The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-08-24

U0FSlhg Gfeeley anu Brown ana tMe
Liberal State Ticket, New Orleans,
August 12, 1872.
Mr.. President and gentlemen of the
and turbulence which has been exhibit
ted this morning by q majority of the
members ofsthis convention toward
those who differ from them will now
cease, and that, althoughyO differ from
me, you will give your serious atten-
ton to what | am about to tell You.
am speaking to you with the deep con-
victiOn that the cause of Republican,
ism, and especially the cause of the col
Ored race, is standing in imminent dan
ger In this State to-day, and that the
rights and prospects of your people
and your children are resting solely in
the hands of this convention, and de-
pend upon your wisdom and your calm
ness, your deliberation and your dispO-
sition, to take wholesome advice. Two
propositions are pending before you.
One is the substitute offered by Mr..
| Swords, of Assumption, proposing. an
alliance with that portion of the white
people represented in the late Liberal
| convention in this city, and the indOrse
ment and ratification of their candi-
dates as your candidates. The other is
the recommendation of the committee
of conference with the CustOmhOuse
party, which advises you to nominate a
! stright ticket.
| To follow the first course would give
| your votes to Greeley and Brown: to
follow the second you would vote for
| Grant and Wilson. Let us look at the
| proposition of the conference committee
| first: What does that mean? 1t means
one of two things-either to put up a
| straight ticket and run it out to the end,
or to put it UP to trade upon. Which
| do these gentlemen'intendy you to do? If
| they intend in good faith to nominate
a ticket to run until the election, what
hope of success have you? You have
no newspapers no State patronage no
| federal patronage no money none of
the requisites for carrying ON success
full political campaign-such a ticket
could not but be a failure. 1t is not
intended by these gentlemen to be put
up to be elected. The idea is in itself a
preposterous absurdity, at which you
| laugh yourselves. Then it must be put
up to trade upon. To trade with whom
| With the CustOmhouse or with the Lib
erals If with the Customhouse, is it
not remembered that we have been try
ing to trade with them ever since the
convention of May29. We followed
them to Baton Rouge, and there made
honorable propositions, and were
| sDurned from their doors.
They have met every attempt of ours
for reconciliation, and every request for
recognition! with cOntumeiy and scorn,
and. now, in your last effort when,
against the Judgment of many of us,
/ fsnya t%nn nf anTefnT,nnan
! again to beg recognition, what answer
have they sent back +? That if you in
/ dOrse Grant and Wilson and the whole
of their ticket and acknowledge that
you have done wrong and they have
| been in the right, and go down on your
| knees and sue for pardon, they will then
give you, perhaps, what !? Congress
man at large OH their ticket ? / say
| perhaps, why These men WHO are
making this promise know we'll two
| things First, that they are not intTus-
ted with the power by their convention
4 to make this trade, and that their prom
/ Use is Tnsubstantiai and cannot be per-
formed !; and second, that If the gen.
| tlemen whom they propose TO Withdraw
/ refuse to ratify their action by with
! drawing, they hare no power to COM
i pei them to do so, and their promise be-
comes simply null and void. Your own
committee of conference, appointed
from gentlemen from this side, who are
/ anxious for a union with the Custom
! house. has been convinced that the
proposition OF the Customhouse party
was so iasinceRe, so meagre, so insult
| ing that they have unanimously ad-
vised you to reject 1t.
i What better trade can yOu expect
from the Cust0mhOuse party by nomi-
mating a ticket, than they have now
offered you under the present more
favorable circumstances Tt is to trade
with the Liberals The Liberal con-
Iyention has given you all that can just.
/ ly be demanded af them. They have
recognized you upon theie State ticket
.tiby placing thereon the name ct q col.
.Hored man for Secretary of State they
have placed another straight out Re-
.Epubliean as Auditor of Public Accounts
and another original Republican and
/ Uni0nist, Westley Mcdonald, who run
upon the 'TaliferTo ticket in 1868, as
Il Superintendent of Public Education
They have nominated for COngressmen
from the fourth District Mr.. Armstead
q member of this convention, and col.
ored man, and they have offered the
nomination from the first district to Mr.
and the second to General Barber, botI
col0red men, They have recognized
i your rights Ia their platform as amply
and as positively as they have eyer beer
recognized in the Republ lean party. TC
put up q ticket, therefore, to trade
i with those gentlemen would simply lybeaI
insult.
To sum up this subject, to put out 6
i straight ticket, If done in sincerity
would simply be stupidity If done tt
trade ON, W0uld be simply a fraull, aIl
then you have left bnt one of two
courses, either ta indaFse the Custom
/ house ticket and Grant and Wilson, 81
81 to ally yourselves with the Liberal par
ty and ind0rse Greeley and Brown, anG
ratify the Liberal State ticket headed
by ID. b. Penn. But You can vote foi
the Customhouse ticket? You yoiet
this morning, threw mp your hats anG
shouted and yelled as if mad when tht
proposition By your conference. com
mittee to reject the propositions o.
Il the CustomhO1lse party and Il
put ont q straight ticket, B!!
doing this you declared your defepmi'
nation not to vote for Kellogg. Y0J
would hardly listen to any one who
4. would propose that. And now do yOl
mean to 90 right back on all youl
II words and all your enthusiasm and in
dOrse the very ticket that yOu have JUS
shouted down with ieers of derisi0n
But let me talk to yOu more seriously
An alliance with the white people o
the State is the best and snrest guaran
tee Of your rights. it is not only th
best way to peFpetnate them and max
them permanent, but 1t Is the only saf
path, the only possible way. IL thi
!, convention were unanimously to i'm
fInrsa the CIlsfnralhnIIsA ticket fhR fW,