The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1870-10-29
ADDRESS
TO THE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS OF LOUISIANA.

By resolution of the Democratic State Con
vention, which recently assembled III this city,
this Committee were requested to ISSUE an AL,
dress to the people i'll regard to the proposed
amendments to the State Constitution, winch
are to he voted upon in November next:
They are Of great Importance, and should I've
the inducement for every voter to present him
self at the polls, even were no other principles
or interests at stake. ~ t
The first Of these amendments provides that
ARTICLE.-l. No person who, at amy time,
may have been a collector ef taxes, whether
State, Parish or municipal, or who may nave
been otherwise intrusted with public money,
shall he eligible to the General Assembly, or to
any Office Of profit or trust under the State Gov
ernlnent, until he shall have obtained dis,
charge for the amount Of such collections and
for all public moneys with which he may have
been IL trusted.
This, Of course, will meet with the approval
Tie second and most important amendment
provides that article 20 of the Constitution,
/ which now reads az follows:
"Article 80. The following persons SHAH ne
prohibited from voting or holding any office; All
persons who shall have been convicted OF tiea-
! son, perjury; forgery, bribery, or other crime
punishable in the Penitentiary, and persons u'',
der interdicson All persons who are re- estopHea n;I'
their allegiance to the United States Govern
ment, or by notoriously levying war against 1t.
or adhering to its enemies, giving !hen a.n VI
comfort, but who have mot exPatEateo teena
selves, nor have been convicted Of any OF the
crimes mentioned in the feet paragraph OF tins
article, are hereby restored to the sad rght' e1
cept the following: These who held once, clslA
or military, for one year or more uhaer the Or
ganzation styled the o.a,es
enemies Of the United States those who acted
as leaders of guerrilla bands during the rebel
lion; those who, in the advocacy OF treason
wrote Or published newspaper articles or preach'
| i 4lr Vtt hall martin
/ who voted for and signed an ordinance OF eeces'
sion, in any State. No person included Ill these
exceptions shall leither vote or hold Once nb,ll
! he shall have relieved himself by voiuntarny
that be acknowledges the late rebellion to have
/ been morally and politically wrong, and that ne
regrets any aid and comfort he may nave gwen
it !; and shall file the certificate in the once o,
the Secretary Of State, and it shall be pahhsheo
Who prior TO the arst 81 january, eighteen hun
dred and sixty-eight. favored the execution OF
the Laws of the United States, pogu'ariy known
! as the reconstruction acts OF congress- anu
! openly and actively assisted the loyal men ol
the State in their yFSfts to restoge Louisiana te
her position in the Union. shall be held to pc ih
cluded among those herein excepted hegle
| trars of voters shall take the oath OF any sncI
person as prima facie evidence OF the lac. Ina
he is entitled to the benefit OF this pfovls1,
shall be sbrogated and annulled, and tnat tns
following article shall be inserted in lieu thereof
to-wit: - 80, T.,
] No person shall hold any Office, or shall b'
permitted to vote at any election, or to act as
Juror, who, in due course of law, shall have oee1
convicted Of treason, perjury, forgery, onneryy
or other crime punishable By imprisonment u
the penitentiary, or who shall be under lnteraic
4 tion. :!
/ We particularly call the attention Of the pee
bic to the opportunity which 10, Afforded them
by voting for this amendment, to do away VIII
the odious disfrAnehiseInent and 'proscrlpticoI no
which il contained in the Constitution OF leos
This is . duty which NO, citizen can eonsclet
, tiously avoid. 1t can be in no manner considere
question of party politics It rises superior
the contest for office; it is question OF sne re-
torstion of liberty to our people sna peace
our State. -. =.
We have grave reasons to believe that tn
Radical party intend to vote against the anent
ment, and that it will require vigiisnt and un
, ted setion on our partto secure its adoptaon-
The third amendment proposed reads as 10
, lows: :. T. -,:.h uos1
:, a. follows: THE Governor shall be sneiagib
4 for the succeeding four year after the expsr
, tion of the time for which he shall have nee
. elected, shalt be abrpgsted and stricken out
D the constitution of tho State" !,
ii The State Convention recommeadeo snas u