The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1866-08-09
From tie y I. Tribuse
President John son and the Massacre

fully the recent III assacre IN New Orleans /
and the causes preceding it The more
evidence we accumulate, the more we
are convinced Of the justice of the iudg
ment that the President must be held Iii
rectly responsible for all that has been
been done in New Orleans He engend-
cred the spirit which broke forth in riot.
murdered loyalists, and finally raised
the Confedera flag. about 10 persons
have been killed, and large number
wounded, nearly all being friendly TO tie
Convention This is the result of the
Presidents policy in Louisiana, and we
regard it Is Citing sequel to the result
of that policy in Tennessee, where the
military authorities are prevented from
Furnishing the authors of the massacre
in Memphis. Memphis, unavenged and
unpublished, is fifty followed by New Or
leans
The President began his work Of in
reference July 81, when lie asked Gov
" ellis to inform him under and bv what
authority the Convention had been call
ed, and also under what authority it as
sumed to represent the State of Louis
lana This was before the massacre
Gov. Wells was Governor of louisiana
and, according to the President fire.
quentlv proclaime d theories, as much
himself The menace to Gov. Wells was
much a usnrDation as though the
President were to address a letter to
Gov. Fenton to know under what au-
thority he summoned the State Legisla-
ture Gov. Wells disobeyed the Presi-
dent and issued his proclamation for
elections to be held to choose delegates
TO the Convention to fill yacancies-all
that he could do by the letter of the law
Ihereupon, July %, the Attorney Gen
eral and the Lieutenant Governor-un-
willing to obey the law or to permit the
matter to go to the courts to test its con
stitutionality-again telegraphed the
President, stating that q riot was feared
that the Governor was guilty OF the hor-
rlble crime of ''beine in league with the
Republicans; that it was intended to in
diet the members by grand jury. and
asking whether the President would in
terfere with the Indictment To which,
July IS, the President replied that 1.-The
military will be expected to sustain and
not obstruct or interfere with the pro-
ceediugs of the courts" In other words
Go ahead. gentlemen; indict or what
YOU please; no soldiers shall 1noles5
You" This was on Saturday. Mayor
Monroe proclaimed his purpose to sup
press the Convention. He summoned
were selected for their valor in rebel
armies. This police force and the mob
acted together with bloody harmony,
and did the work of suppre ssion thor
oughly.
" hen the Convention assembled the
President issued his order to Mr. Heron
a member of Gov Wells Cabinet In
the first place, that order deposed Gov.
Wells for not obeying the President. In
the second place, ii placed Gen. Sheri-
den under the control of a State officer.
In the third place, its language was not
that of a calm executive officer, perform.
ing solemn ministerial duty, but of a
violent, angry man, speaking to angry
people. ''Usurpation will not be toler-
ated, -''the people must be first con.
suited all illegal or unlawful assem-
blies' must be suppressed. Let it be re-
membered that these words were seeth-
ing with anger and hatred, and who
cherished no more daring idea than be-
ing permitted to gain, in the streets of
New Orleans, that revenge which the
valor of Sherman and Sheridan prevent
ed them from gaining in the field They
were in safe majority. They were
commanded by the Mayor and sustained
by the President of the United States
The negroes and loyalists were unarm-
ed, and the soldiers of the nation were
compelled to ground their muskets and
look on at the massacre. The work of
massacre was easy indeed
1t is impossible to resist the logic of
this whole proceeding 1t was com
menced July ,, by menacing Gov Wells
a Governor of a sovereign State,'' it
was continued by deposing him; and, to
make the work surer. BY placing the
army at the control of Rebel officer
Ii the President had sent manly dis
patch to General Baird-to preserve
peace at all hazards and protect every
loyal man, leaving the Convention to be
dealt with by the Courts and the people
TO do what was best when peace came
but still to make peace-the country
would have felt that the affair was M ere
" riot, and suppressed as all riots
should be. But when the country sees
in New Orleans what was seen in Mem
phis and Alexandria, direct personal
sympathy between the President and ri