New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-16
THE POLITICAL SITUATION.
The Colored Man, His Rights and His
Wrongs-Speech by General Butler.

ences of opinion on national topics that
exist in the Republican party, and the oppo-
sition which the effort to check the outrages
on the coored people of the South by de-
cided action had met, he declared the
Democratic party responsible for those
outrages.
He then said the Ku-Klux organization
meant simply that the rebellion, failing to
wrest the power from the government to
erect an independent empire, whose corner
stone was slavery, now by stealthy mid
night assassinatiUns, tries to attain that
purpose which it lost on the open field of
battle. 1t meant that the cOlored man, hav-
ing been emancipated and raised to the cti-
zen, is to be hindered by force, fraud and
murder from enjoying the rights guar
anteed to him by the constitution of
his country. 1t meant that he should be
reduced to a state of peonage worse than
slavery, because, having the birthright of
freedom, the ballot, he is to be coerced in
its use according as his oppressors desire,
even for their elevation to power. A few
weeks ago the Democratic press. both North
and South, was discussing the right, nay,
the expediency, of declaring the fourteenth
and fifteenth articles of amendment to be
void and of none effect; and men were
threatening If ever the Democracy came
into power every footstep of freedom
should be retraced. Mr.. Blair, the late
candidate for Vice President, had not re-
tracted the doctrines of the Breadhead
letter, declaring all the reconstruction acts
of Congress void, and that the State con-
situations framed in accordance with them,
giving equal suffrage, should be changed as
the interests of the Democratic party might
dictate. Since the legislation against ku-
kluxism by Congress how changed the tone
of the Democratic press, both North and
SOUTH 1t recognizes the power of the
government to protect its citizens
and enforce its laws. 1t sees that
the people will tolerate no change
of the fundamental rights settled by
the war; and although the Southern
heart desires the abrOgation of the four
teenth and fifteenth amendments, as no one
doubts, yet their newspapers are COM
PEELED to declare they are willing to yield to
the necessities of the Northern Democracy
to enable it to carry States sufficient in
number to bring the Democratic party into
power, while the entire Democratic press of
the North is offering with one voice that, if
the people will reinstate that party in
power, the amendments shall not be dis
turbed. Let no man be deceived. If the
Democratic party shall come into power in
1872 by majority strong enough to main
tain itself, just 50 surely, by force, by fraud
or evasion, all benefits OF those constitu-
tional guarantees will be taken away from
the colored man. Unjust and shocking to
every sense of right as this action would
be- yet it will not lack attempts at justifca-
ton. We hear now even, coming from
South Carolina, a demand that the majority
of the people, if colored men, shall not rule
in that State; that the very foundation
stone of republicanism-that the majority
shall gpvern-is there to be overturned, and
in South Carolina the minority must rule
the majority.
He next passed to the work OF the colored
man.
He said: Has any one heard of any col
ored man, or any number of colored men,
now with the power in their hands. being
the majority of the State, banding together
to ride at night for the purpose of avenging
themselves upon their late masters and late
OppressOrs Even the detractor of the negro
has failed to point out such instance. Which
knows most of the necessities of the South
the negro or the white man The negro
builds churches and schoOlhouses: the white |
man burns them. The negro works indus
triOusly to produce something from the soil:
the white man refuses to labor, and en-
deavors to create anarchy because he can
no longer live in idleness upon the labor of
others.
The negro, after the day of toll, is well
taught enough to go to his peaceful home
and quiet rest. He knows enough to re- |
spect every mans rights of person and |
property; and the white man rides at night |
masked, disguised and armed to the terror |
OF the people, and for the purpose of muir
deung the officers of the law, or of burning
the cabins of the peaceful Finally, he |
.colored men everywhere knew enough-and |!
hence comes up the cry against them-all to |
vote the Republican ticket and that stead |
lily; and that is sufficient political knowl- |
edge in my judgment, for anybody. | sub |
init TO the calm judgment of the country, |
upon fair and not strained comparison of |
g VIZ 10,
IN South Carolina, which is the filter to gov |
'ern In whose hands life, liberty and prop
erty are, and will in future be- more safe!
The question of oratOry and statesman
ship in the cOlOred men let me illustrate
with an instance of TIE present Congress-
When the ku-klux bill was under discus
sion colOred colleague of mine representing
the State Of South Carolina made speech
IN the House upon that bill. not only so
well delivered, but SO well considered and
well argued that the Democracy were fain
to break the force of it by giving to your
humble servant the high compliment of hav-
ing written it, | wish it could have been
true. l should have been proud of that
speech. | only wish that the one | am now
making to you were half as good. But il
was all his own, as have reason for know
ing from hearing him in private conversa-
ton beforehand enunciate quite number
of thoughts which he therein elaborated
for the public ear. And this colored orator
for his production was worthy of the
name-was the product of the free schools
of Boston, for he was brought up
among you here, and is an example
OF what our system of education has
done III the case Of the cOlored men who
have, under the glorious constitution of our
beloved Massachusetts, reaped the adyan-
tages of equality of right and equality of
privilege now gwen to every American
citizen by amendments of the constitution
of the United States which the Democracy
seek to overthrow. So, too the negro has
talsified and set at naught another class of
grave accusations against his race. When
his freedom was proclaimed it was asserted.
nay, indeed believed, by his former master
that he would not labor because of any of
the incentives which impel the white man;
that he would only work when driven to
his task by the lash: that, as a race. he
would have no desire for the acquisition of
property; that he would not try to surround
himself with the comforts of civilization:
that he would lead an idle and vicious life
IN dreamy laziness, only broken by stealthy
efforts to plumber precari0us subsistence
from the means of others. Let the facts
taught by experience answer the absurd
talsity of all this. Instead of crowding
into cities, where employment could not
be found and his services were not
needed, as a rule, when undisturbed,
attached to his hearthstone and roof
tree, however humble, he has preferred to
remain upon the soil that gave him birth.
He has become the willing, industrious
laborer for wages. He has endeavored. by
patient industry, to accumulate property
The agricultural products of the South.
Where he is almost the ONLY labOrer-and |