The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-01-09
LOYAL BAED1TIsM.


about the tone of quiet Inconsistencies In
which General Porter, in his report relative
to the Arkansas troubles, notes that Claytons |
narti.colored militia went into campaign
90 with orders to live off of the country, taking
what was absolutely necessary and giving
Notwithstanding to pay all loyal holders
of vouchers only" AL who understand the
meaning and intent of such words as "neces-
sary" and "loyaT in the tyrants, the kadi-
calls, the plunderer's and the rogues vocabu-
larry will realize the profound atrocity which
General Porter, when using them, uncon-
sciousIy describes. II is difficult even Tor the
wisest and best of men TO determine the con-
ditions which may justify the plea OF neces-
s;tv. Then what is to be inferred when 1t is
left to the discretion of certain gangs of
white and black rufians, organized under the
name of militia, to decide, &c tenlpore, IN the
heat and tumult of their raids, the circum-
stances which constitute case OF necessity
They cray interpret the word so that 1t Will
cover with its sanction any license, any ex-
cess, any brutality, any carnage and devasta-
ton. No wonder that wicked and unscrupu-
lous men are eager to use 1t; Tor In sucn
hands it is a weapon whose points and edges
are countless, and whose sweep is iDimitable.
And no wonder that yagabond scoundrels
and murderous wretches have gladly armed
themselves with this weapon under the pirate
flag of a spurious, interloping and usurpln8
governor and proceeded to "live off OF the
country" in Just such style as should suit
their appetites and tastes, killing whom they
pleased of defenseless population, cutting
stores, wasting fields, burning houses and
barns. Whole counties have been devastated
by these bandits, licensed and turned loose
by Clayton, governor, so-called, of Arkansas,
under pretext of preserving order and pro-
tecting the people. Business men fly from
the scene, hopeless of trade where there is no
safety for merchandise or its proceeds. Agrl-
culturists are in despair, because, while these
mnrauders are roaming over the State, they
can have no assurance that they will reap
what they have sown.
But, says Gen. Porter, complacently uncon-
scious of the atrocious import of his words,
the governor ordered his piebald militia to
give vouchers for thu necessaries which they
should appropriate, intending topay all loyal
holders of vouchers only" Now voucher
for property appropriated under any circum-
stances, if good for anything at all, is good in
the nature of a due bill or promissory note.
But what would be the worth of such an &C.
acknowledgement of value received by notorious
and inyeterate thief, when the thief should be
able to steal and conceal this evidence of debt
at his own pleasure and convenience? And
this, for all practical purposes, isprecisely the
relation which exists between the piratical
CLAYTON and his plundered victims with refer
epce TO the vouchers referred to- He intends
ssto paw all loyal holders of vouchers only,
reports the GENTLE euphemistic and albifica-
tory Porter And who is to determine the
loyalty or the disloyalty of holders! Why,
the same unlawful and hcentious authority by
which they were despoiled, to be sure. No
other recourse is admitted. The wrongdoer
is to be the sole judge of the redress. He
may loyalize or disloyalize whom he Will
And il NAV be assumed, without hazard of
contradiction in the result, that only those
will be accounted loyal in his judgment who
manifest readiness to desert their fellow
countrymen and support him in his wrong
doing; some with the infamous desire OF
sharing in the booty, some with the ignomini-
GUS hope of purchasing exemption from fur
Their spoliation.
We have dwelt thus upon the situation in
Arkansas under the loyal militia system in
hicted upon that State, because analogous
results may be expected to follow in any other
State where a similar body may be organized
and sent forth to dragonade the people, in the
name of peace and order, but with the real
purpose of Furnishing them for protesting
against government which does not represent
themand to fasten this government upon them
beyond the possibility of deliyerance. Let us
hope that Louisiana is not to be the scene of q
brutal experiment of this kind. But should
it be tried, we cannot doubt that the manhood
as well as the genuine loyalty of her people
will be equal to the occasion.