kennedy, of St. Charles, had withdrawn from that body and gone over to the Nicholls Legislature. Messrs. Breux, Barrett, Kennedy, Estopival, Wheeler, and Hamlet, elected as Republicans, under the advice of Pinchback-a defeated Republican candidate for U. S. Senator, left the Packard or Republican, and joined the Nicholls Legislature. On the 15th, Governor Packard, after receiving a copy of the telegram of the President to General Augur, issued a proclamation aimed at the "organized and armed combination and conspiracy of men now offering unlawful and violent resistance to the lawful authority of the State government." The Nicholls court issued an order to Sheriff Handy to provide the means for protecting the court from any violence or intrusion on the part of the adherents of "S. B. Packard, a wicked and shameless impostor." Governor Packard on the 16th, in a letter to Gen. Augur, acknowledges the receipt of a communication from his aidede-camp asking for assurances from him that the President's wishes concerning the preservation of the present status be respected, and says that the request would have been more appropriate if made immediately after his installation as Governor and before many of the main branches of the Government had been forcibly taken possession of by the opposition. He says: "I had scarcely taken the oath of office when the White League were called to arms; the Court room and the records of the Supreme Court of the State were forcibly taken possession of, and various precinct police-stations were captured in like manner by overwhelming forces. Orders had been issued by the Secretary of War early on that day that all unauthorized armed bodies should desist. A dispatch from yourself of the same * * * Many telegrams followed between the Secretary of War, J. Don. Cameron, Gen'l Augur and Mr. Packard, the latter daily complaining of new "outrages by the White League," while the Nicholls gov ernment professed to accord rights to all classes, and to obey the instructions from Washington, to faithfully maintain the status of affairs until decisive action should be taken by the National government. None was taken, President Grant being unwilling to outline a Southern policy for his successor in office. Election of Hayes and Wheeler. The troubles in the South, and the almost general overthrow of the "carpet bag government," impressed all with the fact that the Presidential election of 1876 would be exceedingly close and exciting, and the result confirmed this belief. The Greenbackers were the first to meet in National Convention, at Indianapolis, May 17th. Peter Cooper of New York was nominated for President, and Samuel F. Cary of Ohio, for Vice President. The Republican National Convention met at Cincinnati, June 14th, with James G. Blaine recognized as the leading candidate. Grant had been named for a third term, and there was a belief that his name would be presented. Such was the feeling on this question that the House of Congress and a Republican State Convention in Pennsylvania, had passed resolutions declaring that a third term for President would be a violation of the "unwritten law" handed down through the examples of Washington, and Jackson. His name, however, was not then presented. The "unit rule" at this Convention was for the first time resisted, and by the friends of Blaine, |