212 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES (ELECTORAL COMMISSION). 



7. We offer to prove that the votes given for elec- 

 tors at the election of November 7th last, at the sev- 

 eral voting-places or polls iii said State, have never 

 been opened by the Governor of the said State in 

 presence of the Secretary of State, the Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, and a district judge of the district in which the 

 seat of government was established, nor in the pres- 

 ence of any of them ; nor has the Governor of said 

 State ever, in presence as aforesaid, examined the 

 returns of the commissioners of election for said 

 election to ascertain therefrom, nor has he ever, in 

 such presence, ascertained therefrom, the persons 

 who were, or whether any one was duly elected elec- 

 tors, or elector, at said election; nor has he ever 

 pretended so to do. (Revised Statutes, section 2826. ) 



8. We further offer to prove 



That the said William P. Kellogg, Governor as 

 aforesaid, when he made, executed, and delivered 

 the said certificate, by which he certified that him- 

 self and others haa been duly appointed electors as 

 aforesaid, well knew that said certificate was untrue 

 in fact in that behalf; and that he, the said Kellogg, 

 then well knew that he, the said Kellogg, had not 

 received, of the legal votes cast at the election of 

 November 7, 1876, tor electors, within five thousand 

 of as many of such votes as had at said election been 

 cast and given for each and every of the said McEn- 

 ery, Wickliffe, St. Martin, Poche, De Blanc, Seay, 

 Cobb, and Cross ; and that he, the said Kellogg, 

 when he made and executed the aforesaid certificate, 

 well knew that of the legal votes cast at the popular 

 election held in the State of Louisiana on the 7th 

 day of November last, for the election of electors in 

 said State, as shown by the lists, returns, and papers 

 sent, according to law, by the commissioners of 

 election, who presided over and conducted the said 

 election at the several polls and voting-places in 

 said State, to the supervisors of registration, and 

 as shown by the said lists, returns, papers, and bal- 

 lots deposited by said commissioners of election in 

 the office of the clerks of the district courts, except 

 the parish of Orleans, and deposited for the parish of 

 Orleans in the office of the Secretary of State, accord- 

 ing to law ; that each and every the said McEnery, 

 Wickliffe, St. Martin, Poche", De Blanc, Seay, Cobb, 

 and Cross, had received more than five thousand or 

 the legal votes cast at said election for electors, more 

 than had been cast and given at said election for the 

 said Kellogg as elector, and that the said McEnerv, 

 Wickliffe, St. Martin, Poche", De Blanc, Seay, Cobb. 

 and Cross, had been thus and thereby duly appointed 

 electors for said State in the manner directed by the 

 Legislature of said State. 



9. We further offer to prove 



That at the city of New Orleans, in the State of 

 Louisiana, in the month of October, A. D. 1876, the 

 said William P. Kellogg, J. H. Burch, Peter Joseph, 

 L. A. Sheldon, Morris Marks, A. B. Levisse", 0. H. 

 Brewster, Oscar Joffrion, S. B. Packard, John Ray, 

 Frank Morey, Hugh J. Campbell, D. J. M. A. Jewett, 

 H. C. Dibble, Michael Hahn, B. P. Blanchard, J. B. 

 G. Pitkin, J, Madison Wells, Thomas C. Anderson, 

 G. Casanave, L. M. Kenner, George P. Davis, W. 

 L. Catlin, C. C. Nash, George L. Smith, Isadora 

 McCormick, and others, entered into an unlawful 

 and criminal combination and conspiracy to and 

 with each other ; and each to and with each of the 

 others, to cause it to be certified and returned to the 

 Secretary of State by the returning board of said 

 State, upon their pretended compilation and canvass 

 of the election for electors, to be thereafter held on 

 the 7th day of November, A. D. 1876, that the said 

 Kellogg, Burch, Joseph, Sheldon, Marks, Levisse", 

 Brewster, and Joffrion, had received a majority of 

 all votes given and oaatat said election for electors, 

 whether such should belrhe. fact or not ; and 



That afterward, to witj on the 17th day of Novem- 

 ber, A. D. 1876, after said election had been held, 

 and it was well known to all of said conspirators 

 that said Kellogg and others I ad not been elected 



at said election, but had been defeated, and their 

 opponents had been elected at said election, the 

 said returning board assembled at the city of New 

 Orleans, the seat of government of said State, to 

 pretend to compile and canvass the statement of 

 votes made by the commissioners of election from 

 the several polls and voting-places in said State for 

 presidential electors, and make returns of said elec- 

 tions to the Secretary of State, as required by an act 

 of the Legislature of that State, approved November 

 20, 1872 ; that when said returning board so assem- 

 bled, said Wells, said Anderson, said Kenner, and 

 said Casanave, who were all members of one polit- 

 ical party, to wit, the Republican party, were the 

 only members of said board ; there being one vacan- 

 cy in said board, which vacancy it was the duty of 

 said Wells, said Anderson, said Kenner, and said 

 Casanave, as members of said board, to fill, then 

 and there, by the election or appointment oi some 

 person belonging to some other political party than 

 the Republican party ; but that the said Wells, An- 

 derson, Kenner, and Casanave, then and there, in 

 pursuance of said unlawful and criminal combina- 

 tion aforesaid, then and there neglected and refused 

 to fill said vacancy, for the reason, as assigned by 

 them, that they did not wish to have a Democrat to 

 watcn the proceedings of said board ; and that, al- 

 though frequently during the session of said board 

 assembled for the purpose aforesaid, they, the said 

 Wells, Anderson, Kenner, and Casanave, were dulv, 

 and in writing, requested by said McEnery, Wickliife, 

 St. Martin, Poch6, De Blanc, Seay, Cobb, and Cross, 

 to fill said vacancy, they refused to do so, and never 

 did fill the same, but proceeded as such board, in 

 pursuance of said combination and conspiracy, to 

 make a pretended compilation and canvass of said 

 election without filling the vacancy in said return- 

 ing board j and 



That said Wells, Anderson, Kenner, and Casa- 

 nave, while pretending to be in session as a return- 

 ing board for the purpose of compiling and can- 

 vassing the said election, and in pursuance of sai<J 

 combination and conspiracy, employed persons of 

 notoriously bad character to act as their clerks and 

 assistants; to wit. one Davis, a man of notoriously 

 bad character, who was then under indictment in 

 the criminal courts of Louisiana, and said Catlin, 

 said Blanchard, and said Jewett, three of said con- 

 spirators, who were then under indictment for 

 subornation of perjury in the criminal courts of 

 Louisiana ; the said Jewett being also under indict- 

 ment in one of the criminal courts of Louisiana for 

 obtaining money under false pretences ; and Isadore 

 McCormick, who was then under indictment in a 

 criminal court of said State charged with murder. 



And that, in pursuance of siid unlawful combina- 

 tion and conspiracy aforesaid, the said Wells, An- 

 derson, Kenner, and Casanave, acting in said return- 

 ing board, confided to their said clerks and em- 

 ploye's, said co- conspirators, the duty of compiling 

 and canvassing all returns which were bv said 

 returning board ordered to be canvassed and com- 

 piled ; and, although thereto particularly requested 

 by a communication, as follows 



" To the honorable Returning Board of the Statt of 



Louisiana : 



" GENTLEMEN: The undersigned, acting as coun- 

 sel for the various candidates upon the Democratic- 

 conservative ticket, State, national, and municipal, 

 with respect show : 



" That the returns from various polls and parishes 

 are inspected by this board, and the vote announced 

 by it is merely 'that for Governor and electors ; 



" That the tabulation of all other votes is turned 

 over to a corps of clerks, to be done outside of the 

 presence of this board ; 



" That all of said clerks are Republicans, and that 

 the Democratic-conservative candidates have no 

 check upon them, and no means to detect errors and 



