The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1870-08-13

Democratic party in each State ha
fought its battles on juss suci! issues I
Z. may seem indivisibIe. 1t thus present
. a programme in some State dilftrin,
greatly and essentially from that pre-
5 scnted in others. These differences j.
not merely involve an jnconsi-t+nc,
with the foundation principles, Of yh,
party as always understood ut the South
They involve very grave unr"rtainty
as to the position of the u;?:;oua party
upon certain questions Of very vital i'm
; portance to the people of Louisiana. Il
this category of Inconsistencies may be
enumerated The Democratic tariff
votes in Pennsylvania and the Democratic
anti-tarif votes in Ohio the Democratic
votes fer grants Of public lands fo
public and private purposes; the enlarged
and almost indiscriminate appropriations
for public improvements within the
States the establishment of system
Of national currency and Of national
banks. These measures show a want
of conformity with the doctrines of
Jefferson and Calhoun. They certainly
require to be reconciled by bull of in-
diligence, or made orthodox by some
ecumenical declaration Of an unif nm
dogma, before Southern Democrats can
be justly reproached with disafection
for not accepting a creed so ambi0Nuvs
It is, however to the dangerous dis
crepancy between the various Demo
cratic State organisations in regard TO
the repeal Of the fifteenth amendment
and the laws passed Hereunder, that
the people Of Louisiana attach the most
Immediate Importance. The belief
among the colored people OF Louisiana
that the Democratic party is pledged
to affect this repeal, constitutes the
most formidable obstacle to their co.
operation with the whites in redressing
their domestic grievances. For we need
no more expect Southern white man
to vote for a representative who stands
pledged to perpetuate his disfranchise-
ment, than colored man to vote for a
representative pledged to take away the
very vote which is given.
1t, therefore, becomes emphatically
the duty of the people of Louisiana to
ascertain distinctly and definitely what
is the position of any national party
asking their sufrages upon the repeal
of the fifteenth amendment We shall
array the evidence that the Democratic
National party has not agreed on, or pro-
mulgated any uniform doctrine upon
the question. Leaving, then, to subse-
quent quotations to reconcile certain
special discrepancies between the po-
sitions of the party in various States,
we confne ourselves to considering
the recent
Democratic Victory in New York.
AS this has been claimed as a sub.
stantial success for the South, we will
state, from the most authentic sources,
what was really the character of that
contest. At State Judicial election
held in New York in May last the total
vote cast was 100000. rs the total
vote cast in 1868 was 949,776, this re-
serve of 419,776 does not show such
conclusive decision of the popular pur-
pose as to justify positive hope of re-
lief from the Democratic party of New
York. When, however, we come to
analyze the platform upon which this
victory was gained we are amazed to
find that it implies denial and defeat
of the doctrines heretofore advocated by
the Democratic party of the South
The election was in fact confirmation
of Republican doctrine, and involved no
necessity for opposition by the RepubIi-
can party as to the rights Or political
status of the colored race.
. We make this statement upon the ali
thority Of New York Day Book, and
Old Guard,. two Democratic papers,
which maintain, in an open, honest and
able manner, the restoration of a white
mans Government, with a repeal Of the
amendment and the laws passed
under it. An article in the June hum
Der of the Old Guard is headed, !" shall
we have another Democratic Presiden-
tial Campaign ?" Thisarticle is sindorsed
by the Day Book as " sound and prac-
teal" The same paper also says that
the article has "received the almost en-
tire approval of the Democratic press
Of the entire United States," and specif-
cally that one hundred and fifty Of the
leading Democratic papers in the United
States have referred with especial COM
mendation to it,
The Charges made by both these
Democratic papers against the Demo
cratic leaders who conducted the party
in New York is, that they have violated
he principles of the Democratic party,
and have adopted the Republican con-
of disputed doctrine The
evidence of this charge, as cited by the
Old Gard, is as follows:
The Albany Argus, leading Demo
,ratic organ, after denouncing the ff-
seenth amendment as conceived and
carried in fraud, and the laws passed un-
Ter it Illegal, says:
"Howeyer unfairly made up, the
Radicals have the record against us.
No State has SO much right to complais
IS our own State The vote of her four
Millions of people have been nullifed by
he forced vote of Florida, given through
bogus Legislature
" Nevertheless, pursues the loyal
Argus, New York always abides by
he declared law. Promptly-so prompt
y that the two things are simultaneous
Upon the appearance Of the Presi-
lent's message, our State prepared to mod
fy her election laws, so that her colered
,eopie shall find no hinderance to the en-
oyment of her newly acquired rights
lnder this amendment. Senator Nor
on. of New York city, on Wednesday, |.