HENRY Ware, being duly sworn and examined, testified.
By Mr. Marshall:
Question. Where do you live ?—Answer. I live in Iberville Parish. I lived there since 1868: since that time I have principally been engaged in planting, in some little stockraising, and two or three other kinds of business.
Q. What party do you belong to?—A. I hesitate to say that I belong to any. I have never been a democrat, neither before, during, nor since the war. I have been in sympathy with the republican party. I was first a whig, though never an active politician. I attended to my business, and voted with the whigs. I was a Union man when the war commenced; was a conservative during the war, and after the war my sympathy was with the honest republicans; and I have identified myself with that party until very recently, when I concluded to fall back on my previous course; to have nothing to do with politics.
Q. How did you vote in the presidential election?—A. The republican ticket, with Grant for President, and Kellogg for governor—I think the entire ticket. I don’t know that I made a single exception. I know I did all I could for their election and wrote two or three an articles in their favor.
Q. State the condition of things in your parish.—A. As far as I know, all are getting along quietly.
Q. What race preponderates?—A. The black population is much the largest. I don’t recollect the number of voters, but I think they number at least two or three to one of the white population, and I think the republicans have three or four to one.
Q. What is the character of the officials that have had charge of your public affairs’?— A. For the last several years our officials have generally been colored men, or of a very ignorant class of white men; or when they were not ignorant, they were foreigners, men brought there to till appointments under Governor Warmoth.
Q. How has it been under Kellogg?—A. Well, sir, when Kellogg was elected the officials were republicans with few exceptions, and with few exceptions they are still republicans, but as a general thing they are of that class of men I allude to. I had pretty strong hopes of our being able to change things in some way. Most all classes then I that had any intelligence, and a great many of the colored people, admitted that there had been abuses, and that there was a necessity for a change so as to have better men in office, and I had hopes that we would be able to change things after Kellogg was elected. I cannot say that we have had any change. I will state, however, as I have been asked on that subject, that there have been some changes made that we consider have been of a great injury to the republican party. …”
Reference Data:
Louisiana Affairs: Report on the Select Committee on That Portion of the President's Message Relating to the Condition of the South, Testimony Taken by Committee, 1885, page 626
