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LOUISIANA AFFAIRS.

JOINT RESOLUTION

OF

THE LEGISLATURE OF WEST VIRGINIA,

PROTESTING AGAINST

Federal interference in the civil affairs of the State of Louisiana.

FEBRUARY 8, 1875.-Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and ordered to be printed.

Resolved by the legislature of West Virginia:

1. That we have heard with surprise and alarm of the recent invasion of the house of representatives of our sister State of Louisiana by an armed force of Federal soldiers, and the forcible expulsion therefrom of a portion of its members, while in the peaceable and legitimate discharge of their appropriate duties, at the request of a corrupt and usurp ing official calling himself governor of the State, and we denounce and condemn such interference in the affairs and business of such legitimate assembly as a gross violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States, and an act of usurpation and tyranny unparalleled in the history of any free government, and we most emphatically denounce and condemn all and every person or persons, regardless of their official position, who are in any way responsible for this, the last and greatest outrage upon liberty and free government on this continent.

2. That while we recognize the right as well as the duty of the Government of the United States, under the Constitution, to guarantee to each State of this Union a republican form of government, we deny the right of any officer or department of the Government, civil or military, to interfere in the organization of the legislature of any State, by de claring who are or who are not the legally-elected members thereof, or otherwise; and that each house of such legislature is the exclusive judge of the election, qualification, and return of its own members.

3. That we tender to the people of Louisiana and to their legallyelected representatives our warmest sympathy in this their hour of peril, and we heartily congratulate them upon the firm yet peaceful manner in which they have met this tyrannical invasion of their rights. 4. That the great outrage of which we complain is not confined in its consequences to Louisiana, but it is a deadly and insidious blow at free government in this country, and if permitted to stand as a precedent may be repeated as the exigencies of parties may require in any State of this Union, and even in the Congress of the United States.

5. That the State of West Virginia, through her representatives now assembled, solemnly protests against the executive department of the General Government interfering, as it has done, with the legislative action and authority of the State of Louisiana; that if such interference is tolerated and allowed to prevail it will subvert and overthrow the sovereignty of the States as established by our fathers, and will substitute in its stead a grand consolidated national government, ruled and regulated by the power of the sword-of all tyrannies the most absolute and detestable-destroying the rights and liberties of the people, and subjecting them to the rule and control of the worst of despotisms.

6. That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be by the governor transmitted to each of the governors of the States of this Union, and to each Senator and member of the House of Representatives from this State in the Congress of the United States, and that our Senators be instructed and our Representatives requested to lay the same before their respective bodies as the solemn protest of West Virginia against the unconstitutional and tyrannical action of the Federal Executive in regard to the civil affairs of one of the sovereign States of this Union.

7. That our Senators and Representatives use their best efforts to have the troops of the United States withdrawn from the State of Louisiana.

Adopted January 22, 1875.
A copy-Teste:

J. B. PEYTON,

Clerk of the House of Delegates and Keeper of the Rolls.

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The improvement of the navigation of the Ohio River.

FEBRUARY 8, 1875.-Referred to the Committee on Commerce and ordered to be printed.

Resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in general assembly met, That our Senators be instructed, and members of the House of Representatives requested, to vote for, and use all proper means of securing from Congress, an appropriation for the improvement of the Ohio River navigation, and that the governor be requested to transmit copies of this resolution to our Senators and members in Congress.

Attest:

RUSSELL ERRETT,

Clerk of the Senate.

ADAM WOOLEVER,
Clerk of the House of Representatives.

43D CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 2d Session.

PINE RIVER, MICHIGAN.

JOINT RESOLUTION

OF

THE LEGISLATURE OF MICHIGAN,

ASKING

Congress to aid in the improvement of the navigation of Pine River, in Charlevoix County, on Lake Michigan.

FEBRUARY 8, 1875.--Referred to the Committee on Commerce and ordered to be printed.

Whereas the commerce of Pine River, in Charlevoix County, exceeds that of any of the harbors on the east shore of Lake Michigan, (excepting those of Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Manistee,) and is constantly increasing; and

Whereas the navigation of said river has been impeded and rendered difficult by the existence and formation of bars at the mouth of said Pine River; and

Whereas the people of Charlevoix County have, by voluntary labor, private subscriptions, local taxation, and issue of bonds, expended upward of twenty thousand dollars in removing obstructions, dredging, and improving the navigation of said river; and

Whereas the State Board of Control of Michigan, in 1872, made an appropriation of $12,500, in State swamp-lands, in aid of the improvement of said Pine River and Harbor; and

Whereas by a report recently made by Colonel Mansfield, of the Engineer Corps United States Army, in charge of the harbor improvements of the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, additional aid is necessary to protect and complete the work already accomplished, and such engineer has reported in favor of the General Government aiding the improvement; therefore,

Resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the State of Michigan, That the Congress of the United States be, and they are hereby, requested to make such appropriation as may be necessary for completing and protecting such improvement, and that our Senators in Congress be instructed, and our Representatives requested, to use all proper efforts to secure an appropriation for that purpose.

Resolved, That his excellency the governor be requested to transmit copies of the foregoing preamble and resolution to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress.

HENRY H. HOLT,

President of the Senate. JOHN P. HOYT,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Approved February 2, 1875.

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