New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-10-02
senator Pinchback's speech ut Ills
re C~yiisr IN New Orleans
sjdeat, L4Iirs uni Gcnflemrn :

NHtu vas taken up, poor anu UNKNOWN
and made & delegate from the fourth war,
Of this city to the Constitutional Convention
was proud; when aflerwarl received the
additional honor of Senator from that ward
| was rrouder. When | was selected Il
succeed Hon. Oscar i. Dunn | was still
proudcr. When the people, by popular
vote, elected me their representative TO Con.
gress, was again prouder. When the rep
reseutatiyes of the people in the General
Assembly Of this state, against all the power
OF those who were not the people, but who
claimed TO be their masters, became, in
deed, proud. When met in New York the
representatives of our people and they ten
dered ME reception my heart overlooked.
But when the lightning over the telegraph
wires announced that the people were IRE
I .)arIng to give me reception here, which has
consummated in this grand demonstration.
it would take more than all the sum of those
/ feelings thus engendered To equal the pride
/ Of this moment
/ l am rot proud simply because ti..- is &
reception rendered to me. 1t is bccals, il
Is to one of the people deemed to De their
repres tentative; and there is another rrati.y-
I in thing: the money for this RECEPTION does
not come out OF the public purse it was given
cut OF private pockets, and say that this is
a -ebuke "A dreadful rcbuSe-to those dem
! aToGues who have been endeavoring to stab
me IN the back during my absence | think
now OF what | endured for two years, when
| pursued course which seemed TO me to be
best for the people. and chose to persist in
It TOR that reason. To-day the declaration of
Blanchard proves that was right and sus-
tains me. 1t shows that I knew whereof
speak. The pertidy is now laid bare to the
world. L say now that the several stages of
the past election are so many examples of
Divine power. appeal to the members of
the press if did not denouncc this perfidy
long ago. told these gentlemen they would
be beaten. They said: "Why, we can't.
We've got Warmoth." | said: 81 don't
know how, but you will be. God will not
suffer such perfidy to succeed | AM re-
Jolced to see these organs OF the oldest and
best throwing up their hands in horror at the
discovery of these frauds. OF course they
didn't know anything about them. People
never do know anything about undiscovered
frauds when they are for their own adyan-
tage. have Travelled good deal over this
country, and if all the political rascality of
other States was piled up it wouldn't equal
what was done right down here, and in the
interest of these pretended reformers.
When l landed in New York / heard
great deal of doubt about my being seated in
the Senate. No doubt was expressed but
what Kellogg would be sustained But they
doubted my being seated. There was doubt
of the legality Of the Legislature. Now,
while am dependent on the Republicans in
the Senate for my seat-because they consti-
tutc ma jority-I wish it distinctly under
stood that l don't base my claim to Il seat on
any party ground or as a matter of favor.
The Constitution says the United States
Senate shall be composed Of two Senators
from each state, elected by the Legislatures
OF those States. The Legislature of Lou
lslana elected me to my seat exactly at the
time and in the manner prescribed by laws
passed in pursuance of this Article Of the
Constitution.
| | want no scat as ward of the Republican
| party. ] want to 90 there as a Representa-
tive Of Louisiana. If / cannot 60 in that
capacity do not wish to go at ALL 1t has
been my ambition star Of my hOpe-but
| do not want it as n favor, but as a right
| What do the white people want more than
can do for them. | represent, egotistical as
| the assertion may seem, q larger constituency
| than any one they can select. | NAV say
am the political head centre of 800, 900 votes
| What better than that can any other man
offer them in the way of useful influence: 1t
seems to me that if the white people excrted
their common sense they would rather have
me than take the chances of getting a much
worse and less influential man.
! | want to say few words about the uni
ficatlon movement. They had a meeting,
and they passed very fine resolutions. There
was to be an equal division and an absolute
equal rights before the law. CO'orcd men to
be given lor give half Of the offices, fax
representation made, the hotels, steamboats,
! and bar-rOOms to he thrown open, etc. Now.
| / am in 70" that contract, and IN take the
| half Of the representation IN the United
states Senate right now. Bat | will say to
the whole people, You must stand the pres
ent government for four years, and if YOU
treat us right during that time. why then we
will give you half the Offices; if not. YOU may
have to stay out in the cold four years longer.
And now, as shall not hHve another OPP
| pOrtunity, will say Il few words 20 the white
people, and particularly to the representa-
t tIves OF the press. You lave made 4 great
deal OF argument about Carpct-bag and igGO-
| rant negro government, vet il is q thing sou
have organized through your own fault
/ When the constitutional convention was or
dered you considered it a farce, and in the
country parishes you took pains to select the
most ignorant representatives, and you hoped
! by that means to make il such farce that i
would not stand Men were sent who could
not read or write, and did not know their \
| Il C'.. The consequence was yOu made every
| one of them think himself a statesman. And
when one Of them, John Jones for example,
after being down here and doing his duty as
best he knew, went back 10 the country and
told how well he had done, that he made all
| these laws, etc., why every John Jones
thought himselfa legislator. Hence the col
ored people have to fight this very ignorance
that your folly has foisted on them. 1t is not,
perhaps, fair to fire another shot al man
when he is down, but / am afraid If don't
you will get up and hit me. One year ago
there was an excellent opportunity to break
down the barriers between the classes.
remember we'll when | went to the Academy
Of Music to sec the Liberal convention.
said to them: II recognize in you the wealth,
liberality, and intelligence of the white peo-
pie. l desire to meet you half way. | am
willing TO make a political martyr Of myself
and to endure all the odum my cause Will
bring upon me. Make your ticket as black
as the other one nominated al Baton Rouge.
For every colored candidate they have, put
up one Of your own for the same office"
named specifically the offices a. the Republi-
cans had nominated. But they said ~ me,
"W hat shall we do with Warmoth ?'' Why,
| wa, rather for WarDOth then, and did not
like 10 tell them TO throw him overheard.
kept telling them to please the colored
people.
Did they do il? No. They nominated a
white ticket, ami put on it only our poor old
. -hp Iau