New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1867-06-11
DRAWING TIE BNEMY,s FIRE.

DRAWING THE BNRMY's FIRE
general LQDgstreet as soldier proved
himself abundantly able to fight his own
battles. And the Blanket, which affects TO
sheer at him for not being a politician, is
unable to destroy the effect of the plain.
manly and straightforward letter in which
he demonstrates the truth Of his assertions
that there should be but one party in the
country, and that the interests of every
Southern man will be best subserved by
affiliating with the, Republican organization
| In its anxiety to lessen the effect which
| this declaration of General Longstreet will
have upon the mind Of every one who reads
| it, it forgets its usual caution and makes an
admission which, when followed to its
| legitimate conclusion, not only proves the
perfect truth Of General Longstreet's argu-
| ments, but unveils and discloses to the
| light the wicked purpose of those who seek
to controvert them. What this purpose of
| the unrepentant rebels is has long been
| suspected, but we did not expect that it
would be so soon confessed by one of their
own mouthpieces. General Longstreet's
battery shelled the woods where these
people were lying in ambush he drew
their fire and enabled us to see just what
is their position. And it is simply this
what they failed to accomplish by war they
now seek to accomplish by political strata
gem.
Never were the secret plans Of hidden
| and treacherous enemy more eftectually
and opportunely exposed. Never were
masked batteries more skillully uncovered.
A politician General Longstreet may not
be; but his strategy has proved too much
for the genius Of Camp street The time
for the Blariie! to show its hand had not ar
riyed-its game should have been to keen
quiet until after the elections. If General
Longsreet never does anything else to
serve the Republican party, he deserves
thanks for thus compelling its foes to
disclose their purpose and to come ont
from behind the ambush in which they
have thus far lurked.
What is it, then, that the Bakd has
confessed Controverting General Long
streets argument that o:der cannot be or
gained SO long as opposition is made to
the principles that were declared triumph
ant by the issue of the war it asserts that
the war settled nothing except that the
Union could not be divided The great
issues that brought on the war are
yet undecided. The arbirament of the
sword did not settle them. Let US
quote its own words. the defeated party
only staked the practicability Of dissolving
the Union: the result involved only an
abandonment of that purpose" Nothing
else is given up. We go back to the con-
dition We were in in 1860. All that we
claimed then, except the right to go out of
the Union. we claim now and will labort to
accomplish it. When the conquered peo
pie OF the South, it goes on to say, were
reinstated in their rights they became in
vested with the full dignity and independ-
ence of American citizens" and when we
obtain our own State governments again
we can and will re-establish all those insti-
tutions that we are now unlawlully de-
prived Of. The result of the war only de-
cided that we should remain in the Union.
1t has not decided on what terms we shall
remain in. That is a matter for our own
decision. General Longstreets idea that
the war decided anything else, is falla-
cious. 1t did not decide there should be
no more slavery. We will re-establish it
if we please-virtually if not in name.
1t did not decide that one class of citizens
should no longer have rights that another
class may not possess. We will build
again the partition wall between ourselves
and the negroes. 1t did not decide that
all men should be equal in the eye of the
law. We will re-enact our former ordi-
nances that recognize and perpetuate inc
quality.
Could anything be more plain? Could
anything be more opportune than this con-
fession Of the schemes entertained by the
men of whom the Blanket is the organ
Daily are its columns filed with appeals to
Southern men to register their names as
voters, and now we see for what purpose.
Not to honestly accept the stua-
ton in which the result of the
war has placed them, and to unite with
the Republican party in reconstructing the
State upon the basis of equal rights and
universal suffrage, but of voting against a
convention to frame q new constitution,
and postponing the work of reconstruction
until, as they vainly hope, Democratic
Congress may repeal the military bill and
permit them to come back under the old
pro-slavery constitution. That this Is the
programme Of these men is daily becoming
more and NOR. apparent. The Louisville
Democrat the other day boldly announced
it. After urging Southern men to register
and then vote down the conventions, it |
says ".The only answer to this is, that to
defeat the convention is TO perpetuate mill
tary rule. But is not the rule of white
men, soldiers though they be, preferable
TO that Of negroesf' To be in condition
to vote il not 70 surrender anuthia1. and inn