The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1868-07-15

J.
or from the worst precedents Of the French
Revolution. France is then recorded to
have had Eve constitutions in three years,
so frequently made and SO frequently
changed that they were ironically classed
by the French people with the periodical
literature Of the day. Louisiana, colony
of that France, has had four constitutions
in four years, and constitution there has
now become periodical literature, as in
France in the agonies and throes Of the
great revolution. Laws, mere statute laws.
which can never be created by constitu-
tons, are appended, more or less, to all
these constitutions and these bayonet-
created, one-branch governments, with no
Executive, no Senate, no House OF Repre-
sentatives, no judiciary, have ordained ir-
repealable, irreversible laws in the very
organism of the State, such as cannot thus
be created by the Executive, the Senate,
and House of Representatives OF legiti-
mate governments, when acting in unison,
and all combined. All this has been done
without regard to preceding constitutions
or precedents, or to the common law of the
States, or the law Of nations The militia
~, which under legitimate institutions can
only be used in times of peace to conserve
or preserve the State, have here been used
to destroy States. The General of the
army, who represents the sword, and only
the sword, of the Republic, has been exalt-
ed by acts of Congress above the eonstitu-
tional Commander.in-chief of the army and
navy, in order to execute those military
DEGREES, and.as the surer. way to root out
every vestige of constitutional law or lib
erty. The same General of the army, in
order to prolong and perpetuate this mill
tary domination of North and West, as
well as South, has been selected in party
convention at Chicago to head the electo-
raj vote for the Presidency in ten of our
States, which are as much under his feet as
Turkey is under the Sultan or Poland nm
der the Gar of Russia. But, as if only to
add Insult to the injury of this military
outrage upon the popular government in
these ten States, either by act of Congress
or by these Congress soldier-made State
Constitutions, at least 25O, 1000 whites have
been DISTINGUISHED, while 100000 negroes,
inexperienced in all law-making, and more
ignorant than our children, have been en-
franchsed in their stead, and have thus
been created absolute masters and sover-
eigns over the whole white population Of
the South.
Because of all this, and in opposition to
all this, we, representatives of the people
from the free States, in behalf of our con-
stituents and Of thousands and tens. of
thousands of Others who would be repre-
sented if the popular power without could
now constitutionally act here within. earn
estly and solemnly protest against this Vi
olence upon our Constitution and upon
our people, and do hereby counsel and ad-
wise all friends Of popular government to
submit to this force only until at the bal
lott-box, operating through the elections,
this great wrong can be put right. There
is no law in the land over the constitution
al law. There is no government but con-
sti:utional government; and hence all bay
onet-made. all Congress-imposed consti:u-
tons are Of no weight, authority, or sane
ton, save that enforced by arms-an ele-
ment OF power unknown to Americans 10
peace, and never required but as it acts in
and under the supreme civil law, the Con-
stitution, and the statues enacted in pur-
suance thereof. We protest, then, in be-
half of the free people Of the North and
the West, against the right ofthis military
oligarchy, established in Arkansas or else
where in the now re-enslayed States of the
South, to impose apon US, through Con-
gress, taxes or customs, or other laws to
maintain this oligarchy, or its Freedmen's
Bureau. We protest against going into
the now proposed copartnership of military
dictators and negroes in the administra-
ton of this Government. We demand, in
the name of the fathers of the Constitution
and for thc sake of posterity, not its re-
construction, but the restoration Of that
sacred instrument which has been to us
a pillar of fire from 1877 on to its present
overthrow; and in all solemnity, before
God and man, under full sense of the
responsibility of all we utter, we do here
by affix our names to this protest against
the admission of these three persons.
claiming to be members of Congress from
Arkansas.
James Brooks, James B. Beck, p. Van
Trump, Charles A. Ellrige, Samuel j.
Randall, A. j. Glossnrenner. Stevenson
Archer, John A. Nicholson, John Nor
rissey, Thomas Laurens Jones, w. E..
Niblack, julius Hotchkiss, VIM. II.
Barnum, John W. Chanler, S. B. Axtell,
s. S. Marshall, VS.. Holman, C. w. p.
Haight, Chas. sitgreaves, Lewis NJ.
Ross, 81. Nc Cullough, j. Procktor Knot,
w. Mungen, Stephen Taber, ASA P.
Grover. L. S. Trimble, F. NJ. Adams, j.