The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-04-13
WHERE THE APPLICATION 2

| or lppllcdDle argument III Tic Ac00eT .
article of last week under the heading
of Consistency, thou art jewell
It seems that the primary object OF
the editor was to comment disapprov-
inly upon the plan announced in the
CHIEF of week before last for the or
ganization of a Parish Executive Com
mittee, but the extraordinary and
rambling manner in which he does it,
the astonishing grounds of argument
he assumes, render the commentary
simple mass of bewildering bOsh,
as devoid of convincing or pertinent
propositions as it is defiant of the rules
of English grammar and rhetoric in its
composition.
The reader will remember that the
proposed mode of organizing the Par
ish Executive Committee was the ap-
pointment of sixteen Republicans by
Mr.. C. T. Smith, president of the last
Parish Convention, those sixteen and
the eight elected by said Convention
to constitute the Committee. There
are two or three facts connected with
this matter to which we invite the at
tention of our readers in general and
the editor of the Leader in particular.
The first is: this plan of organization
was not an invention of the CHIEFS,
but was decided upon by. the Parish
Convention of 1871; this will demon
strate to our contemporary that his
indirect abuse of ourselves is much
more likely to brand him an ignorant
or unreasonable man than it is to
prove us either g a fool or an arrant
knaye." The second fact is: that the
Executive Commute formed in the
manner proposed was to exercise only
insignificant and temporary power, to
consist in fixing the date for the hold
ing of Parish Convention, and to
call upon the Republicans of the diff
ferent wards to elect delegates to the
same. OF course the Parish Conven-
ton would elect the delegation to the
State Convention, and also select
Parish Executive Committee to serve
during the coming campaign. Thus
it viii be seen that the party organi-
cation would spring direct from the
people, and that the editor of the
LEADER again exposed to the accusa-
ton of being ignorant or unreasonable,
inasmueh as he has been either talk
ing of something he did not under
stand or dcnouncing a just and fair
measure for the mere purpose of at
tempting to divide the Republican
party and swell the little band of NAL
contents of which he is a noisy, but
his companions say not influential,
member.
Much as we are at loss to find per-
tlnent argument in the body of the
article of our contemporary, we are
still more puzzled to discover the APP
plication of the title he has given it:
F" Consistency, thou art a jewel" If
it is intended to refer to ourselves, we
will show that even if the proposed
method for organizing q temporary
Parish Convention had been our sug-
gestion, in giving it support we would
be acting in perfect consistence with
our past record. While we were edi-
tor of the St. James Sentinel last year.
q temporary Parish Executive Com
mlttee was appointed for st. James
by the State Central Committs. S. E.
Packard, chairman, and though the
assumption of power by the State
Committee was greater than it would |
be IN the case of appointment of por-
ton OF Committee by its president
acting, too, by authority of Parish
convention-and notwithstanding the |
aetion of the State Committee was
bitterly denounced by a large portion
IT the journals of the State, still we
defended that action, editorially and
n the July Press Convention, because
re knew the Committee appointed
vas endowed with no power to usurp
he rights of the people, but selected
merely to prescribe time and mode
It procuring an expression of the pop
liar will. Thus, we have been per-
eetiy consistent, and must draw the
that the article of our con-
and its title either possess
FlSdom and meaning havanf1 tha noru