The Opelousas courier., 1871-05-13

desperate need of Endorsement when it imao;nes
that IL n'ss it in the add Tcss. The address,
I'lthcr Endorses the amendments nor oIv;sn.
.n',. "c,ceptanre as iinality but the Courier
'o"1di mas all along insisted that they should
ne accepted by the Democrats as final aud th,t
tneF uhc l'emorrats) should undertake the
""''''"n OF Inc negro, so a. to fit him to ell
n.y. 1h'. a;"i properly exercise as permanent thing
. -h's which the amendments conferred
upon hm How does the to,ricr-Jourual re-
c"nciIe its teachiugs with the address If it
"iil explain, perhaps the Democratic pauers
t"I.ii'd TO ny 1t will be able the better to de-
starting new party.
me 'ehi"rratlc party ia nearly unanimous in
hcclailtg these amendments frauds and outravcs
Pcr|'etrated by robbers and consprators. who
! had no more legal or moral right to declare
them ratified or to enforce them than the Greek
hfigands had to butcher their captives When
ever the Democratic party "ucccpts the situa-
!loh which the reconstruction acts impose and
indorSes the constitutional amendments as final
itles then there is no import INT issue between
inc democrats and Republic cans. The contest
VIII be a'n,ere scramble for office. for one party
WI point to its usurpatons and violations of
inc CONSTITUTIONS, while the other simply says
your work is infamous, but it is IL settled thing
Win an their ingenuity for misrepresentation
ana all their talent for assuming that every
speech and address in an Endorsement of their
raSarics' the mongrels cannot show q line in
the recent Democratic address which favors An
a"quescencr i'll the stfuction acts or the
constitutional amengments. Indeed, no man
worthy of the name OF Democrat, or who has a
particle of respect for the ca Institution or desire
tor the peace of the country, can for a moment
think OF sanctioning or acqtliescing in the Fiji
tecnth Amendment, for it ID the plague spot on
the face of the great charter Of American free
dom. 1t is the fruitful source of our greatest
wu,,; the authority claimed for that infamous
brood of ,..ws which are Intended to enslave
the people by destroying the freedom of the
ballot, and placing 1ncc country under martial
law at the will of the Presl lent. This wrong,
this usurpation, can never be sanctioned by one
who stands upon the principles of the Democrat
ic party. The wound it has inflicted upon con-
stituti"nal liberty may not lie cured for years to
come, but it, and the lesisla ation based upon it,
connot co-exst with the Gov eminent which our
ancestors established, and without which We
would have no guarantee for the rights of the
States, or the liberty of the citizens. Ifit can
not be stricken from the Constitution, let it be
condemned as the offspring of usurped power,
and the government placed in the hands OF men
who will pluck out its poi isonous sting by re-
pcaling the legislation which is claimed to be
authorized by it, and neces ssary to enforce it,
but which really has another OF lect in view. the
centralization of all the pow ers of the system
in the general government q means of per-
petuating the ruling dynasty.
If the Democracy when they come into power,
are to continue the nnconsti tutional legislation
of the present Republican party and accept as
Qualities of all its pretended decisions, then we
might we'll save the expe rse of our party Or
gazaton, repeal elcetio laws and mako
Grant Emperor at once If, in other words,
Radica1isn and Democracy have como to mean
the same thing only under different names,
then we cannot see any further need of keeping
M "a distinction without difference" and We
might at once confess that all issues are 'dcad.7
liut if. weinsist, there is a difference between
the principles and views OF the two parties as
wide and rs marked as bet wecn light and dark-
ness truth and error them and only then, the
success Of the Democratic party and the defeat
of our opponents will bring about return to
rood government, strict a,lherance to the pro-
visions of the Constitution and consequent peace
and prosperity. No question can be irrelevant
no issue can be dead which const tantly
thrusts itself forward into the arena of this
po]itcal warfare and dcm.t tnds the attention of
the people. All such issues must be met and
settled in one way or another, and it is supreme
folly to attemut to push them aside under the
ur,teuse that they belong to the dead past. If
+ they we're dead they would not rise to confront