New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-08-10

you, anu nave but little TO say. icci
very deeply, very earnestly, this hour, 1or
l believe that the events we have Wit
messed to-day are of the utmost import
ance, not only to the Republican party OF
Louisiana, but to the Republican party of
the United States, and to the perpetuati0n
of republican Institutions. What we have
seen to-day the American people will see,
and what we feel they will fed9 and as we
say they will say, throughout the length
momentous hour, and whether we sue
ceed or fail, this hour determines.
whether the people of this country shall
rule or whether they shall be ground down
under the heel of tyranny. [Cheers.] If the
people, when they assemble in convention,
are to be prevented from expressing their
will by the presence of bayonets, then our
country is failure and liberty is dead
But, thank God, that day has not arrived.
Thank God that these bad men in the Gus
tomhouse have no friends except their own
satellites, and no support at the hands of the
American people. l do not believe that
they tell the truth when they say that
the authorities at Washington are sus-
tanning them. If they do tell the truth,
believe that the people of the United States
will put down the authorities at Washing
ton as well as these men. lCheers.J was
a soldier. hurried part of my body on this
soil. fought for the existence of repub-
hcan institutions. / buried four hundred
thousand comrades fallen in battle. But
there are eight hundred thousand of us left,
and if we are to be ground down by
tyranny we will be buried silently by our
comrades first. [Cheers.]
When / leave this convention l shall
go straight to Washington, and shall
ask President Grant as soldier whether
he gave his sanction to the action
that has been taken here to-day If he
says yea, then will denOunce him through
every city in the land. If he says nay, then
/ shall say, "Prove your sincerity, sir, by
striking off the heads of these men,"
[Cheers.] shall not believe he is sincere
until Packard, Casey and Lowell are re-
moved. If General Grant sustains these
men, then General Grant can not be the
nominee of the Republican party of this
country, If | know the sentiments of the
people. [Great applause.l But / believe
he will not sustain them. Gentlemen, let
our deliberations be calm and cool, as well
as they can be under our natural excite
ment Let us declare to the world in calm,
well chosen language, the position we
have taken in Louisiana. Let me say this.
have been five weeks engaged in assisting
in this canvass, and have heard from every.
parish in the State; and, believe l know
pretty clearly how every election was held;
and L state, upon my word, my most sincere
conviction that the Republican party, re-
presented by the hundred and odd dele,
| gates here now, is against these men, Pack
ard, Lowell & Co., and have carried the
| State by three-fourths or four-ffths major
| ity, and that these men represent no one
but the Customhouse employees and few
revenue officers. [Applause]. Throughout
| the State, wherever the people have
been permitted to express their will
at the same ballot box as they, VIC
have beaten them. In tie city of
New Orleans, in the five wards in which
there was no contest whatever, our candi-
dates were elected by large majorities.
tell the authorities at Washington that
these marshals' bayonets and Customhouse
officers do not represent the Republican
party of Louisiana, but represent a. number
of men who are determined to put the Re-
publican party under their heels for their
own selfish purposes. ECheers.] But they
can not put down the Republican party.
The Republican party will rise and crush
them in the name of liberty and Republican
institutions. [Cheers.]
General McMillen, in reply to repeated
calls, came forward, and made one of his
happiest addresses. Claiming a right to
address the Convention, though not mem
ber of it, by virtue of his having been for
| many years member of the Republican
party, whom they now represented. The
General spoke of the impor tance of the oc-
casion in the interests of free speech, and
said that the action of the federal officials
this day would be condemned by the people
at large to all time. His remarks were fire.
quently and warmly applauded.
Rev. T. w. Conway followed, and pleas
antly filed up the interval until the solid
business of the Convention commenced.
After Permanent Organization.
Senator P B. s. Pinchback, on assuming
the chair as permanent president OF the
convention, said:
| thank you for the compliment you have
| conferred ON me, and / hope our proceed
| ings viii be harmonious We have met un.
| der different aspects to what we expected,
| but we need not therefore change our pro-
| eramme. We have met of our own accord,
| Freely to consider the interests of the Re-
| publican party. We have exacted no tickets
| of admission from delegates, nor even from
| spectators. We have simply met as all de
| Lucrative bodies ought, in my judgment
! to assemble. We have met in the eyes
of the people where they can see what we
| are doing, and if they don't find us worthy
of their confidence they can repudiate oul
| action. The attempt on the part of certain
| gentlemen in federal positions in our city to
| control the Republican party has resulted,
! in my Judgment, in what they will claim to
| be division of the Republican party; but
| from what / know of the feeling of the peo-
| pie of the different parishes of the State,
| am of opinion that there is no split in the
| Republican party. [Applause.] | have Or
| rived at Chis conclusion by careful 0bserVa
| ton.
| / know here and there yeu will find ad
herents of the Customhouse wing, men sent
out on leave of absence to cry up and cry
down certain men; | know you will find
these in every ward in this State, but
| know if you go around to the people you
| will find them everywhere in favor of the
administration. [Cheers. i have been a
peoples man from the commencement; it is
| only recently have been found sustaining
| Governor Warmoth personally, though ever
| since l have been elected have been an
| administration man. ! did not think it
necessary to fight Governor War,
| man worthy of the steeF OF anybody,
| and l believe him more than equal to these
men. You see then, there is some excuse
| for the comments made by the Democratic
4 papers, on Pinchback at last becoming a
| supporter of Governor Warmoth. When
we went into the campaign told the peo-
| pie went in as an Independent Repnbli-
can, reserving the right to criticize any pub.
lie officer. When Governor Warmoth did
| what didn't approve, always took ooca-
| sion to tell him did not approve of it; but
| because do not Ike some specific act is
| that just reason why as citizen / should
| oppose the administration of which he is the
| head2 (Cheers.] Is that any reason why
| a convention should assemble for no other
purpose than to put the Republican party