New Orleans Republican., 1868-04-19
HON. It w. cONwAY's SPEECH ON
CARPET-RAGGER

In his speech in Napoleonville, Assump.
ton parish, on Tuesday last, Mr.. Conway
made the following hits on the "carpet.
baggers," as the rebel press calls the North
ern men who have settled in Louisiana
Our enemies call US carpet-baggers. !, bv
Mhlch they mean to convey the idea that we
are 50 poor as to be unable to purchase
trunks. 1t seems to me that thew could NOT
give us better name than that of carpet.
paggers; not that we are so poor as te be
unable to purchase trunks, but that the
name Itself shows that we are in q condition
70 sympathize with the mass Of the Repub.
1can voters OF Louisiana, for, assuredly
they have been so swindled out of their
honest earnings all their life as to be now
unable to procure either trunks or carpet
bags. Bot we are proud of the carpetbag
title, and will tell You why. When We
came down to this country first, bringing
our carpet bags our enemies claim that we
brought nothing with us. We will see.
When we came we found an institution
known as the Southern confederacy. We
nad few bayonets, q few cannon, and
lew gunboats with US, and with these we
fought this confederacy for a while We
nnally seized 1t, put it into our carpetbags,
and walked away with it.
We found a certain parsonage by the
name OF JEFFERSON Davis acting as president
Of that confederacy. We seized him also,
and when We seized him we put him into
our carpetbags and walked away with him.
We found all over the confederacy an insti.
sstsi0ii e5iiS5i ss1gsfg, win Thhicfi most off
you are acquainted. We did not like
slavery any more than we did the confeder-
acy. We regarded one as the twin brother
Of the other, and when the proper time
came we seized it, put it into our Garnet.
oags and walked away with it We also
lound an institution here which was called
hhe stocks. We thought it a barbarous
thing, and so we put it into our carpet bags
and carried it of There was also a thing
knownsas the bliH lohip, believe, by which
men and women were beaten and bruised
IN the most cruel manner. We carried
thar away in our carpet bags. We found
the duction block also, on which
husbands were sold from their wives
hom their parentss brothers and sisters from
each other, and we deemed that institution
50 disgraceiul, wicked, and sinful that we
we're exceedingly glad to seize it, pack it
1Ato our carpetbags, and carry il so far
aWiEy that II 1t had wings 1t could never
return. The work Of carrying these thiEgs
away from the South was rot Sufficient. We
FOUND II necessary 70 use our carpet bags to
bring better things down here.
IN me nrst place we found it wise and
proper to bring freedom down here to take.
tAe fiace q slavery. We went to Washing
old ABE Lincoln, told him what we wanted
70 %, and persuaded him to helps US. He
MAGE up his Mad ID his own way and in his
own time. By and BY he issued his great
proclamation Of freedom, The great carpet
bag army took that freedom which he
prociaimedi each soldier filled his carpet.
Dag fql3-qf i, and as The CREST army adj
yanced the carpet bags we're emptied, and
1EeedRln was scattered al around.
This WAS not enough. We found many
wrongs INFLICTED by the old shareholders
upon their iormer slaves aftar freedom had
been proclaimed, and in order to prevent
them, and to secure justice to the newly
emanoinatsd class, we established the freed
meas bureau, put it into our carpet bags,
and hrnught u down here. The freedmen
pllen failed 10 secure Justice IN the courts
pttae eeDthern states, and IL became neees.
al1 p PASS tie civil rights 9iil 10 congress-,
" Asa.s q which insllce should be meted
out q Tie poor black r1an rs wen as 70 the
whites pas that bill into our carpet.
Dafs ane y Haenne ofifWe secured larger
1fe qI jdsdce n this section than had
1laAeisQ 1aeA enIegad. But we found that
Are4A9nis Nhlcb va Fgociaimed 81 Aineoln,
NNs g e epiostt quiy by having
Wb seN tiiat fhe ballot was the only
Weepon ~ N1ach both 1ecdoin add instice
oouid be maintained ~ the South 10 ai1
CLASSES black as well s. white. Congress
p4tss1 lhH necessary IaN, and fne orlIcf
Waa gigen 70 the black maa. Aefeon ss ths
law Went into l0fc9 We hsied onr carpet.
Nass NHh balIots. hreugh. then iat0 n
asil aEQfa ako1 q
lz eAa|dfr4 ol 1866 zI
UaHIt tIia 6.Ist s. VI g4afs We I6da1 Int tH
eul 11I ai1ranaioa itf na1n
bon Nllies sz1 eaak1 II tl1Soail1 VI