New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-06-09
WILLIAMSON OVERHEARD
GRAND FUNERAL SERVICE

]
The sixth and last day of the Democrat
| convention yesterday morning opened like
an oyster, with considerable effort, the up.
all-night business of the body having made
| the members gloomy and the speech
! makers dumb Men looked in one another's
faces as if they were conscious Of the fune-
| raj service that was afteFward preached
with due sOlemnity by the boiling delega-
tiOns from the Felicianas, andithe majority
1 of faces turned up toward the presidential
! rostrum had a ''happY be thy dreams" sort
| of look, as but few Of the members had,
| following the practice of Mr. M6COll, taken
] counsel Of sleep ON the question which had
J perplexed them for the previous five days.
1 The gentleman who is continually rising to
! point Of order, the delegate who is forever
| bawling ont "What's the question p the
| member who is hard of hearing, and who
/ shades his ear when he rises to speak, as if
| it were sort of eye, and the light was too
! strong; the man who always wants to con
! suit with my fellow delegates" the indi-
! vidual who rises to personal explanation,
/ who calls for the reading of that document
! again, all were there, as they have been
| every day, as they are in all conventions,
and as they will be until time is no more
and conventions stop running.
The proceedings having begun IN the
call of the roll, which showed forty-six
parishes present, Mr.. Hyams rose TO ex-
plain and correct a misstatement in the
Picdyltlle but, as it was not ''our funeral"
we slowed down and left il 10 the paper
that had made the error.
And now Judge Hunt and Mr.. Z. II.
McCalebboth confront one another, fight
ing for the floor, which is finally awarded to
the venerable delegate" and he uses the
floor for few minutes in reading the fol-
lowing advertisement of the combination
ticket and contribution to the literature OF
the country:
Mr.. Williamson, nominee for Governor, is
complete Southern gentleman by educa-
ti0n, sentiment, association and honorable
connection. l am perfectly satisfied he will
discharge his duty independently, upright
", and without undue favor to individuals.
He is one of our brethren of the Reform
party, and bis name is, therefore, an ad-
ditional bond of strength to the cause of Pc
form. Mr.. Jonas, the candidate for Lieu
tenant Governor, is an energetic gentleman.
active and well informed. and with a great
many friends. These and the other nOmi-
nations ! think should be accepted by US"
Mr. Reese, of Tensas, said:
Mr. President, we have assembled here
for great and important object, and upon
our deliberations depends the future des-
tiny of the State OF Louisiana favored the
minority report OF the conference commit
tee for the reason that it left the way open
by which we could form a coalition with
all elements, all political elements and Or
ganizations that could enable US to redeem
the State Of Louisiana in her dOwntrOdden
and oppressed condition Applause /
am opposed TO making any alliance or Co
alitiUn that would bring intamy on the fair
escutcheol of Louisiana. | do not propose
to yield anything that would not be
just and honorable / am one who be-
ieves that if We act properly we shall
ultimately succeed. l am IN favor OF
appointing a committee of conference
whose duties it shall be to exhaust every
effort to form a permanent coalition before
we abandon that great object | think it
but just and respectful to consider the mi
nority report, and to exhaust everything TO
accomplish their suggestions. The great
object we have in view is 70 attain the coali-
ton that will lead us to success, and l DO
not think that strictly Democratic nomina-
tiOns could be successful without the fOrma-
alton and aid Of such coalition. I feel II
absolutely necessary and important that we
should gatLeF strength from every element
that was II our reach in order TO obtain
that object; that there does exist an element
OF power which, with its machinery, would
enable US to succeed; that one OF those
elements exists IN the Liberal Republican
y y
State government, would enable US ulti-
matoly to triumph and overcome every OBJ
stacle and without which did have most
serious apprehensiOus we should fail in
cOusumma1ing that great and desired
end. l believe the only manner IN which
that can be Gone is TO appoint committees
Of conference to confer with those political
organizations and ascertain if they can
agree upon the proper lines Of coalition iu
an honorable and Just manner. / believe
ii can be done, auG that we should exhaust
every effort in order to accomplish it. /
Certain communications have been
sent to US from the Liberal Repub- !
lican party and the German element.
The object Of these communications |
was to see if we could not agree upon some
lines Of alliance and coalition that would be
and satisfactory TO both parties; !
and l feel it is our duty to combine these !
elements with the Democratic party in |
order to save the State from ruin, Oppres- |
sion and desOlaJiOn. In order to illustrate |
the weakness and inability of the Demo |
cratic party to succeed, | viii refer you to |
the parish of Tensas where l reside. From /
the statistics which | hold in my hand, |
will show you the disparity, in a numerical |
point Of view, between the white pOpula- /
ion and the colored population in that par !
sh. The statistics show q total popu- |
alton in that parish Of about 10000 per
sons, about $500 of whom are colored
and 1900 white. The colored vote Of that |
population was about 5000, and the white
vote 300. In order to control any portions
Jf That cOlOred vote il is necessary to form |
4 coalition with the Liberal Republican ele-
nent, and by that means | believe we could
tivide the vote with the Radical Republican
)arty. But if we make a nomination
rom the DemQcTatic party, without
gathering that strength from the
Liberal Republican party we shall
lever be able to control any portion
If that colored vote. Should we not do so,
t viii all centre in the Radical Republican
,arty, and will vote as a unit upon that
ickGt. IT such should be the case in voting
IS a unit for the Radical Republican ticket,
ge have no chance at all to elect any per
on whatever except cOlOred officers alto
either. For they are claiming all the Offices.
The day before | lett home | saw large
recession of colored persons marching
Lnder a banner with martial music to
onyention that was held on that dav. In
hat convention they ignored the idea of
ominating for Office any white persons
whatever They claim to elect their Judge, |
Ierk. sheriff, recorder and all the officers |
D the parish, even the police Jurors, to
ontrol the parOChial affairs Of the parish
md if they should succeed, which they will
we do not form an alliance and coalition
y which we can divide that vote, they
will fill all the Offices IN the parish {
With their own color, and have the entire !
onJrol Of the judicial as well as the
arochial affairs Of the parish. And the $
our parishes which border on the Missis- I
iDpi river from the mouth to the Arkansas I
me, and which formed one OF the most S
ertile regions within the limit Of the State, I
re about in the same deplorable condition. i
white person should be so unfortunate +
N. I.LI mt l. f-.In Il