The Louisiana Infamy

Nkw Orleans. Dec. 1, 1876. To the Pcoplc of tho Pnlted States : On our anival here, in casting about for apjroacbos to the olllcials who control the elccions in tbia S'.nio, wo discovered that thewore uil of one political party ; thst the Oov ornor had appointsd none but Republican Superviaora of Electiona, and tliat the returnng oflicera conetituting the Stato Board wore of the samo politioal school. Inflaencei by ;hese inauapicions surroundings our thonghts and hopea wore turnod toward the eminent ;entlemon who have been selected hy the Presleiit to be present and soe that the Board of Canvassera made a fair count of the votes actually cast, and on the lith of November we invited these gentlemen to meet and confer with U8. This co-operation was declinod, but we nevertheleas have reaeon to believe that to tlii correspondonce may bo attributed the invitation to'us, on the 18th ultimo, by the Returning BoarJ to attend and be preaent at its ineetings as apectators and witnesses of its procoeding. Through thi8 courtesy and the ïorvicea of a compotont stenographer we bocamo posseaêed of all oesontial facts developed on the face of the official papara. We have beon furuiahod with a cerlified copy oí the duplícate statements of votes, made by the Oommissioners of ElectiDn at e .ch place of roting in the State, and frcm these statements It appears that tho Tilden electora recoivcd the {'.lowing voteB : MoKnery 8:),712 De Blanc 83.CG7 Wickliffc 8:1,880 Reara 83,812 8t. Martin 83,076 Caleb 83,579 Pocho 83,529 CrOBB 83,652 And the Hayes electora received the following votes, to wit Kpllogg Marks 7.1,221 Burch 77.151 Levissee 75,370 Josoph 74,889 Brewster 75,467 Sheldoa 74,841 Jeffrion 75,597 The result of the vote for Presidential electora a difcloeed on the face of the rcturna opened by tbo BeturnioR Board in our presonce : l'or the, tilden Élteton, for the Hayes Elector. McEnery 82,223 Kellogg 77,023 WicklifTe S2,326 Burch 76,983 St Marün 82,129 JosepU 74,842 Poche 82,030 Sbeklon 74,678 De Blanc 8?,06' Marka 75.087 Sears 82,245 Levlssee 75,157 Cobb 81 ,959 Brewster '5.Í70 Cross 82,1(9 Jeffrion 75,390 In moat caaea the returns opened by the Returning Board corresponded with the certified ocpiea of the statements of Commiaaioners of Election furnished. The most material differenc3 aroae from tho failure of the SuperviBOre of East Baton Rouge, Tangipahoa, and Orleana to forward the statements of votos from all voting placoa in their respective pajHhea. In thirty ñve out of the thirtv-eight States in the Union these figures wonld ba conchi'ive, and no one would claim that Tilden and Hendriclis wtro not ontitled to the electoral vote of the State; bat in Louisiana a tribunal has been set up which on formor occa-sions haa overthrown the will of thepeople as extreseeJ at the polle, and for which the power ia now c[aimed at ita discotion to change tho rosult of tbo popular vote of the recent elcction. In view, however, of the roturas, and the law and facta whicb should control tho Returning Board, with wliich we havo made ouraelves familiar, we havo no 'fcei-itation in saying that tho reDlt shoirn by the votes actually caat cannot be changed without a palpable abuse of the letter and spirit of the law governing the Roturuing Boaid and a manifest perversión of the facts bofore it. Irregularilies have buen committed in some instanc by officers condneting elections and in making returns, but thoy are about as mucü en oue uide as the other; and, as to intimidation and violence or other illegal acts preventing a freo and fair election, there ia evidence on bothsides, bnt not of such a character aato affect the general result. In most instancea the acts of violonco proceeded frcm mere lawlessnesa, as in the case of Henry and Eiiza Pinkston, and had no connoction with politicB. It is a significant fact that in the parishea where it ia alloged that voters were kept from the polls by intimidation the total vote of such pariehes waa aa largo as at any time heretofore, and in the whole State is 1,500 aboye auy vote heretofore cast. An houest and fair envass of the returns, even under tho Louifiiana law. cannot materially reduce Tildeu's majority aa abown on the face of the returns. John M. Palmf.k, Geo. B. Smith, Lïman Tbümbull, Gko. W. Julián, Wm. Biolek, P. H. Watson.