460 



LOUISIANA. 



On the 24rtb. of March Mr. Nlcholls issued 

 the following proclamation: 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ) 

 NEW ORLEANS, March 24, 1877. j 

 To the People of the State of Louisiana : 



The State Government being now complete in all 

 its branches, and in full performance of all its func- 

 tions, it becomes the duty of the people of Louisiana 

 to promptly discharge their pecuniary obligations to 

 it, in order that all just claims against it may be punc- 

 tually met. To the ordinary motives inducing the 

 payment of taxes is now added that of evincing by 

 such payment confidence in the strength and stabil- 

 ity of that Government, and just appreciation of the 

 fact that it is the one chosen by the people. The evi- 

 dence already received on this point is entirely satis- 

 factory, and! confidently expect a continuance of the 

 same patriotic action throughout the State. The peo- 

 ple of Louisiana m:iy rest confidently assured that 

 the Government of which they have chosen me the 

 executive head will not be imperiled or impaired by 

 any compromise of their rights. The Government 

 being now a fixsd fact, I desire to publicly acknowl- 

 edge the services of, and to thank on behalf of the 

 paople of Louisiana, the patriotic men, who, on the 

 9th day of January, 1877, responded to the call of 

 the civil authorities of this State, to prevent the ille- 

 gal attempts to oust them from their legal posses- 

 sion of the court buildings, and who have since qui- 

 etly, thoroughly, and most patiently performed their 

 duties as citize'ns. I disire to sav that their great 

 services are fully appreciated, and that in due time 

 I shall seek ocsasion to maka manifest the feeling 

 of the people oa this subjest. 



This was followed on the 26th by a proclama- 

 tion by Packard, in which he denied the alle- 

 gations of Governor Nicholls, and claimed that 

 his authority not only had a legal foundation, 

 but was recognized and supported by a large 

 part of the people and the local authorities 

 outside of New Orleans. In closing, he said : 



The reign of political terrorism and disorder in 

 this State is, I trust, rapidly drawing to a close. 

 Otfisial information reaches me, that in a few days 

 a National Commission will visit this State and pass 

 upon its condition. Confident of the justice anJ 

 rectitude of my claim, I have no doubt of the result, 

 and I am encouraged to believe that so soon as the 

 legal State Government shall have received from the 

 national authorities that recognition to which it is 

 justly entitled, it will be enabled to draw to its sup- 

 port the active cooperation of a large class of conser- 

 vative citizens, whose influence has heretofore been 

 crushed under the tyranny of that intolerant oligarchy 

 whose last desperate effort to govern by a minority 

 we now witness. It will b3 my earnest purpose to 

 BO administer the government as to oppress none, 

 and to maintain the rights of all, and I have confi- 

 dence that justice will eventually prevail, and right 

 be established. 



The administration at Washington had been 

 for some time considering upon its course, its 

 aim being to effect a withdrawal of military 

 interference without precipitating an outbreak 

 of violence which would necessitate its exer- 

 cise again, and to assist in a peaceful settlement 

 of the existing difficulties. With this view, it 

 was decided to send a commission to New Or- 

 leans to represent the President unofficially, 

 and endeavor to carry out his purposes. It 

 was appointed on the 28th of March, and con- 

 sisted of General Joseph R. Hawley, of Con- 

 necticut; Judge Charles B. Lawrence, of Illi- 



nois ; General John M. Harlan, of Kentucky ; 

 Ex-Governor John C. Brown, of Tennessee ; 

 and the Hon. Wayne McVeigh, of Pennsyl- 

 vania. Instructions for their guidance were 

 drawn up by the Secretary of State, dated 

 April 2d, and were as follows: 



To the Hon. Charles . Lawrence, Joseph JK. Haw- 

 ley, John M. Harlan, John C. Brown, and Wayne 

 McVeigh, Commissioners: 



GENTLEMEN : I am instructed by the President to 

 lay before you some observations upon the occasion 

 and objects which have led him to invite you, as 

 members of the Commission about to visit the State 

 of Louisiana, to undertake this public service. 



Upon assuming his office, the President finds the 

 situation of affairs in Louisiana such as to justly de- 

 mand his prompt and solicitous attention, for this 

 situation presents, as one of its features, the appar- 

 ent intervention of the military power of the United 

 States in domestic controversies, which undoubtedly 

 divide the opinions and disturb the harmony of the 

 people of that State. This intervention, arising dur- 

 ing the term, and by the authority of, his predeces- 

 sor, throws no present duty upon the President, ex- 

 cept to examine and determine the real extent, form, 

 and effect, to which such intervention actually exists, 

 and decide as to the time,_ manner, and conditions, 

 which should be observed in putting an end to it. It 

 is in aid of his intelligent and prompt discharge of 

 this duty that the President has sought the services 

 of this Commission, to supply, by means of its exam- 

 ination, conducted in the State of Louisiana, some 

 information that may be pertinent to the circum- 

 spection and security of any measure he may resolve 

 upon. 



It will be readily understood that the service de- 

 sired of and intrusted to this Commission does not 

 include any examination into, or report upon, the 

 facts of the recent State election, or of the canvass 

 of votes cast at that election. So far as attention to 

 that subject may be necessary, the President cannot 

 but feel that the reports of the committees of the 

 two Houses of Congress, and other public informa' 

 tion at hand, will dispense with, and should preclude, 

 any original exploration by the Commission of that 

 field of inquiry. But it is most pertinent and im- 

 portant, in coming to a decision upon the precise 

 question of executive duty before him, that the Pres- 

 ident should know what are the real impediments to 

 the regular, legal, and peaceful procedures under the 

 laws and Constitution of the State of Louisiana, by 

 which the anomalies in the Government there pre- 

 sented may be put in the course of settlement, with- 

 out involving the element of military power as either 

 an agent or a make-weight in such a solution. The 

 successful ascertainment of these impediments, tbe 

 President confidently expects, would indicate to the 

 people of that State the wisdom and mode of their 

 removal. The unusual circumstances which attend- 

 ed and followed the State election and canvass, from 

 its relation to the excited feelings and interest of the 

 presidential election, may have retarded within the 

 State of Louisiana the persuasi ve influences by which 

 the great social and material interests, common to 

 the whole people of a State and the pride of Ameri- 

 can character as a law-abiding nation, ameliorate dis- 

 appointments and dissolve resentments of close and 

 zealous political contests. But the President both 

 hopes and believes the great body of the people of 

 Louisiana are now prepared to treat the unsettled 

 results of their State election with a calm and con- 

 ciliatory spirit. If it be too much to expect a com- 

 plete concurrence in a single Government for that 

 State, at least the President may anticipate a sub- 

 mission to the peaceful resources of the laws and 

 Constitution of the State of all their dissensions, at 

 once relieving themselves from reproach, and their 

 fellow-citizens of the United States from anxieties, 



