202 



CONGEESS, UNITED STATES. 



of the United States, with a view to his impeach- 

 ment upon certain charges made by Hon. James M. 

 Ashley, begs leave to submit the following report: 



The committee refuses to allow a report to be made 

 giving the evidence to the House at this time upon 

 grounds which are no doubt satisfactory to them- 

 selves, therefore I cannot report the evidence upon 

 which my conclusion is based, which I would gladly 

 do did the committee deem it expedient. The exam- 

 ination of witnesses and the records was commenced, 

 as appears by the majority report, about the time of 

 the reference, to wit: on the 7th day of January, 

 1867, and continued daily. A large number of wit- 

 nesses has been examined, and every thing done that 

 could be to bring the case to a close, as appears by 

 the majority report: and the majority have come to 

 the conclusion " that sufficient testimony had been 

 brought to its notice to justify and demand a further 

 prosecution of the investigation." I have carefully 

 examined all the evidence in the case, and do report 

 that there is not one particle of evidence to sustain 

 any of the charges which the House charged the 

 committee to investigate, and that the case is wholly 

 without a particle of evidence upon which impeach- 

 ment could be founded, and that with all the effort 

 that has been made, and the mass of evidence that 

 has been taken, the case is entiwjly void of proof. I 

 furthermore report that the most of the testimony 

 that has been taken is of a secondary character, and 

 such as would not be admitted in a court of justice. 

 In view of this conclusion I can see no good in a 

 continuation of the investigation. I am convinced 

 that all the proof that can be produced has been 

 before the committee, as no pains have been spared 

 to give the case a full investigation. Why, then, 

 keep the country in a feverish state of excitement 

 upon this question any longer, as it is sure to end, 

 in my opinion, in a complete vindication of the 

 President, if justice be done him by the committee, 

 of which I have no doubt? A. J. ROGERS. 



The reports were laid on the table, and 

 ordered to be printed. 



In the House, on December 6th, Mr. Eliot, 

 of Massachusetts, offered the following resolu- 

 tion, which was agreed to : 



Resolved, That a committee of three members be 

 appointed by the Speaker, whose duty it shall be to 

 proceed without unnecessary delay to New Orleans, 

 in the State of Louisiana, to make an investigation 

 into all matters connected with the recent bloody 

 riots in that city, which took place the last of July 

 and first of August, 1866, and particularly to inquire 

 into the origin, progress, and termination of the 

 riotous proceedings, the names of the parties en- 

 gaged in it, the acts of atrocity perpetrated, the 

 number of killed and wounded, the amount and 

 . character of the property destroyed, and whether 

 and to what extent those acts were participated in 

 by members of the organization claiming to be the 

 government of Louisiana, and report all the facts to 

 the House; and the Sergeant-at-Arms or his deputy, 

 and the Stenographer of the House, are directed to 

 accompany the said committee : and that all the ex- 

 pense of this investigation be paid out of the con- 

 tingent fund of the House. The said committee 

 shall have power to send for persons and papers and 

 examine witnesses under oath ; also to appoint a 

 clerk, and to report such appropriate legislative 

 action as may be required in view of the condition 

 of affairs in the State of Louisiana. 



A majority and a minority report was pre- 

 pared by the committee appointed under this 

 resolution, and presented to the House on Feb- 

 ruary llth. On the same day a bill for the 

 government of Louisiana was offered by Mr. 



Eliot, the chairman of the above-mentioned 

 committee, which passed the House yeas 113, 

 nays 47. The bill was in substance as fol- 

 lows : 



Its first section required the President, with 

 the assent of the Senate, to appoint a citizen of 

 Louisiana, who never in any way favored se- 

 cession or rebellion, and who should file an oath 

 in the United States Senate to that effect, pro- 

 visional governor, to hold his office until a suc- 

 cessor should be elected in June, 1807. 



Its second section required the President 

 and Senate, in the same way, and from the 

 same description of loyal citizens, to appoint a 

 legislative council of nine, a majority being a 

 quorum, who remain in office and in session 

 until June, 1867; and this legislative council 

 makes the laws of the State. And the Gov- 

 ernor, with the assent of this council, appoints, 

 from strictly-defined loyal men, all the other 

 State officers known to the present law ; who 

 also hold office until the election of successors 

 in June. 



Its third section required the Governor to 

 see that all laws of the State and United States 

 were executed, and that the archives and State 

 property are taken possession of. 



Its fourth section required the electors 

 qualified to vote by the terms of the act, on 

 the first Tuesday of June next, to elect from 

 those who have ever been truly loyal, as de- 

 fined by the bill, all those officers of the State as 

 above stated, appointed in the first instance. 



Its fifth section made those alone electors, 

 without distinction of race, who were male 

 citizens of the United States, twenty-one 

 years old, and one year resident of Louisiana, 

 who had never voluntarily favored rebellion 

 or secession ; but it permitted those who have 

 never in any manner favored rebellion, other- 

 wise than as private soldiers in civilized modes 

 of war, and that not voluntarily, after the 4th 

 March, 1864, to prove these facts in a United 

 States court, by the evidence of persons who 

 have ever been loyal. And on such proof, and 

 subscribing on the court records an oath to 

 that effect, such private soldier is to receive a 

 certificate entitling him to vote. 



The seventh section required the Secretary 

 of War to cause a complete registration of such 

 electors to be made and to be published, a week 

 before each general election, and this is to be 

 done by qualified electors. 



The eighth section authorized these same 

 electors, upon the third Tuesday of October, 

 1867, unless Congress should otherwise pro- 

 vide, to elect from persons eligible for Govern- 

 or, a convention to frame a permanent consti- 

 tution for Louisiana, which must contain the 

 three irreversible provisions : 



1. That the United States shall enforce the 

 perpetual union of the States ; 



2. That no distinction in the rights of men 

 shall be permitted on account of race ; and 



3. That no rebel debt, nor pension, nor gra- 

 tuity, shall be paid by the State. 



