New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-10-25
POLITICS AND RAILROADS
SPEECH OF COLONEL WILLIAMSON

Colonel George Williamson, of Shreve
port, was announced to deliver an address
at the Lyceum Hall last evening on ma
tiOnal and State political issues and the
railroad interests of the State. Though tile
notice given of the meeting was very bribi
quite q respectable audience assembled
comprising many leading men of the city OF
all shades of political opinions.
Judge j. B. Cotton presided, and, in inF
PRODUCING the speaker, said he felt certain
Colonel Williamson would be abIe to point
out some conrse which, if pursued, would
give the State relief sron its present condiE
tion OF poli5ica! and financial embayrassI
mens.
Colonel Williasnson explained Che purpose
Of his address as being 70 set forth, as calm
lE aud as dispassionateiy as he was able,
the grave issues involved liz the present
| give such information as he had been able
J 20 obtain this summer seIatiye TO the grand
! railroad system o. which New Orleans
must ultimately become the centre.
Declaring openly his preference for Gen
! erai Grant over BIZ. Greeley, the speaker
| defended himself from sbe accusations
which he said had been brought against
! him by che press oE the South, and espe-
| Gially sle press of his own section in this
regard. There were but two candidates il
the ield-sor Mr.. G'Conor he did not CON
slider q candidate-an6 both were Gepub-
licanS, Mr.. Greeley says he is no less d
Republican because he 10 q candidate of
the Democracy, and there can be no ques-
tioD that Che orheg candidate is still
Republican, The platforms on which
both men stand are Republican. The Phila
delpnia platform is confessedly So The
Cincinnati platform was adopted by peg
sons calling themseives Liberal Repub-
iicans. who claimed that it contained the
very embodiment OF Republican principles,
and who seduously refused to allow any
One but Republicans 20 take part in their
coQventiono The at;herents Of this plat,
formo who a? Hrs: might have been
counted by thousands or hundreds of thou-
sands had dwindleG since the October elec-
tions TO four OK i've o. thousand, and now.
perhaps, scarcely numbered four OF five
hundred outside Of the Democratic party
or Che so-calle6 Democratic party o! the
United States. who were willing 90 cast
their votes for a Republican candidate 0a a
Republican platform.
C5SC!SSAT5 A:AiTaEi.
Referring to the NODE 5n which the Gin.
cinnati convention was called, Colonel vii.
hanson characterized :: az scif-e!ecteG
convention, representing no one county.
parish, city or State III the Jniono ae fur
the: designated i as strictly Republican
convention. ] press this on your attention.
he said. because il is my purpose 30 show
that the sccalled Democratic party of che
United States is :enVb.icaDized, ana tina.
the so-called Democratic party Of the State
OF Louisiana is mere cepu,Iicanized than
the Democratic party Of any either portion
of the Union. iAPpIause.;
Taking up the three leading principles Of
the Cincinnati movement. universal amnez-
ty. local self-g0ve:nG!out and civil service
reform. the speaker contendeG that the very
adoption of the c"y o: uaiyeGsa! amnesty iay
the LibeTa. Republicans grew out 81 Size
fact that few Senators whose Serms o.
office are about 30 exgir", and who lived in
States where tie Democracy was gaining
ground upoD them. found il necessary to I
make some quarrel witt. the administration.
and knowing that the tendency OF the
public mind il the NoltL was il favor
of a generous policy to the South
knowing it was the prevailing 0piniOn !
OF
only an act Of magnaniElitE, but an act of |
absolute necessity that the South should be |
cOnculated and its waste place filled up. !
These men had avaiI9G themselves Of this !
sentiment il their own party for the pur- I
pose OF attempting to- ride into power IN !.
their own States at the expense OF The
great head and chief of the Republican !!
party, which they sought 10 betray. This !
was the true solution Of what was called
the Liberal Republican movement.
Continuing the history OF the movement |
he showed how the nomination of Mr.. Gree
ley, brought about by the tricks of politi-
clans, first brought dissension into the
ranks, and how this dissatisfaction was in-
creased by the result OF the Endorsement at
and still further by the result of
the elections in ermont and Name, till it
eliminated in the virtual overthrow of the
party by the victories in Pennsylvania
Ohio and Nebraska. How many Liberal
Republicans were there now in Louisiana
Was there one
But while liberal amnesty was advocated
by nearly all men at the North They were
to trust this movement to Mr..
Greeley, and still less to the Democratic
party. Can anybody blame them +? (he
asked). Would we be willing, if we were
at the North and had achieved the great
triumphs which Repubiicanism claims to
have achieved, to turn over the greatest of
those triumphs-one Of which will be the
reconciliation of the two sections-to the
opposing faction2 Certainly not They
propose to carry out this policy of concilia-
ion through the agency Of their own party,
and not through the agency of Mr.. Greeley
1r anybody else outside Of their own party.
believe universal amnesty will be pro-
claimed, not this year and not next year.
out at the centennial celebration of
he independence of our country
Il 1876. l believe the Republican
party is determined there shall not be one
nan in America labOring under political
disability. [ApplauseI
Touching upon the records of the leaders
If the Liberal Republican party, Senators
)thers, the speaker showed that they had |
# policy of amnesty. The third point of
he platfOrm-civil service reform-he CON
idered could be better carried out under |
he present system Of competitive examina
ion than under Mr. Greeley s one term prin-
.ple; and as for local seIt-g0vernment there
vas not a man in the United States. who | ,
vas not crazy, who did not believe in that.
GREELEY AND THE SOUTH. J