458 



LOUISIANA. 



vote was not rescinded. A new proposition 

 was drawn up, however, and adopted by a vote 

 of 59 to 7, which ran as follows: 



1. The election of 1872, now before Congress, not 

 to be included in the adjustment. 



2. The election of Treasurer and members of the 

 General Assembly in 1874 to be submitted to Messrs. 

 Hoar, Wheeler, Frye, and Marshall. It being dis- 

 tinctly understood that those returned both by_ the 

 Returning B'oard and the Conservative Committee 

 to be accepted as legally elected. 



3. The House of Representatives to be organized 

 de novo on the basis of the committee's award. 



4. The House of Representatives when organized 

 to send to W. P. Kellogg, acting Governor, and to 

 the Senate, as constituted by award of the commit- 

 tee, a message, informing them that the House is or- 

 ganized and ready to proceed to business. 



5. The Conservative members to sign an agree- 

 ment that, while not approving or recognizing the 

 legality of the government known as the Kellogg 

 government, we agree not to disturb the Executive, 

 because of his past political acts, so long as he is 

 sustained by the President. 



6. Members of the House of Representatives re- 

 turned by arbitration not to be changed except by 

 death, resignation, or expulsion for just cause. 



7. The Senators returned by arbitration to be 

 seated. 



This was handed to Mr. Wheeler just as the 

 committee was leaving by the railroad-train 

 on the morning of the 9th. He telegraphed 

 back from Mobile, " Propositions not ac- 

 cepted." The negotiations were then trans- 

 ferred to -Washington. A committee of the 

 Conservatives, consisting of E. A. Burke, F. C. 

 Zacharie, and A. H. Leonard, proceeded to 

 that city, to endeavor to obtain some modifi- 

 cation of the adjustment submitted by Mr. 

 Wheeler, which would make it more accept- 

 able to the people of Louisiana. In this they 

 failed, and reported to a caucus of the Conser- 

 vative members early in March that these were 

 the best terms that could be" obtained and rec- 

 ommended their acceptance. Mr. Wheeler re- 

 quired that the adjustment be signed by the 

 members of the caucus and forwarded to him. 

 A committee was appointed to obtain the sig- 

 natures, and the agreement was signed by forty- 

 four Conservative members and sent to Wash- 

 ington. The Congressional Committee imme- 

 diately entered upon the task of arbitration 

 and award in the cases of those claiming seats 

 in the Legislature, from which they had been 

 excluded. To make the adjustment effectual,. 

 Mr. Wheeler undertook to secure an extra ses- 

 sion of the Legislature, the body sustained by 

 General Sheridan having adjourned. Mean- 

 time the national House of Representatives 

 had adopted resolutions recognizing Kellogg as 

 the Governor of Louisiana, and afterward, on 

 the 20th of March, the Senate, then holding an 

 extra session, adopted the following by a vote 

 of 28 to 25 : 



Resolved, That the action of the President in pro- 

 tecting the government of Louisiana of which W. 

 P. Kellogg is the Executive, and the people of that 

 State against domestic violence, and enforcing the 

 laws ol the United States, is approved. 



Governor Kellogg issued a proclamation on 

 the 24th of March, summoning the Legislature 



to convene in extra session on the 14th of 

 April, and limiting its sittings to ten days. The 

 following objects of legislation were specified 

 to take precedence of all other business : 



1. Joint resolution in relation to the adjustment 

 of the political difficulties heretofore existing in this 

 State. 



2. Revenues of the State and the mode of collect- 

 ing and disbursing the same. 



3. Amendment of the funding law with respect to 

 the number of members composing the funding 

 board, and with respect to the manner of preventing 

 the funding of illegal obligations of. the State. 



4. Revenues, financial condition, and government 

 of the city of New Orleans. 



5. Relief of the commerce of New Orleans from 

 excessive port charges, fees, etc. 



6. To consider the incorporation of the Board of 

 Trade of New Orleans. 



On the first day of the extra session the 

 case of twelve persons who claimed to have 

 been elected to the House, but who had been 

 excluded by the Returning Board, was referred 

 to the Committee on Elections and Qualifica- 

 tions. The next day the committee reported 

 in favor of admitting them to seats, in place of 

 those to whom they had been awarded by the 

 Returning Board. This action was in accord- 

 ance with the award made by the Congres- 

 sional Committee. The report was adopted by 

 a vote of 89 to 15. The resolution forming a 

 part of the Wheeler adjustment was next 

 passed in the House by a vote of 89 to 18. On 

 the third day of the session Mr. Wiltz with- 

 drew as a candidate for Speaker, Mr. Hahn 

 vacated the chair, and Mr. Estilette, a Conser- 

 vative, was chosen to preside over the House. 

 All the Conservative members had taken their 

 places, and both branches of the Legislature 

 proceeded to the work before them. 



The legislation of the two sessions was of 

 little general importance, being confined chiefly 

 to appropriations, and the relief of tax-pay- 

 ers. The annual expenditures for the Metro- 

 politan Police were reduced from $600,000 to 

 $490,000. A bill for the relief of delinquent 

 tax-payers remitted all penalties for non-pay- 

 ment in case the taxes were paid by the 1st 

 November; and where they were levied on 

 lands that were overflowed in 1874, until De- 

 cember 1st was allowed for payment without 

 penalties. A bill which made all valid war- 

 rants, scrip, and bonds of the State, receivable 

 for taxes due prior to 1875, was vetoed by the 

 Governor, on the ground that it would be a 

 diversion of the taxes from the funds to which 

 they were pledged, for the purpose of paying 

 certain outstanding obligations, and further, be- 

 cause some of the warrants being depreciated, 

 it would be a virtual remission of a portion of 

 the taxes and a premium on delinquency. The 

 general appropriation bill passed at the regular 

 session was found to have been changed in 

 many of its items, after receiving the signatures 

 of the presiding officers of the two Houses. An 

 injunction was accordingly granted by the Su- 

 perior District Court, restraining payment of 

 certain specified items. 



