The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-02-10

SaS and NeUfdShtt, from hdlHe anu
the rocky shores of New England,
from sunny Florida, from the Empire
State. and the sacred soil of Virginia,
and from the States kissed by the
waters of the Mississippi and the Ohio.
Their earnest letters have come with
them; their representatives are with
us to-day on the right and on the left,
watching and listening with anxious
hearts and eager ears to catch every
word that drops with reference to
this Ito them) momentous question.
Ave, momentus to the vital interests
of our country to-day. We come to
YOU with the only means OF access we
have to your honorable body, the
House of Representatives-the peo-
ple's parliament-claimin for our
selves the sacred right of petition, one
of the foundation stones OF our Re
publican Government, and demand
ing the right to be heard. 1t was the
sighting of such petitions that paved
the way for the war of the Revolution.
Human nature has not so much
changed since then, but III the on
ward march of the ages it has built
new and more complicated problems
on the same automatic principles,
which are none the less verified and
justified because the more recently
evolved.
When Calico made the astounding
discovery that the world moved, the
shock of its announcement was too
great for the nerves of plodding con-
servatism, and the great old phlloso-
pher was forced on his knees to re-
cant, or philosophise no more. The
world still moves, and still conserva-
tism cries, ''Off with the heads OF
heretics who dare step from the beaten
track that Paul marked out ?" and to-
day, like Paul, we come to the ma
tons head, pleading our cause, and,
like him, we hear them say, " Almost
thou persuadest me-" &c. To you,
then, my friend, we entrust our pc
tition, asking and expecting that a
hearing will be granted to us, beliey-
ing that Justice Will be done us, and
the oppressed go free. This petition,
! $40 FEET LONG,
$40 feet if placed in single file, is made
up of petitions sent up almost spon-
taneously from every State and Terri
tory of the Union, and they are still
coming at the rate of 500 per day,
asking for declaratory law. Among
them are the names of the most hon
ored and worthy OF the land, as well
as the humble and unlettered.
BEN REPLIES.
Gen. Butler replied, and said, in sub
stance, that he accepted the duty that
had thus been put on him the duty
that every Representative owes to
every American citizen, however
humble that citizen may be, to be the
organ of communicating his or hel
wants and wishes to the Representa-
tives of his Government. He felt
honored whenever he was asked to
present petition. If one is honored
in presenting the petition OF one citi-
zen, how much more is he honored
when asked to be the organ of sc
large and respectable a number of his
kfellow-citizens? He would
Do ALL 1SSA1 IN MO OhI@A1
in the present and the future, in carry
ing out the object of the petition. HI
did not know that that object woulC
be obtained to-day, or tomorrow, o.
next year, but, like all great reforms
IT MUST GROW,
as does the acorn, which finally be
comes the oak, and overshadows thu
land. The women of America hav,
only to demand the right to vote, ant
it will be sure to come. The reason
J why men hesitate to give it at once
, is that they are in doubt whether thu
majority of the women of the lant
want it; whether they really desire
the franchise. The fact that
$4,000 OF THEM
: have, without political organization
but, as it were, by spontaneous move
: ment, sent up the petition, shows tina
: a large portion of the women of Am
+ erica do desire it. Let this $4,000 b
followed by the petition of women b.
the 10000, and by the
: ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND,
until all have shown the capacity t
do that which they demand-the ca
d pacity to vote, for petitioning is onl
J. another way of voting. They thu
: vote for their rights by these memor
+ ials. Again rendering his thanks, h
!. would be the bearer of the petition
: and he would present Il as soon as h
: could get the floor after the mornin
S hour to-day.
). MRS. ISABELLA BEECHER HOOKER
T said they had received informatio
I this morning that another petition q
e 10000 names was on the way froI
y California, and General Butler sal
q he would present that also when
y arrived.
The delegation then withdrew, an
d the women thronged in the gallerie
> of the House, and patiently awaite
;, the appearance of General Butler. A
the close of. the morning hour, accord
| l. he h.,