New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-01-05
The Address of the Louisiana Committee.

am one of the people of the United States
and therefore wish to make a running CON
ment on the address Of the Louisiana com
mittee. The first signer ef the address
and the most important man on the com
mittee, is Judge Campbell, formerly of tn,
United States Supreme Court who is evi
IDENTIFY the author of the address. There il
no man who was ever on the bench of tht
| Supreme Court to whom | would not lister
with the most profound respect.
| have sort of instructive reverence fol
the Supreme Court of the United States
and however all my principles and all my
feelings may be in opposition to any of its
| proceedings, l, nevertheless, regard them
| with respectful attention. But / can not
forget that Judge Campbell resigned his
| place on the Supreme bench, and went into
| the rebellion, and was one of the chief ad.
| viSers and assistants of the treason which
| reigned at Richmond under the name of a
| Confederate government. What has that
| to do with this address 1t has a great
deal to dowith it, Judge Campbell is at
the head of this business, and I want to
show what his antecedents and motives
are. Now for the address" | have read
| it carefully and the first thing that strikes me
are two conspicuous omissions. If you have
ever noticed the conduct of men on trial,
you must have noticed that from the horse
thief to the Prime Minister of England,
they are always careful to omit something
material to the case. Well that is the case
with this Louisiana address. An locking it
over, | find that from first to last they
never state what is their motive in coming
to Washington, or addressing the people
or why they are not just as well eff as they
would have oeen under any other circum-
stances. True, they say that the United
States judge made an unparalleled decision,
and that they are seeking the right of self
government; but since this decision of the
United States court is subject to an appeal,
and the judge subject to impeachment, and
since the right of self lf-gOvernment" re-
sides i'll the ma jority of the people, they
have not condescended to inform us whether
they have taken such an appeal, or whether
the majority have not prevailed. In one
word, they have carefully concealed from
Us what their real motives are. In the next
place, they have carefully omitted any
statement of what they are at Washington
for. They say they found great "misap-
prehension," and therefore they address
the people! 1t seems to me that an ex-
judge of the Supreme Court of the United
States ought to know enough OF the consti-
tuition and laws to know that the people, in
their general capacity, have no legal power
to reverse the decisions of United States
court or to control the President in his
official station. What, then, do they ask
In fact, they were at Washington to induce
President Grant to change his mind. which
he declines to do. The truth is that Judge
Campbell and his committee are playing
the part of Hamlet with Hamlet left out!
That is all. Now, l propose to give
you mere glance at tue real Han
let Three days ago the Augusta ConSt
tittiOnalist copied from the New Orleans
Times a double loaded article which gave ID
list of the candidates supposed to be elected
(by the Kellogg board), and great pains
vas taken to show that q large part OF them
were "negroes"-and Ignorant negroes
and that large part OF the Legislature
were also cOlored men. The purpose Of
this article could not be mistaken. 1t was
to excite the whites against the election of
eOlOred men. Now, ! readily admit that it
can not De very pleas ant to have a majority
of negroes elected, at least to those who
have always looked upon them as a sort of
balloons from which by natural selection"
according to Darwin) the whites have been
thing not very pleasant to some of us land as
that was the origin of this state OF
things, beg leave to mention), |
and that was when the Louisiana |
Tigers" and other like gentlemen were blaz- |
ing away at the United States trooI s! But for |
that no negroes would have been elected |
to the Louisiana Legislature, and this little |
dNOIucu DuU llo CUlOTbU
race are the majority there. Here you see |
Hamlet appears on the stage He is the gen.
tleman who wants to nullity the fourteenth |
and fifteenth amendments to the constitu-
Jon, and abolish the negro if he can. So |
much for the motive of this affair. which is
simply that the majority Of the people |
should not prevail. Now for the law of this
matter. Judge Campbell says that the
United States court has usurped authority;
hot Eoe Iol |
that it has undertaken to make govern
nent for Louisiana against the will of the !
seople; and TO all this the New Orleans /
Times adds ghat the United States Judge |
3 no better than he should be, and was
seen reeling through store, etc. l want
20 put the case in the strongest possible
point of view, so that Judge Campbell and
lis New Orleans committee of worthless
,hall have the benefit of it, Suppose that
very word of this is true, what is the
The ex,judge of the Supreme
Court does not tell the President OF the
United States, or tho people of the United
'tates, what right they have to interfere, |
,r what he would have them TO do. He
Gems to ask the people two things-tirst,
o believe that the United States Gourt and
President have usurped authority; and,
econdly, that the negroes, who are the ma
0rity, ought not to have power. As one of
0 do either. The President has not u urped
ne particle Of authority, and the negroes !
r6 Untitled to az the fourteenth and fl
eenth amendments to the constitution give
hem.
l will begin with the second prop ositon.
udge Campbell. in nis interview with the
eporter Of the New York Herald has dis
losed his view OF the negro question. He
links the cOlOred man an inferior being, |
7ho can not be raised up, and hence he
links that an election which puts colored
1en in office is a dreadful affair. Hi1c lilac
means this is the cause OF
IL tears,
Now for the constitutional pals of the
natter. Itis grave question, whether the
United States Court for Louisiana had any
lrisdiclion of those election matters or not.
" first impression would be that it had |
OF. Let us suppose that it had none at all.
Yhat.is the remedy2 Certainly rot by op-
osing force to it. Certainly not by the
tate authorities interfering with and op-
osirg it. Certainly not by the President
f the United States twho is only an execu-
i've Offcerl disregarding or refusing TO exc
ute tt DEGREES. On the contrary, the duty
the PresidSnt was as plain as daylight,
nd he Gid il. The marshal is the executive |
ficer of the court, and if he has not force
nough to execute its DEGREES, the President
bound to aid hun, even to the extent of
le military power of the country. The
resident, therefore, has simply done his
utY. Since made this statement l have
sen the speech of Alexander II. Stephens,
lade at Atlanta two days since to the De
locracy of Georgia, and am glad to find
lat on the constitutional question he takes
le same ground that do. He says that
ON the conversation between Campbell
nd tse President, it SCENE tbat the Presi
cut 0nl ~ided Wit the jrlicial authority,
I'd, # / ID, ,s,- igLt. Some one
Iay say. ~ 20 go judge was. all wrong, |
nd by Eat r-.e. i49 decided the