The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-10-11
Oppressive Legislation.

Recent agitation through the daily press |
has called public attention most forcibly to |
one of the clearest cases of legislative |
oppression that history has ever recorded. !
We have a Legislature which does not |
represent the people, but persecutes them.
It's object is not to benefit those whom it |
claims for constituents, but to drain as
much money as possible from their impov- |
erished resources. 1t is dynasty foisted
upon a conquered people by military s1-
premacy, with permission and instructions
to wiring from the subjected population all
the spoils that ingenuity can extract.
What we object to about this, most par
ticularly, is the disguise which is kept up
in the transaction-the willy pretext Of
being something else than what they really
are-sometbipg not SO utterly obnoxious
and detestable in the eyes Of the world.
Why silly pretend to be servant, when
you are absolute masterf Why assume the
garb Of republicanism for the despotism of
absolute conquest9 You are conquerors
come to tax our people to death for your
personal use and behoof: why not speak out
boldly, like Roman pro-consul of old, and
candidly proclaim that this province has
been allotted to you, and that you intend
| to wiring it dry 7
Why notf Because your tenure of power
does not, quite yet, depend upon the fat of
a single commander-in-chief. The people
of the conquering country yet live. They
have still something to say; and if your
/ ,s<y,f
in voice that would soon stop your career
of plumber.
| Therefore, for forms sake-for appear
auces' sake" Be it enacted" ETC.: You,
i conquered Louisianians of New Orleans,
must contribute to the farmer of this prov
ince, under the rank and title of State
Printer, sixty cents per square on all your
city printing, besides the. forty cents per
square, which it is worth. The forty cents
is tax; the sixty cents additional is coptri-
buted to the conqueror-a spoil OF war
but, to prevent i'll consequences, call it all
tax; call it legislation, Instead of rapine.
The Southern press ought not to let this
) pleasant little sabterfuge go unnoticed. Il
= ought to make point of exposing in the
: clearest light the genuine rascality of al
such proceedings. This exposure is due t.
e two parties-to the people of the North, ans
s to those of the South.
b Can we believe that the citizens of tn
Northern States of this Republic deliber
n ately approve the systematic and merciles
y plundering of our people by few CAM
: followers of their armies, who have faile'
q to follow in the footsteps of the retirin
a columnsf Do the Northern people reall.
n know that these things exists
f 1t cannot be. If they knew it, and Their
were one spark of magnanimity, one senti
:, ment of mapliDess in their composition
/. they would ,sternly say: "Back, hounds
- the quarry is too noble for you to rend."
d 1t is proper, too, that our own peoPi
d should understand the truth, just as it ii
r. Unanimity on questions of general rights
ct highly important. Let every man know
ii beyond the possibility of misapprehensioi
IL that he is systematically plundered. WIFI
Dr. the facts are fresh, let their moral be pointe
out, so that there shall be no need to argr
at when it may be time to act.
1t Publish it, then, clearly and distinct
of in every paper throughout the South, 81
at iu every Democratic journal of the Mort
Ms that the military despotism now in posse
rn son of this province of Louisiana, al
tie calling itself Legislature, has, amor
he other acts of rapine, perpetrated the fe
ut lowing:
IS, 1t has constituted "a certain promine
YES partisan, State Printer; it has authoriz
that favorite to do the public printing
cir the city of New Orleans, when, unoer
ed City Charter, another printer has been du
on elected for a considerable time yet une
lst PRED; it obliges the city to pay that Sta
80 p,;,,4o, 49,, dollor-Tar sooara for oil 4