The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-06-11
THE CITY HALL cesFLICr.

Yesterday Mr. Conway, the mayor elect,
repaired to the City Had to take possession of
the office TO which he was elected last April;
but Mayor Heath declined to give way, stat
ing that he knew of no law authorizing that
election. This policy was adopted, no doubt,
IN pursuance of agreements with the Repub-
Hcan leaders in this city, who hope that some
thing may be done either through Gen.
Grant, or Congress, to enable them to main
tain possession of the city government In
the case of the State offices, their struggle is
to get in; in the case of the city offices, their
effort is to stay in. In both cases they set
the ludicrous example of a defiance of the
authority by which alone they were enabled
to preserve their existence as party in Lou
isiana; by which alone they came into pos
session of the city offices; by which alone
they have succeeded in obtaining prospective
control of the State government Last year,
military authority was invoked on every occa-
sion-in season and out of season; with pre-
text and without pretext-as an agency for
the election of lawfully elected State and city
officers, and for the appointment of "loyal 3"
successors. Everybody that held an Office
then was an impeachment to reconstruction,
and Sheridan stood ready to order "rebels
cut, and order "loil men in, until the whole
city government fell into the hands of officers
holding their warrant from military authority.
On what pretext these gentlemen can appeal
TO the law to support their pretensions now,
it is difficult to conceive. Their successors
have been duly elected, the election has been
proclaimed and ratified by the military a1-
thorities, and the officers elect have been
commanded, by military order, to take pos
session of their respective places. Thus the
new officers exhibit every title by which the
positions can be claimed, even under the
awkward and anomalous machinery con-
structed by the United States Congress. They
were chosen at an election provided for by the
convention. If it is said that the convention
had no right to order municipal elections, that
objection is met by the fact that the election
was held, legally, in place of tie one which
should have taken place last year, but which
Was suspended by order Of Gen. Sheridan.
If it is declared that the time was not the
date fixed by the charter, this objection is met
by appealing to the order of the commanding
general, which designated the 18th and 18th
of April for the municipal elections And,
finally, the new officers present to Mayor
Heath and his colleagues precisely the same
kind of warrant that Mayor Heath presented
to Mr.. Monroe-the order of the district com.
mander. If Mr.. Conway is not legally mayor
of New Orleans, Mr.. Heath is the last person
that should dispute his claim. If there is no
law authorizing the election at which Mayor
Conway was chosen, where is the law which
authorizes Mr.. Heath to act as mayor? His
authority is the order of Gen. Sheridan
Mr. Conway's authority, if he possessed no
other, is the order of Gen. Buchanan. Those
who hold by military authority are estopped
from pleading deficiency of legal form
against persons claiming by the same au-
thority This would seem to be too clear to
admit of argument; nevertheless the radicals,
after violating all law, and after establishing
military supremacy in order to subserve their
purposes, not ashamed to plead the
law in their own behalf although there is not
a shadow of law to support them, and reject,
when applied TO themselves, the very agen-
cies which they had contrived against their
adYersaries