The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-08-08
The Riot in New orlean..

The facts in relation to the recent unfor
tunate troubles in New Orleans seem 10 be
as follows: In 1854 Convention of the
loyal people of Louisiana was authorized to
be called by Gen. Banks. to form . State
government. Some six or seven thousand
persons voted. The Convention was held,
Legislature was authorized and elected, and
the machinery of loyal civil government put
in motion. MI. Hahn was elected Governor.
and the present Governor, Welles, was elected
Lieutenant Governor. Soon after Gov. Hahn
was elected one of the Senators. and Welles
succeeded him as Governor. The govern
ment thus established was recognized by
both President Lincoln and President John
son ; and Gov. Welles was in Washington in
May, 1865, to receive instructions from the
President as to his duties. He was then
Democrat, and was regarded as somewhat in
sympathy with the secessionists, but subse.
quent events have changed his views in this
respect, and he is now in favor of the pro-
posed constitutional amendment.
Recently, a movement was started to con-
yene the Convention referred to, with the
view, not of establishing negro suffrage, as
has been charged, but to take steps to ratify
the constitutional amendment, SO as to re-
store Louisiana to the Union The President
of the Convention refused to make the call
for that body to re-assemble, and q portion
of the members met, appointed temporary
President, and he issued the call. Gov.
Welles seconded this call, by ordering cleo
lions to fill vacancies. This greatly encourag
ed the Unionists of the State; and the color
ed people, hoping that good would result to
them from the movement, began to take an
interest in 1t and to hold meetings The day
was fixed for the meeting of the Convention.
Muth excitement was occasioned, and in-
fiammatory speeches were mace on both
sides. The Mayor of New Orleans, par
doned rebel, to show his opposition to the
movement, but under the pretext that it
would endanger the peace of the City, ap-
piled to Gen. Baird, in command, to know
if he intended to protect the Convention,
and informing him, if he did not so intend,
that his purpose was to dispense it. The
General replied, that if the Convention was
legal body it had a right to meet; but if
not regal, its assembling could do no harm.
He further stated that no violence would be
permitted.
The Convention met. PROFESSIONS of col
ored people were on the streets, colored peo-
pie were mixed with whites in the lobby of
the Convention and around the building;
and, as might have been expected, collision
took place between the two races and gen.
eral fight commenced. The secessionists
fired Unfortunately on the negroes and on
the Union men, and the latter returned the
fire. The police exerted themselves to restore
order. although many, if not all of them
sympathized deeply with the secessionists.
The members of the Convention were arres-
ted, brought out, conveyed away, and locked
up to save their lives from the infatuated
and badly wounded; Gov. Hahn was shot
and otherwise injured while in the hands of
hepolice and DR.. Dostie, a leading Union
list, was riddled with bullets and run through
with sword cane The New Orleans cor
respondent of the New York Times says:
The riot commenced ut 10 Is and end
ed at 1 80 O'Clock At 2:45 O'Clock the
military, under Gen. Baird, appeared on Ca
nalstreet, and finally took possession of the
whole city. Before night the riot was con-
fined to Dryades. Baronne, Common, Caron-
delet and Canal streets, and the buildings
and yards all around the Institute l saw
freedmen shot dead on all ofthe above
streets except Canal, who could have been
arrested uninjured. How many men have
been killed, or wounded, or even arrested. it
is impossible to say, but my estimate is 100
freedmen and 25 whites killed and wounded
and 100 altogether arrested
The substantial men of the city deplore
the occurrence, but all are very violent in
their expression, soY 7g in the murder
of Dostie, and othet sne murder of the
freedmen"
The following dispatch was received from
President johnson:
WASHINGTON. July 80. 1866.
To Andrsm S. Heron, Attorney General of
Louisiana:
You will call on Gen. Sheridan, or who
ever may be in command, for sufficient force
to sustain the civil authorities in suppressing
allillegal or unlawful assemblies who usurp
or assume to exercise any power or authority
without first having obtained the consent of
the people of the State
Iftliere is to be convention, let it be COM
posed of delegates chosen from the people of
the whole State.
The people must be first consulted in
changing the organic laws of the State
Usurpation will not be tolerated.
The law and the Constitution must be sus-
tanned, and thereby peace and order.
(Signed) ANDREW JOHNSON.
The people, in all portions of the country,
have right to assemble together peaceably,
to consider their condition, and to devise
means to improve their condition. The
Convention referred to, if unauthorized and
illegal, could have done no harm which
could not have been remedied by the Courts.
If they had no right to meet, any assump-
ton of power by them as against the State
government, would have been settled in due
time by the Courts, and their action would
have been null and void. There is no evil
dence that the object of this Convention, So
called, was to establish negro suffrage. The
object seemed to be so to control the suf-
frages of white men as to enable the State to
adopt the proposed constitutional amend
ment and thus secure the return of the State