The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1866-10-24
WHAT THEY ADOPTED.

Legislature VI VIC loSdi pCOpio VI
Louisiana, it was given forth from the
mouths of all their stump orators, and
from the tripods of all their Gable edi-
tors,p that q panacea had been found
for the ills under which the "old sick
man" of Louisiana had been laboring
ever since the tearing down of the flag
of the chest government in the world"
in the early part of the year 1861. Mr..
Wells, having dotted his garment as
'shead deyin of the Constitutional in
yaders of his native section, came
among Ills former neighbors, as he os-
tensibly professed, as the grand apostle
of the reestablisfment Of slavery, and,
now that the war was over, as the grand
pacifcator of the defeated "rebels,"
who, rumor stated, would most likely,
under the coneiliatory policy of the
President, have control of the politics
of Louisiana for some time to come. -
The people Of Rapides who know the
individual pretty well, didn't exactly
see matters in the same light as him
self, and cast their votes for an Illus
trious gentleman, languishing in exile
in q foreign land. The rest ofthe State,
however, acted otherwise, and elected
the great sDemocrat" Governor of Lou
isiana, and with him a Legislature Of
his friends. This Legislature, COM
posed of the concentrated wisdom and
'1oyalty" Of the State Of Louisiana, as
sembled in extra session and proceeded
to pass the laws that were necessary
for the guidance of such loyal State,
presided over by such a loyal Govern
or. Among its first acts Of stupidity,
and obsequiousness to the great leader
of the party to which twas proud to
belong, was one recognising the jay
hawkers Constitution Of 1864 as the SUI
preme law of the land, "as a legitimate
consequence of our subjpgation' at the
hands of the. best government in the
world. We can well remember the
indignation with which such an an
nouncement was received by the peo-
pile OF, the State at the time. But this
indignation died away in measure
when it was discovered that the Con-
stltution of 1864 did not differ materi-
| ally from the Constitution Of 1852, and
that the ,odium which attached to it was
principally due to the infamy of the
men who were instrumental in its for
nation. A little light, however, which
has been recently thrown on the pro-
visions of the Constitution of 1864 has
sufieed to open the eyes of our people
to the sublime virtue, intelligence and
"loyalty" Of the Solons who gave us
the Constitution Of 1864 as the supreme
law of the land. We have recently
been gravely told by a learned judge
jappointed By our pro-slavery Govern
or, holding Court in this Parish, that
tn Constitution Of 1864, by its article
$50, virtually adopted Order No. Al is
sued by Major General Benjamin Frank
lin Butler, commanding the Depart
ment of the Gulf, legislating out Of Of
flee every man within the limits of the
State who did not Immediately sub
scribe an oath to support the Constitu-
ton of the United States. As a neces-
sary consequence Of this view of the
subject, there was not, outside of But
ler's lines, legal officer in the State OF
Louisiana after the 10th day Of June,
1862 (the first anniversary, as it singu-
larly happened, of Buffers first defeat
at Big Bethel, on the peninstlla.)-
Moore and Allen were no Governors,
there wete no judges, no clerks, no
sheriffs, no nothing. All the legal acts
done were Illegal, all the sales invalid,
all. the men and women married during
three years are living in open adultery.
And when we come to look at this won
derful Constitution, and to study close
ly its provisions, we cannot say that
Mr.. Wells sworn judges, at $4,000 per
annum, are SO much to blame after all
for the astounding information that
Beast Buffers orders are the supreme
law of the land. We are willing to adj
nit that his ''Democraticn judges are
administering the law as they found it.
But who made the laws? I'VE find
that these judges of his have abandoned
the idea that our Constitution came to
us as legitimate consequence of our
subjugation, and now rest it's validity
on the enactment of the Legislature OF
1865. To that Legislature, then, we
must attribute all the blessings which
are supposed to flow from the benign
and peaceful supremacy of the orders
of Major General Benjamin Franklin
Butler, commanding the Department
Of the Gulf.
Our Legislative wissacres stopped,
however, one step too short. Sitting
in the city of New Orleans, surrounded
by Its lovely women, the sweetest,
purestland dearest that God Alnlighty's
sun ever shune on, why did they not
also reenact Order No. %, which class
ed these earthly angels among the
"wonien Of the towh, and ordered the