Litchfield enquirer., 1862-05-08
TEE REPLY OF THE MAYOR

MAYORS OFFICE, CITY OF NEW ORLEANs,l
 CITY HALL. April 26 1862. ! bIag- Cficer D c. Farragut, United States Flag
 ship Hartford:
 SIR: In pursuance of resolution which W, thought proper to take, out of regard for thu nves of the women and children, who still crowt the metropolis, Gen. Lowell has evacuated it witl his troops, and restored back to mo the admin lstration of it's government and the custody o l its honor. l have, in council with the City Fa thers, considered the demand you made of m, yesterday of an unconditional surrender of tht city. coupled with a requisition to hoist the faa Of the United States on the public edi6ces anc haul down, the flag that still floats upon the breeze from the dome of this Hall.
 It becomes my duty to transmit to you an an swer, which as the universal sentiment of my constituents, no less than the prompting of my own heart, dictates me on this sad and solemn occasion. The city is without the means of de. fence, and is utterly destitute of the force and material that might enable it to resist an over. powering armament, displayed in sight of it.
 am no military man, and possess no author. fly beyond executing the municipal laws of tho City of New Orleans it would be presumption. Tn me to attempt to lead an army to the field, ii had one at command and know still less how to surrender an undefended place, held, as this IS, at the mercy of your guns and your mortars
 
 unmeaning ceremony. The city is yours by the power of brutal force,-not by my choice or the consent of it's inhabitants It is for you to de. termine what will be the fate that awaits here As to heisting any flag not of our own adoption end allegiance, let me say to you that the man lives not in our midst, whose hand and heart would not be paralyzed at the mere thought of such an act; nor could find in my entire con- stituency so desperate and wretched a renegade as would dare to profane with his hand the sa- cred emblem of our aspirations.
 Sir, you have manifested sentiments which would become one engaged in a better cause than that to which you have devoted your sword, and doubt not that they sprang from noble though deluded nature, and know how to ap. preciate the emotions which inspired them. You have gallant people to administrate during your occupancy of this city,--a people sensitive to all that can, in the least, affect their dignity and seif-respect. Pray, Sir, do not fail to re. gard their susceptibilities. The obligation, which shall assume in their name shall be re. hgiously complied with You may trust their honor, though you might not count on their sub. mission to unmerited wrong Tn conclusion, beg you to understand that the people of New Orleans, while unable to resist your force, do not allow themselves to be insult ed by the interference of such as have rendered themselves odious and contemptible by their dastardly desertion of our cause in the mighty struggle in which we are engaged, or such as might remind them too forcibly that they are the conquered and you the conquerors. Peace and order may be preserved without resort to mea- sures which could not ct this moment prevent. Your occupying the city does not transfer ale glance from the Government of their choice to one which they have deliberately repudiated, and that they yield the obedience which the con queror is entitled to extort rom the conquered.
 Respectfully,
 JOHN F. MONROE, Mayor.
 Gen. Sigel has recovered from his recent illness ssd isrssdy fer active service.