The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-07-22
The New York Riot.

OF the battle OF the BOyne IN Ireland,
which occurred in the year 1000, and
whereby William Prince Of Orange
secured his claim to the English
throne, by his victory over James
IT,, the Orangemen of New York
city celebrated the occasion by a
procession. Threats and prepare
lions had been made to attack the
procession. In consequence OF
which, and to prevent a riot, an Or
der was issued, by authority of the
mayor, forbidding the procession.
Gov. Hoffman had the order coun-
fernandez, and ordered the militia
and police out to protect the Orange
men in their celebration. AS threat
ened, the attack by the mob occur
red, and about fifty persons, mostly
rioters, we're killed and. died from
their wounds. The riot was sup
pressed.
We make the following extracts
from the Picayune, showing the or
igin and nature Of the order Of Or
angemen, whose celebration was the
occasion Of this riot:
On the LIST of July, Old Style, cor
responding with this the 10Th accord
ing to the new reckoning, King Will
liam the Third of England, at the
head of an army Of English, Dutch
and Protestant allies from all parts
of Europe, encountered on the banks
of the Boyne a gallant army of Irish
Catholics, of French Catholics, and
of Irishmen whohad lived in France,
all under the lead of that Stuart
whom William was called to dis
place and succeed. The Prince of
Orange had but recently assumed
the chief executive authority, having
been proclaimed king but about
fifteen months before, and his royal
antagonist was too late from the
throne to feel himself less than a
king. He felt himself to be the right
full sovereign Of Great Britain and
Ireland by descent and title, while
William felt himself to be a sover-
eign by virtue of the will Of the
people and in accordance with the
doomed p1edominance of the creed
which he represented.
Tile Englishmen and their allied
Protestants met the Irish and their
allied Catholics on opposite green
banks Of the Boyne in a fight as
fierce and as gallant as was. ever
waged OH the green island.
The game was desperate, and the
victory which a chance, all accident,
a blunder might have given to the
exile and his Catholic adherents was
won by the new King and his Pro-
testant followers, not a few Of whom
were from the North of Ireland.
Once of the results was permanent
hostility between Irishmen who were
Catholics and those who were Protes-
tants. They hated each other before,
but the defeat and death of James on
the Boyne by Protestants from Eng
land and all Europe, aided by the
northern Irish, fixed that hatred per-
manently. History notes few enmi-
ties amongnations so intensely bitter
as that which ragged between the de-
of Tho Faith o,,I 4bo ;bhop
men of the south and the adherents
of Protestants on the north. The
latter were called Orangemen, from
the name of the Prince of Orange,
and about a hundred years after the
Battle of the Boyne they formed
themselves into a secret order. Mem
bers were to be eighteen years of age,
and thoroughly. loyal Protestants,
being liable to expulsion for mar
rying a Catholic. Six-sevenths of all
the votes cast were requisite for adj
mission. They had grand, county,
district and subordinate lodges, and
there was also the Grand Black Or
der of Orangemen and the Royal
Black Knightso of the Camp of Israel.
There we're various degrees, culmin-
ating in the "scarlet.' Regular en-
trance and subscription fees were
assessed, and there were signs and
tokens arranged much according to
the usages OF other secret societies.
The declared objects of the men,
bers of the society Of Orangemen
were to support the reigning sover-
eign, to maintain the protestant
religion, to sustain the laws of the
realm, to defend the legal union of
Ireland with Great Britain, to main
tain the succession of the crown in
the legalized royal family, and e spe
cially to honor William of Orange
and treasure his glorious memory.