The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-10-10
The Constitutional Amendment.

Northern States whether we want them
or not. If they are to be adopted,
and to become the law of the land,
whether we desire it or not, we do not
see why we should have anything to do
with them, since neither the amend
ments themselves, nor any supplement
tary action of Congress have offered
any peculiar advantages to those who
ratify them over those who do not rati-
ify them. The very reason they give
us for ratifying the amendments is,
therefore, in our opinion the strongest
reason why we should not adopt them.
As they imply a degradation of the
people of the South, we hope the peo-
pie of the South will have nothing to
do with them, but await the action of
the Northern States, and if the amend
ments should be forced upon them to
make the best of an inevitable neces-
sity.
As the prospect Of the adoption of
these amendments approaches, we re-
greet to observe spirit among certain
of the Southern people to disseminate
4
the opinion that they are not so bad
after all. A careful reading OF these
amendments will satisfy any reasonable
mind that they were proposed for the
oppression and degradation of the
South. and that the Southern people
cannot honorably accept them. AS re-
CARDS the new basis Of representation,
which was intended as a bid to the
South to barter away its honor, integ-
rity and independence, forthe material
advantage of larger representation in
Congress--a bid the refusal of which a
calculating Yankee could never under
stand-we do not consider it, by any
means, the worst feature of this new
Constitutional handiwork. Wehaveno
fears that the people of the South could
be bribed into the adoption of negro
suffrage at any price; certainly not for
the poor privilege of an increased share
in the engineering of the machinery Of
the chest government in the world"
The, South cares very little for repre-
sentation, great or small, in Congress,
when such a representation, pushed
even to its most extended limits, would
be poweriess for good in the face of the
immense Northern numerical majority.
The great Yankee bugbear of Southern
in national legislation is now
the yeriest Of chimeras, as indeed it
was when there was some plausibility
for the charge.
But what we most object to in the
Constitutional amendments is the Sc
cond Section which excludes from Fed
eral and State Offices the best talent of
the South. If such an article should be
Incorporated in the Constitution it
would be impossible to fill the Offices
with men of capacity, for the reason
that nearly every man Of intellect and
distinction in the South would be ex-
cluded by it. The Southern States
would have to submit for an Indefinite
period to representation in Congress
derived from the scum of her people,
in place of a former representation by
men of transcendent ability, and the
State offices would be filled by those
whose only recommendation is their
hostility to the States in the time of
trial and danger.
1t must be obvious to every one that
the leading idea among the Radical
leaders at the North, is the ultimate
saddling of the South with negro suf-
frage. To that end all their efforts
have been directed. They first hold
out AL inducement to the South to vol
adopt it, but our refusal to do
so will by no means end the matter
If the Radicals succeed in the approach
ing Northern elections, as We have lit
tie doubt they will, the next session of
Congress will take some steps to secure
their much cherished object. Already
their tools in each of the States are mo-
wing to bring an outside pressure to
bear upon them for that purpose. The
Governor of this State has written a
letter, and had it published, looking to
the passage of an enabling act by Con-
gress to bring in Louisiana by means of
a Convention elected by voters whose
qualifications are to be prescribed by
Congress itself. If Congress should
decide that none but "loyalists" or
The "loyal black man. should vote for
delegates, it will be seen how easy a
matter it is to get negro suffrage adopt
I'd in the State ofLouisiana. It's even
threatened that the State governments
ire to be overthro%n altogether, and
The States reduced to territorial gov
ernments. With a Radical majority in
Congress there is no saying what is to
become Of the people of the Southern
States.
Since, therefore, we have no assu-
'ance that our adoption Of the Consti-
amendment will secure us
against Radical oppression, we repeat