LOUISIANA. 



4C1 



rat's opinion li;i'l not as 

 rict command- 



:i in-trn -t.-d to :i(!.)|.t his 

 interpretation of tli.' Uec'onstriiction ! 

 AVitli iv-anl to the mural clleet of that opinion, 

 (ieiieral Sheridan writes to General (Irani, un- 

 der date of .luno 27th: 



Ir. Stanbery's opinion is 

 [eii.int. opposition to all aoU of tto 

 military oommanden. and l>y itui>ediiiLr uml rendering 

 eivil officers acting und.-r his up 



nco, the mayor of this city notifles 



1 that ono and a quarter million of 



issued by the comptroller and 



rer. The common council refuse to order an 



'.::ition, and the city attorney refuses to sue out 



mi injiiin-tion to stop the issue. I fear the chaos 



wliieh tliis opinion will make, if carried out, is but 



littlo understood. Every civil officer in this State 



will administer justice according to his own views. 



Many of them, denouncing the military bill as uncon- 



>nal, will throw every impediment in the way 



ion, and bad will go to worse unless this 



i.,' condition of affairs is settled by per- 



i -c me to go on in my first course, which was in- 



l by all the people, except those disfranchised, 



most of whom are office-holders, or desire to be such. 



On the next day he writes that he had re- 



1 tho Attorney-General's opinion in the 



form of a circular from the Adjutant-General's 



. Inn was at a loss to know whether or 



not he was to treat it as an order from the 



President. To this General Grant replies: 



Enforce your own construction of tho military bill 

 until ordered to do otherwise. The opinion of the 

 Attorney-General has not been distributed to the dis- 

 trict commanders in language or manner entitling it 

 to the force of an order, nor can I suppose that the 

 U-nt intended it to have such force. 



>rdingly the registration went on as be- 

 iitit since the instructions of the President 

 '.:ied in Adjutant-General Townsend's dis- 

 ; of June 21st, no definite limit had been 

 > the time allowed for its completion. On 



tho 10th of July the following order was issued 



to the Board of Registration : 



Special Orders, No. 88. 



HEADQUARTERS FTFTIT MILITARY DISTRICT, | 

 NEW ORLEANS, July 10, 1S6T. ) 



The Boards of Registration throughout the State 

 of Louisiana will immediately proceed to select suit- 

 able persons to act as commissioners of election for 

 tho voting precincts of their respective parishes. 

 Three persons will be selected for each precinct, whose 

 names will bo submitted by the Boards of Registers 

 to their supervising officers for approval. Polls will 

 be opened at all the places heretofore established for 

 that purpose, as far as practicable, and, in order to ac- 

 ("inmodate the largely increased number entitled to 

 vote, two days will be given for voting. Boards of 

 era will at once proceed to make up their pre- 

 cinct poll-books. 



By command of Major-Gcneral P. II. SHERIDAN. 



This was followed on the 19th by an order 



ing the registration to cease on the 31st, 



and the number of registered voters to be ac- 



nirately made up and attested by the affidavits 



of tho registers. A circular was issued from 



the office of the Inspector-General on tho 22d, 



; directions for qualifying commissioners 



of election, and providing for the inspection of 



the books and records of registration. One of 

 the thrc" commissioner* appointed : 

 each poll was to be taken from li,,- < ..lored 

 population, and all wen- required to tai 

 oatli Mib.-crihcd by tin- iv/i-t.-r-. The v, hole 

 number of voters registered on the 31st of July 

 was 127,689, of which 44,7^ wm whites and 

 82,907 blacks. The whites had small majorities 

 in ten pari.-h-.-s. In N'e\v OrleaiH, 14,845 v 

 and 14,805 blac!. 



onK-r for holding the election was published on 

 the 17th of August, and directed that tho vote 

 should be taken on the question of holding the 

 convention and for the choice of dek ;.'.: 

 the 27th and 28th of September. It also pro- 

 vided for the distribution of delegates amon^ 

 the several parishes, the whole number to be 

 chosen in the State being fixed at ninety-two, 

 the number of the most numerous branch of 

 the Legislature in 1860. A revision of the 

 rcL'i-try lists was likewise directed, to com- 

 mence fourteen days before the election, and 

 continue five days, at which tho commissioners 

 were instructed to strike off the name of any 

 person shown to their satisfaction not to be en- 

 titled to registration, and to add that of any 

 person legally qualified whoso name had not 

 been already entered on the lists. The Board 

 of Registers were directed to make all neces- 

 sary preparations for the balloting, and to make 

 duplicate returns of the votes cast. The com- 

 missioners of election were made responsible 

 for the preservation of order on the days of 

 voting, and to that end were clothed with all 

 the functions of civil and executive officers. It 

 was made their duty also to count the votes 

 and record the results in duplicate, and trans- 

 mit the ballot-boxes sealed to the Board of 

 Registers at place previously appointed by 

 the latter^ It was furthermore declared that 

 any fraud occurring at the voting precincts 

 would be punished in the severest manner, and 

 the elections therein be held over again under 

 tho protection of United States troops. Tho 

 total vote cast at the election in September was 

 79,089 ; for a convention 75,083, against a con- 

 vention 4,006. 



After the registration had ceased in Louisiana, 

 General Sheridan, in communicating the result 

 to General Grant, made use of tho follow- 

 ing language respecting the -obstacles with 

 which he had contended, and the spirit of the 

 people with regard to the working of the re- 

 construction acts : " In accomplishing this regis- 

 tration I have no opposition from the n. 

 of the people ; on tho contrary, much assist- 

 ance and encouragement. But from the public 

 press, especially that of the city of New Or- 

 leans, and from office-holders and office-seekers 

 disfranchised, I have met with bitterness and 

 opposition." 



Extensive removals of officials were made, 

 especially in tho city of New Orleans, between 

 the 1st of August and the time appointed for 

 the election. On tho 1st of August an order 

 was issued by the district commander com- 



