Richland beacon., 1873-03-29
Communicated.
ALro, La, March oath, 1873.

las nTeECDteu from luSethg Inc ptO-
pic of Richlsnd in Mass Meeting on
lest Saturday. Rest assured, Dea'
Beacon, was sadly disappointed At .
not having the pleasure Of being on .
hand. And would have been had it /
not been for sickness in my family
Yes, gladly would have met my fel- |
low-citizcns and heard an expression
Of their opinions on the political CON
test that has been fastened upon US
by those that ought 10 have been too
dgnifed to stoop and lower them
seivesin the political cesspool of par
tisan corruption. But alas it seems
that in this day and time political
corruption creeps as thief in the
night into the most exalted Offices of
our land.
Being dcbarFed from the privilege
Of meeting YOU in Mass Meeting |
shall take the liberty Of giving you
NV ideas through the BEACON. /
lave yet to know whether the con-
sttuPncy that elected me to represent
them in the Legislature endorsed ny
course or not. feel to hope they
did, as / know that I acted con-
scientiously upon principles Of right.
Bat, feiiow-citizens, we iBd that We
Dust deal with the future We have
aquestion of momentous weight
che which involves the interest Of the
whole people Of Louisiana, yea not
only the people of Louisiana! this
question is of vital interest to the
whole people of this commonwealth
as a precedent in the future. And
when | look at it from this stand
point my conviction of duty is plain
to me and with conviction of duty
impressed upon me, shall act upon
them believing that success will yet
be ours. And will here give You
my idea Of the duty Of every man
that desires TO see free government
established and sustained in the once
proud State of Louisiana. Let us
each and every man that is favorable
to republican form of government
resolve to stand. firm in the support Of
the government elected by the people
Let Us resist every effort Of the
usurners to fasten themselves upon
us. And withhold from them the
means of support. Keep back your
taxes from the Kellogg government,
and if paid at all pay to the McEncry
government and thus hold up its arms.
Gentlemen may ask me what are my
reasons for hoping for success l
will briefly give them: First, it is a
known fact that Pinchback organized
his bogus government not by law and
according to the constitutional mode
but by the force of the bayonet and
regardless of all law Evidence, the
decision of the Senate committee, the
action of Congress in not seating
Mr.. Ray as L. S. Senator. Further,
as the present bogus Legislature Of
Kellogg is only an offspring Of the
Pinchback concern. They see that
he, Pinch back, self elected as be was,
is left on, in the cold. And the con-
test that many would tell you is at
an end, is virtually the same as il
was on the ninth day Of last Dec.
With these exceptions. We have
!ucceeded in making up a case. We
have forced the opinion upon the
Press of the North that we are the
DE jure" government. We have the
opinion of the Senate committee, CON-
posed Of the most eminent lawyers of
the United States that we are the
legal government. We are told by
Mr.. Morton in his minority report that
If this contest lasted that Kellogg
could not collect taxes. And hence
his car Of corruption must stop its
onward progress on this broad rail-
way of eternal destruction by with
drawing from it fuel SO necessary to
keep it moving. And now fellow
citizens of Richland, with all these
facts staring us in the face. Shall We
ignobly withdraw from the contest |!
Shall we humbly submit and bow
down our head that the yoke of op-
preston may he laid thereon! Cross
our hands that they be manacled
with the chains Of slavery. If there
yet runs in your veins the pure blood
Of your forefathers methinks hear
one common answer coming up from
the whole people, Never! Never!l
Then fellow-citizens if this be your
response let Us make it known to the
would be rulers and task masters of