The weekly Louisianian., 1872-12-21
one VIEW OF OUR SITUATION.

ONE VIEW OF OUR SITUATION
The Independent Of New York, j,
commenting on the Southern trou
bles, closes it's article by observing
that
"These difficulties seem all to be at tn
South, where an ignorant and immora
class is easily cheated and bullied by un
scrupulous politicians"
And continues
"The remedy is a very slow one, but il
is sure. Schools and churches, the spell
ing book and tho bible; and to the appli.
cation of this remedy we would urge
Northern and Southern patriots. philan.
thropists, and Christians, with all the earn.
estness we can express. Christian people,
there is no better way in which to expend
your charities than in supporting the
agencies Of Christian enlightenment among
the freedmen. There is no more urgent
business. before Congress than the enact
ment of a law which shall provide q Ma
tional School Fund, to be expended in the
ratio of illiteracy."
We must remind our contemporary
that this is not the only remedy; be-
cause the troubles of the South do
not owe their origin and continu-
ance solely to the causes stated.
But recognizing all the force of the
above arguments, efforts wero made
in vorious States to enlighten the
freedmen by the establishment Of
schools and churches in the South
ern States; and how many ruthless
murders of teachers and ministers,
and burning down Of school-houscs
and churches in nearly every South
ern State, attest the existence of
another prolific source of Southern
troubles, that there is no use at
tempting to disguise, notwithstand-
ing the New Orleans Times will
persist in placing the boot on the
wrong foot. That source OF strife
and turmoil is On avowed unwilling
ness to admit the freedman to the
undisturbed enjoyment of his civil
and political rights and equality;
and the constant evidence of this
determination in studied and re-
morseless repression, exclusion and
persecution.
This course drives the ignorant
and helpless freedman to form such
alliances and enter into such COM
binations as are most calculated to
aid him in securing and perpetua-
ting his civil and political status.
And the adoption of this resort,
%inuring as it does, to the benefit of
the freedman and the discontinue
of his foes, constitutes now the Pc
culiarly irritating source Of all our
strifes and conflicts.
The Independent is not, therefore,
correct in leading it's readers to in
fer that if the Ignorance of the
freedman were displaced by intelli-
gence the Southern troubles would
cease. They might be modified,
but before the Southern States will
or can be paciicated with their pre-
sent mixed populations, the era of
peace and order must be inaugu-
rated indeed and in, truth by the
honest, enlightened, and patriotic
men of the South, who, bursting the
barriers of every ,ignoble prejudice,
shaking themselves from the dust Of
gloomy dependency, and planting
themselves squarely and manfully
on the Constitution and laws of the
United States as they are, recog-
nizing the existence of forces in the
current of truth and right which
they can neither stem nor turn,
devote their energies to the conserv-
alton of law and justice, the cultiva-
ton of mutual friendly relationships,
the establishment Of a peace SO set
tied and so substantial that the
repetition of such scenes as are now
distracting Arkansas, Alabama and
Louisiana, will DO "known no
more forever"
~Attorney General Fields has
been commissioned by Governor
Pinchback, been recognized by the