170 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 





the State of Louisiana whereby the Republican 

 vote in all the precincts of the parish of East lelici- 

 ana and in some precincts of NN e*t Feliciana, at the 

 general election in November, 1876, was purposely 

 withheld from the polls to afford a Pretext for the 

 exclusion by the Returning Board of that State of 

 the votes cast in those precincts for Electors of 

 President and Vice-President, and that James E. 

 Anderson, the supervisor of registration of East 

 Feliciaua, and D. A. Weber, the supervisor of regis- 

 of the parish of West Feliciana in that State, 



that the election in such precincts had not been fair 

 and free, and that the said Keturning Board there- 

 upon falsely and fraudulently excluded the votes of 

 the said precincts, and by_ means thereof and of other 

 false and fraudulent action by the said Keturning 

 Board, the choice of the people of that Slate was 

 annulled and reversed, and that such action of the 

 said Weber and Anderson was induced or encour- 

 by the assurances of Hon. John Sherman, now 



of business in this House, it is a resolution 

 introduced because of the memorial of a sov- 

 ereign State touching the official conduct of 

 high officers of the Government and relating 

 to frauds alleged to have occurred and to have 

 changed the result of the election of the high- 

 est officers of this Government." 



Mr. Conger : " Will the gentleman allow me 

 one question in this connection? Has this 

 memorial to which he refers been committed 

 to the gentleman from New York, so that he 

 has any such possession of it as would au- 

 thorize him to draw such a resolution?" 



Mr. Potter: "'I am now speaking to the 

 question of order. Later, if this resolution 

 sliall be admitted, and if I should have an op- 

 portunity to say anything, I shall be happy to 



sScretoVort^TrVasu^ of the United States i and make answer to the inquiry just put by the 

 Be ^ri^Vi!. _l!.:,:f"7* * i,, a i,ovc tv,A tnrp gentleman from Michigan. As to the question 



Whereas. The gravity of these charges, the nature 

 of the evidence upon which they are reported to be 

 based, and the official dignity and position of the 



of order, it seems to me that to state this case 

 is to argue it. If, for the reason that appears 



persons named in connection with the said frauds n ^ face of this reso l u ti O n, this inquiry 

 make it proper the same should be inquired into to * . :1 , ,. , ?,.;i^ 



make it proper the same should be inquired into to 

 the end that the honor of the nation may be vindi- 

 cated and the truth as to such elections made known : 

 Therefore, 



B it resolved, That a select committee, consisting 

 of eleven members of this House, be appointed by 

 the Speaker to inquire into the aforesaid allegation 

 as to the conduct of the persons in office aforesaid in 

 respect of the said election, and into the alleged 

 false and fraudulent canvass and return of votes by 

 State, county, parish, and precinct officers in the 

 said States of Louisiana and Florida, and into all 

 the facts wbich, in the judgment of the said commit- 

 tee, are connected with or pertinent thereto ; and 

 that the said committee, forthe purpose of executing 

 this resolution, shall have power to send for persons 

 and papers, to administer oaths, and to take testi- 

 mony, and in their discretion to detail subcommit- 

 tees, with like full authority of said committee in 

 every particular, and with power to sit in Florida 

 and 'Louisiana, which subcommittees shall be com- 

 mittees of this House, and the chairmen thereof 

 shall be authorized to administer oaths; that the 

 said committees and subcommittees may employ 

 stenographers, clerks, and messengers, and be at- 

 tended each by a deputy sergeant-at-arms, and may 

 sit during the sessions of this House and during the 

 vacation ; and that said committee do forthwith pro 



is not privileged, nothing can be privileged. 

 If the House of Representatives ought to give 

 preference to the consideration of any subject 

 over its ordinary business, surely a subject of 

 this nature and magnitude must be one of those 

 to which it ought to give preference. I do not 

 think it can be necessary to make any further 

 suggestion in reply to the gentleman from 

 Michigan. As to what he has said about the 

 tenor of the resolution, that matter will arise 

 properly after the resolution is admitted to be 

 discussed." 



Mr. Garfield, of Ohio, said: "The right of 

 petition was discussed on the presentation of 

 the Maryland resolutions. Everybody admit- 

 ted the unquestioned right of petition ; but the 

 right of action here on this floor is a different 

 thing. The question which rises to the digni- 

 ty of a privileged question depends upon the 

 right of action which some one can demand of 

 the House. A member here can demand ac- 

 tion in regard to his right to his seat. Any- 



- tM that lefldg to an action re l a ting to these 



ceed mtlm inquiry and have leave to report at any higl f questions of privi] ege of course can be 



called a privileged question. But this memo- 

 rial received here by the courtesy of the rules 

 of the House, and not as a matter of right, ex- 

 cept as a petition, cannot now by any form of 

 logic be raised to the dignity of a question of 

 privilege. 



" Now, I say another thing. This would be 

 a question of privilege without any doubt pro- 

 vided the resolution alleged a purpose to insti- 

 tute proceedings in impeachment. If he says 

 this is a proceeding intended to pave the way 

 for an impeachment, doubtless it may be made 

 a question of privilege. If he says that it is a 



time. 



Mr. Conger, of Michigan, said: "I make the 

 point that this resolution is not a question of 

 privilege, and does not show on its face any- 

 thing which this House can sustain as such. 

 I make the further point that the action pro- 

 vided for in the resolution changes the rules 

 of this House. It not only gives very extra- 

 ordinary privileges and powers to a general 

 committee, but undertakes to give to a sub- 

 committee and to the chairman of a subcom- 

 mittee power which the law does not permit 

 in regard to the administration of oaths. I 



ask the ruling of the Chair in the first place proposition by this House to raise and deter- 

 upon the question whether this is a question mine the question of the title of the present 

 of privilege." ' " " ' m ^ i * i- -ia- 



Mr. Potter: "Will the Chair hear me one 

 moment as to the question of privilege? Mr. 

 Speaker, one would suppose that if there be 

 any subject entitled to preference in the order 



Chief Magistrate to the office which he holds, 

 then I answer him that the question has been 

 determined by the joint action of the two 

 Houses of Congress, and is as much beyond 

 the reach of this House as the election of Grant 



