New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-25

= ries secession has brought upon the South
e 1t is easy to see that this Wing eleinen
e naturally belongs to the Republican party
q and will soon" gravitate toward that party
Q The Wings comprise large share of til
|, wealth and intelligence of the white popu
e lation of Georgia, and nearly all the men o
f liberal and progressive ideas. AS soon q
r this element becomes Republican, it vii
carry with it almost the solid negro vote o
f the State. which will leave the Democrat
in small minority.
; These views were Endorsed to-day by
: prominent politician of extensive influence
: throughout the State. He told me he hae
been a Wing from boyhood, and had never
given Democratic vote in his life, except
, since reconstruction, and then he only did
t it because he believed he was acting in the
{ interest of his State. | asked him how
, soon he believed this separation of the
! Wings and Democrats in Georgia would
/ take place. Every soon in State politics, y
he replied. There are questions of inter
nal improvements and other local interests
that will early cause the division, but in
national politics it may not occur until after
the next presidential election. The preju-
dice against the Republican party is still
strong among the people because they be-
lieve that party intended to humilate and
Cypress them by the reconstruction meas
ures. 1t will take time for them to forgive
and forget this. Another cause for the hos
tility of the white people to the Republican
party is the bad results Of Republican rule
in the South. presume you have learned
what class of men We have got in office in
this State. With few exceptions they are
either unknown Adventures from the
North, or natives without character or hon
esty. They have sought Office to enrich
themselves. and have plIndered the State
Outrageously. | believe they have cost
Georgia ten or twelve million dollars. No
| body knows how much, because our State
finances are kept covered up, so that no
man, except the Governor. can tell to what
extent the debt has been increased, and he
takes care to keep his knowledge to hun
| SELF The masses of our people take these
men, whom they believe to be corrupt and
| dishonest, as specimens of the material of
which the Republican party is composed;
| and, until they learn better, YOU can not
expect their support. OF course / know
better. l know that the Republican party
includes majority of the intelligence and
! virtue of the North, and / am satisfied
| that few of the representatives of the party
In Congress have any knowledge of the char
acter OF the men we have in office here, or
| they, would not give them their cOunte-
nance" He added he believed that if prom
| inent Northern Republicans would come
South and mlngle with the people this pre-
JUDGE against the party and against the
North would soon disappear. He thought
Horace Greeley's tour had been productive
OF much good. He was sorry Mr.. Greeley
had not returned through Alabama, Georgia
and South Carolina, that a larger number
of the Southern people might have had an
opportunity of seeing him. If be were
nominated for President he would get the
votes OF thousands of white men in the
South who are not Republicans, but who
believe him to be true friend to the South
ern States. because he has advocated uni
versal amnesty from the first, which, had it
been adopted, would have put the govern
ment of the Southern States in the hands
of men of character, responsibility and ex-
perience, instead of giving them over to ig-
norant Adventures.
The conversation of this gentleman |
give as sample of that of many other old
Wings with whom have talked They in
yarlably say that they are Wings and not
Democrats, but they can nor be Repub-
licans as long as the Republican party
keeps up policy or prescribing men on ac-
count of the part they took in the rebellion,
and sustains the conduct of bad men in of
flee in the reconstructed governments. All
the Democratic newspapers in Georgia that
have seen have asQuiesced in the new de-
parture platform. few support il
warmly, but most of them acknowledge |
that they countenance it because the |
Northern Democrats believe it is the only |
way to beat the radicals; and. as their |
brethren in the North will have the heavy |
work to do in the presidential campaign, |
they think the Northern Democrats ought |
to be allowed to make the platform to suit |
their own judgment. A few of the old poll !
tlcians, however, denOunce the new scheme 1
as dishonest trick that will not win |
One of these. man of national reputation |
and of great influence here in Georgia, I
gave me his views on the question few
nlU I'm no tI,atT |
mention his name in connection with them,
which he insisted upon because he did not
wish to throw anything in the way of the
success of the Northern Democracy in their
new strategic policy, much as he distrusted
and detested that policy. He said that it
was manifest to everybody that the new
departure was not an honest change of
opinion and purpose on the part of the men
who advocate it, but only trick to gain
success. In career of forty years in pub
lie life he had observed that honesty is the
best policy in politics, and he never knew
a party to succeed that was false TO its CON
victions and endeavored to steal the plat
form of its opponents. The people would
detect the sham in this case, he declared,
and nobody would be deceived. He said
that he had predicted the result of every
presidential election in the last twenty
years as soon as the nominations were
made, telling which way every State would
go. and he felt certain that the Democ
racy would be totally routed if they carried
into the contest the false coiors they have
hoisted in Ohio and Pennsylvania He
had written to his old political friends in
the North, warning them against following
Acknowledgements lead, but, if they thought
best to do so, he would noe say
word publicly against their cause, because
ne did not wish to be held in any way re-
sponsible for the defeat which he foresaw
the Democracy would suffer ON such plat
form. His advice was to continue to fight |
against the validity of the fourteenth and ,
fifteenth amendments and the whole of the ,
laws, and if the Democrats
lid this he believed they could elect their i
candidate for President. / asked him how
hey would get rid of the amendments in
'ase they did elect their candidate; to which
lie replied that Frank Blair pointed out the
way III 1868. The President would treat /
he amendments as utilities, would with {
lraw the troops from the South and let the
PEOPLE manage their own affairs and restore l
heir rightful governments "But do you | 8
maintain that the President has the right {
o decide what is and what is not part of t
he constitution of the United States p | 4
inquired. Certainly do and a Congress IS
oes not impeach him for his decision: il q
Olds good. In like manner he can refuse i
o execute any law that he does not believe S
Q. be constitutional. LIZ case we elect a
Democratic President, and he should de-
lare the amendments no part of the con- t
titution, we should be strong enough in
congress to prevent impeachment, anu the
he simplest manner possible" !
There are many Democrats who have no +
ympathy with such views, and of this class n
Ir, Ben Hill may be considered n renpa | 4