The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-07-31
DEMAND FOR CONSERVATIVE MILITIA

This State is not threatened with invasion
There is no instruction, there IS no rebellion,
within its limits. Nowhere in the country do
the people submit more quietly to the execu-
ton of The laws. In no instance have exist
ing authorities, civil or military, been COM
PEELED to resort to armed force in order to ex-
ecute their edicts, however unwise, I'M
righteous, unwarranted or oppressive those
edicts might be. Our citizens have no
thought of violently throwing off the govern
1nent which exterior power has put over them
by any action of their own. They are content
to look for eventual disenthralment to slow,
regular and peaceful processes. They hope
that, at the coming election, the voice OF the
whole people of the country, constltutionally
expressed, will pronounce the doom of the
malignant and rapacious tyranny which has
crowned the calamities of their evil day. Yet,
while this disposition is manifest-while no
rational person in any department of the ex-
listing State government can have cause to
apprehend violent resistance at the hands
even of those citizens who most abhor the
rule which is over them-the radical MAORI
ty in the House extemporizes with
tumultuous and revolutionary haste militia
bill, thus misnamed, which is nothing less
than project for creating body of Pretorian
soldiery under the unqualified command of a
radical governor or imperator. What is the
explanation of this proceeding? Does it pur-
pose to preserve the peace? The peace
is not broken; nor is the peace i'm
periled, except by the authors of this ex-
traordinary legislation. Does it purpose
to surround the existing State government
with the means of self-protection against pop
ular violence2 As already observed, this
government is threatened with no such vio-
lence, end FL that our people ask of it is that
it will not hurry them to desperation, but
leave them to await, as they have been await
ing, hopefully and peacefully, such remedial
eventualities as the future may have IN store
for them. If, then, the proceeding is not
defensive in its relations to the internal con-
dition of the State, it must mean aggression
either within or without-perhaps both with
out and within. Indeed, there is only too
much reason for asserting, without qualify
ing perhaps, that its design is to hold over
our people the menace of ruthless dragon
made and to stife their voice at the polls, and,
in common with radicel organizations in other
States of the South, to make war against the
United States if the constitutional voice of
the people of the United States should de-
mand the cessation of radical usurpation and
misTulc.
In the face of this unprovoked aggressive
proceeding, it is perfectly right and proper
that conservative citizens should avail them
selves to the utmost of the guarantee con-
tanned in the declaration of the federal Con-
stitution that, ga well regulated militia being
necessary to the security of free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed." The second section
of the bill just passed for the organiza-
ton of uniformed militia, provides:
That whenever in any parish not less than
twenty or more than sixty citizens, between the
ages Of eighteen and thirty-iye years, shall form
themselves into company, and shall uniform
themselves in such style as shall have been ap-
proved by the governor, and shall apply for per-
mission to organize such company, and to be eX-
empt from duty In any other militia corps, the
governor shall have the authority in his discretion
to approve such organization and TO commission
from its members a captain, first lieutenant and
second lieutenant, and the said captain shall have
authority to appoint by warrant the none commits
stoned officers of such company. and such COM
psny shall become portion of the militia of the
State.
Let conservative citizens who have truly at
heart the preservation of the peace and the
maintenance of law and order form volunteer
companies under this provision, and offer
themselves for such service to the governor.
If that is the service which he wishes the
militia to perform, he will not, having pie
nary discretion in the matter, hesitate to ac-
cept the offer, and to supply the companies
"with proper arms and equipments" as pro-
vided in section five Of the same bill. If the
offer be rejected, then conservatives would
know what to expect They could do no less
than fall back on their constitutional right to
keep and bear arms" resolutely bent on
peace, but prepared, in the last extremity,
to appeal, arms in hand, to the supreme law
of self-preseTyation.