1M 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



bard Ubor for * period not exceeding three years, or 

 both, in the discretion of the court. 



SEC. IS. That any pcron who hll commit any act 

 of violence or intimidation, or offer any bribe with 

 intent to prerent any penon legally qualified from 

 Toting, or to influence any penon to vote contrary to 

 his wl.hw, or who (hall be guilty of any fraud, in 

 registration or in voting or in counting the ballot*, or 

 in making returns, or of any act calculated to influ- 

 ence any other person to commit any of the aforesaid 

 aoU of violence, intimidation, or fraud, shall bo 

 deemed guilty of a high crime, and punished by a 

 flne not exceeding 12,000, or by imprisonment at hard 

 labor for a period not exceeding three years, or both, 

 In the discretion of the court. 



Sao. 1. That the Circuit Court of the United 

 State* for the District of Louisiana shall hare eiclu- 

 aire jurisdiction of all crimes and offenses made 

 punishable by this act. 



Sec. 30. That the officers to be appointed under tho 

 provision* of this act shall receive compensation as 

 f >llow* : the State registrar* tho snm of ten dollars 

 per day each for a period not exceeding seventy -five 

 dvs ; the supervisors of registration the sum of eight 

 <i >ller per day each, and clerks of registration five 

 dollars per day each for a period not exceeding sixty 

 days ; the commissioners and clerks of election hall 

 each receive the sum of five dollars for all services 

 required by this act. 



SEO. SI. That tho State registrars shall have au- 

 thority to rent necessary office-room in the city of 

 New Orleans, and to defray all incidental expenses 

 attending the proper discharge of the duties of their 

 offloe, and to employ not to exceed two clerks at the 

 rite of five dollars per day each. 



Sic. s. That it shall be lawful for the President 

 of the United States to emplov such part of the 

 land and naval foroos of the United States as shall 

 be necessary to aid in the execution of judicial 

 process iuued under this act, and on the applioa- 

 f the Governor of said State or of said jul.ro 

 of the Circuit Court to maintain the public peace, 

 on 1 to sustain the officers appointed under this act 

 in the disohsrge of their duties until a government 

 ahull be established in said State under the provi- 



f this act. 



Sto. U. That the snm of $900.000, or ao much 

 thereof a* shall be necessary, is hereby appropri- 

 ated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not < 

 wise appropriated, to defray the expenses of the 

 ration and election provided for in this sot, 

 anJ the same shsll be expended under tho direction 

 of the President of the United States. 



A substitute for the bill was offered by way 

 of amendment by Senator Hill, of Georgia. 

 It simply constitute- 1 cert -tin persons of the 

 Legislature of the State as having been elected 

 !>> the people, and authorized them to count 

 the election return!) from State officers and !- 

 oliiro who were elected. Such persons sliouM 

 discharge the duties of said offices, etc. 



Mr. Morton, of Indiana, said : " Now, sir, 

 what is it necessary for Congress to do t Not 

 to pass the bill introduced by the majority of 

 the to overturn the State govern- 



ment, to overturn an existing government, and 

 no efficient government, recognized by tho 

 highiwt tribunals of the State, for I 1.. 

 that would be disastrous, disa^tr -n- in / 

 tions yet to coma, in settling n fatal pre. 

 that might in its consequences absorb and de- 

 stroy all the State governments. It is n 

 cesaary to recognize this faction that is trying 



rce Itself into |.o-er, tliat is trying t 

 mote blood and strife. If wo do any thing wo 



ought to recognize that State government that 

 has been recognized by the courts, and give to 

 it the moral support of Congress. But if we 

 do nothing, the President has told us that he 

 will go on, as he has done already ; he will rec- 

 ognize the Kellogg government and will sus- 

 tain it. If Congress shall adjourn without ac- 

 tion, or, what will be better, if Congress shall 

 intimate its acknowledgment of the existing 

 government down there, these men will be 

 powerless from that very hour. They are now 

 Imping to stir up strife, that that strife may 

 operate in the Capitol at Washington, and have 

 its effect upon our action here ; but if we shall 

 recognize the existing government, or if we ad- 

 journ without doing any thing on that point, 

 they are powerless, and the Kellogg government 

 will go on smoothly for the coming three years, 

 until another election in that State shall settle 

 these questions." 



Mr. Thurman, of Ohio, said : "Mr. President, 

 I propose to make at this stage of the debate a 

 few observations, and but a few. And now, 

 sir, let us see what are cither admitted or un- 

 deniable facts. 



" In the first place, it is an undeniable fact 

 that no legal cauvuss of tho votes cost at the 

 last election in Louisiana has been mode. 

 There is no controversy about that." 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, said : " If the Sena- 

 tor will allow me, it is admitted in the majority 

 report that the canvass was under color of law, 

 and in my judgment the De Feriet board had 

 a perfect right to canvass those returns and 

 make tho returns they did for the Legislature. 

 I think the law authorized it." 



Mr. Thurman: "I had taken it to be the 

 fact that no legal canvass of the votes had been 

 made. It only shows my imperfect knowledge 

 of the facts ; and if tho truth bo that a 1 

 canvass had been made, then it is an admit (.! 

 fact that the only legal canvass which un- 

 made shows McEnery to be elected. 



" In the next place, it is an admitted fart that 

 McEnery had a majority of the votes cast for 

 Governor, according to the election returns. 

 Tin-re is no question about that. 



" In the third place, it is admitted, or is un- 

 deniable, that the Kellogg government is a 

 sheer usurpation. There can be no question 

 about that. 



"in the fourth place, it is admitted that tho 

 PrMtdent has recognized the Kellogg govern- 

 ment. Then, as a matter of law, no one will 

 assert that Congress is bound by that recog- 

 nition, for. on the contrary, we all agree that 

 Oongre** Is not bound by it in the slightest 



MOTM. 



" In tho next place, it will be admitted that 

 it is the duty of Congress to recognize tho true 

 government if there is such a government. 



" Then it will be admitted that the determi- 

 nation of the question which is the true govern- 

 ment belongs to tho political department of the 

 il ("ivrrnment, and that, therefore, tho 

 determination of Judge Duroll has no binding 



