The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1866-08-10
RadicaIlsm In New OrIeans--
what They Design.

what They Design.
, That reader may understand
the spirit of the Radicals that was a
/ the bottom of tho late New Orleans
, riots we give below some of tn,
speeches made just previous to the out
break. The crowd to which they were
addressed was mostly composed o
blacks. We copy from the New
! Orleans Commercml
/, Hon. Michael Ham, the President
on taking the chair, spoke as follows
FELLow-ClTIZENs Although it Is
not my province TO address You on this
occasion, | can not resist the tcmpta-
ton to express to you my appreciation
of the honor which l felt in being cal
led to preside over this meeting. The
days of the slave oligarchy, of Confed-
crate provost-marshals, when colored
men could not come together to dolibe-
rate over public o%ifairs, has, thank God
ceased to exist. Applause.
As President Lincoln and the Union
army were unable to restore the Union
until the colorod men came to their aid.
so the Union men of this State feel
that they can not maintain the princi-
pies of union Of the States without the
aid Of patriotic colorcd men. ZAP
/ plause. l remember the day when
the teacher of n colorcd school i'm this
city was ruthlessly arrested, and died
in prison, on n charge of being an Alb
olitionist; and every time / pass that
old church where he used to teach. /
feel that there are men still living who
have the spirit that animated him.
Applause. The which we are
here to night inaugurating IN Louisiana
is n great and holy cause, and the rob
els are trembling in their slices in con-
sequence. They arc realizing the fact
that this is a country to be ruled by
loyal men, both white and black.
There was a time when the term
"Abolitionists" was considered MS n
shame; but l stand before you tonight
raised and educated as | have been i'm
the South, and tell you that / glory in
being nm Abolititionist and a Radical.
Applause. When / went to Wash
ington last fall my Union friends in
Louisiana did not come up to tho mark
Of universal suffrage, but when / came
back a few months later, the outrages
which had been heaped upon them by
the rebel Government here had brought
them to the mark, and now no man
can justly claim to be a Union man
unless he tavors universal suffrage.
One OF tho greatest arguments used
against the right of suffrage 90 tho col
orcd people, by the ~Copporheads in the
North, is, that il you arc allowed to
vote you will be controlled by the
planters and old shareholders. TCries
Of "never!'1 | did not ask you that
question, for / know you would not be
controlled by them; as they failed in
thinking you would fight for them, so
they will fail in supposing you will
vote for them. The question is not
this alone, but whether YOU will be al
lowed to hold office as white men do.
i say you are entitled to this right, and
| would rather every Office in the State
was IN the hands OfcOlorcd men, thanin
the hands ofu%nrepretant rebels. ZAP
plause. 1t is to you that the loyal men
of the South must look, and when
you separate tonight, make up your
minds that from this day forward .you
are as good as any white man in the
State. IGreat Cheering.
Colonel a. p. Field next addressed
the meeting in substance as follows:
IELLow-CIrIZENs: The war is over
and yet we are now passing through
the most trying ordeal Of countrv's
history. This meeting is called to in
dorso the right Of universal suffrage. to
be extended by Congress to all who
have been made citizens, and to in
dose the rcassembling of the Convcn-
ton Of 1864. Congress was not salts
nod with the results accomplished by
the Convention when it last assembled
because it withheld from you the right
Of suffrage, and therefore il meets
again, to conform to the wishes Of Con-
gress in that respect. The people here
who say they "accept the situation"
have gone from one step to another,
until at last they claim the right of be-
ing elected to the very Offices they va
Gated when they commenced this war.
But these men ought to larry awhile
at Jericho until their boards grow out.
We want to do exactly what tennessee
has done. These men have no claim
to rule you at all. They tell you even
now, thatth havedono whattheythink
is right, and would do it again If there
was Il chance. Why should not Louisi-
ami, like North Carolina, and Tonnes
see and New York, allow suffrage TO
the coiored people on the property
basis? say it should be done. But
you must be patient and firm. The
people will become better informed
from time to time, and where you have
now 5000 white men in the city to ad-
vocato your rights for suffrage, you