The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-04-26

representation, but from the right of repre-
! sentatives.
To justify this enormous usurpation. TIE
declared the Southern States needed recon
struction. As this idea was wholly unknown
to the Constitution, they boldly put them
selves outside of the Constitution they hat
sworn to observe. To make the work Of re
construction effective they resolved that i
belonged exclusively to Congress-the legis
lative department-and that the executive
department could not and should not parti
cipate, except to furnish the military to ai(
in holding the victims still while the pun.
ishment was being inflicted. To proven,
any embarrassing review OF their measure,
they further resolved that all questions
arising under reconstruction We're political
and not judicial, and that, therefore, the
courts could not and should not pass upon
their constitntionality. Thus fortified in
their usnrpations, and g"aded by ran
coruus. blind, long -nurtured hate, they
commenced the work of diSsolving gov
ernments, destroying States, robbing, in
suting and depressing already impoverished
and helpless peoples, and humiliatng the
white race, They entered each Southern
State and declared all existing governments
to be illegal. They ontawed and set aside
all existing sonstituencies-thec constituent
cies which originated State Governments,
and participated in forming the Federal
Government. They created new constituent
cies, composed chiefly of ignorant negroes.
They offered to include in these new con
stituencies such of the resident whites as
would consent that the usurpations were
legal, and these punishments were inst and
it must ever be a sad recital, for all time,
that some Of our people were willing to bar
ter their section, State, race and blood, for
4
struction, degradation and infamy. The
future historian will weep bitter tears when
he finds himself compelled to record this
darkest exhibition of human treachery and
depravty and he will close up the chapter
AS. with nervous energy, he shall write the
whitening judgement OF all decent humanity
for all future ages. Cused, thrice cursed for
ever, be the memories of such unnatural
among men.
These motley constituencies of ignorance
and vice, having no conception but in bate;
no birth but in strife; no nursing but in
and no strength but in crime
and trcachery, were placed, in each State,
under the appropriate lead of adventurous
bankrupt III fortunes and hun
cry for the spoil of their victims; paupers
from birth in every sentiment of honor
and enjoying with keen relish the hunllia-
the government under which we have been
lying. Ignorant negroes have been made
masters proud, educated masters made
slaves. Robbers have been made rulers
thieves have been made detectives, all pro-
tected by Federal power, while humble
submission to the remorseless demands of
his insatiate wickedness has been made
he only test of loyalty and devotion to
hat Union which our fathers helped to
orm in order to secure the blessings of
liberty to them and their posterity!
Many of the effects of this policy of re-
construction the future historian will have
10 difficulty in discovering.
The millions Of taxes we have had to pay
o feed these vampires upon our substance,
md sickening cye-sOres to our pride and
honor; the millions of debt piled mp for our
,osterity to pay in bonds issued by the
licensed gamblers upon the property, liber-
", life and hope of the people of these
states; the msccgenating orgies of loyal
legislators, and reckless plundering of
Governors the readiness with
which good citizens were arrested without
warrant, tried without law, convicted with
mt evidence, and hurried off to foreign
PRISONS without mercy, only because they
we're suspected of having too much man
rood to bear their wrongs with rnmurmur-
ng submission; how our lands We're depre-
lated, our society demoralized. and all orr |
most intelligent and virtuOus citizens were |
enied all right to provide remedies. These |
nd many more of like character the future |
historian will easily see, and must see, |
hough every glance create nausea. But |
here are other facts and incidents, not so |
atent to the world, and not on record,
which may be found i'll every neighborhOod.
nd which we ought to gather up rs far as
We can. Rich men have been made poor;
roud men have been made humble; noble
,omen have been insnlted; innoce II men
ave been imprisoned; many, very
lany, have been too weak to bear
heir sorrOws and the sorr" Us of
heir country, and kind de. i has
ronght them IA refuge from grief. nd yet
he authors of all these wrongs boa { the
rcat magnanimity and generosi,, they
ave exhibited to IA fallen foe They did
OF hang and exile our leaders, nor contis-
ate our property. What conqueror was
yer before SO manly and liberal, But they
lade slaves of masters and masters of slaves;
wv makers of vagabOnds ; rulers of stran
ers and tazgatherers OF robbers. They
ecline to take life, only that they might
AXE life "A lingering death. They did not
rive us from home, only that they might
AXE home the abode of sorrow and poverty.
hey failed t" contiscate our property by the
snal act of government that it might re-
ain to be taken by negroes, thieves and
rangers as their own lawful spoil! Death,
,ile, contiscation would end the punishment
10 soon. Such vel geance craved longer I
vel and slower torture. And if we, who I
I'VE been the witnesses to these horrors,
I'd the victims Of these wrongs, will only
lther up and reserve the nnwritten out
GEES and unrecorded griefs Of the last seven
,ars, all posterty will, with one voice, de- I
are that the punshments inflicted by our
lversares upon the Southern States and
,ople under the name of reconstruction for
Effectiveness of hate; for meanness of OPP
ession : for cool, prolonged relish of tor {
re, and tor ins..tiate extravaganza of t
under are without parallel in precedent, {
vilZed or heather, /
Our Enemies Wicked.
1t must be admitted that our enemies were 6
sely wicked. They well knew it would q
ver do to admit Southern intellect into |
e national councils, until their work was a
lily completed and made part of the funda- t
entail law. Even when reconstruction had |