The daily gazette., 1874-09-16
From the N. Y. World of yesterday.
The Circle of Fire.

TTOui Tue ~. L . w OTiu VI ytStoTuays
The Circle Of Fire.
The pitch of desperation to which the
oppression and misgovernment of the
Kellogg usurpation have brought the
people of Louisiana is well illustrated
by the outbreak in New Orleans which
the telegraph chronicles this morning.
| The news thus far received leaves us
i'll doubt what the character and extent
Of the convulsion may be. But Louisi-
| ana is not alone in her wretchedncss.
The pathetic appeal of the people
Of Louisiana to the people of the
Union "a forlornly hopeless attempt
to get Philip sober enough to redress
the crimes done by Phillip drunk-is
| only paraleled by the mute wretched-
ness of the attitude of South Caro'ina.
whose case is even worse than that of
Louisiana. The Louisiana Committee
had described with the simplicity of
despair the circle of fire cast about
their State, and through which they
have been trying TO break for two
years. What can they do? Whittier
| must they turn for relief "1'hc Su-
preme Court found itself without pow
| er to remedy the wrongs perpetrated
by the Federal District Judge of Loui-
siana. The Executive RENTED them
| to Congress as the proper tribunal
| can in both braucl es, while recognizing
| the wrongs complained of, signalized it
self by mastcrly inactivity, the real
| purpose of which was to leave the kel-
| logg usurpation III power. The only
means left to Louisiana to redeem her
SELF from this usurpation is by partici-
pating in an election held under the
very auspices of the usurper himself
armed with special enactments of his
l I ,lntt % Ia
| tention in power, and with other and
appropriate acts to be signed and pro-
mulgated 10y himself according to cir
| cumstances.
How can the people of Louisiana get
ont of the line of this ever narrow ing
battue in which they are driven t. lie
| struction The Court which eg.timi4-
ed the usurpation; the Executive W ich
seated the usurper with force of arms
sends bayonets to assist him in perprt-
uating his bad eirinence; the Congress,
which acknowledged the wrong impo-
| tantly declined to redress it. What oth-
er recourse is there5
| Turn to South Carolina. She does not
appeal any more, not eveh to Phi'ip
drunk, since her petitioners were kicked
| ont of the White House with insult and
| cuntumely, while John J. Patterson stood
listening ON the back Stairs, grinning and
nodding approval. Yet her case is worse
than Luuisian's. She has an election law
so contrved that it is not only impossi-
sible for the outs to oust the "ins :"
but also impossible to prove fraud or fix
responsibility under it; II law under
which the canf dates themselves are not
only judges of election. but are not re-
qu' ed to make any but general return
certifying that A. b. and c had so many
votes for such and such offices, without
needing to produce any tale of ballots
tany evidence of poll-books. and the h,
Under this law the officers elected are
!univcrsany from the non -taxpay ing por.
tion of the community, from the ignorant
and brutal, from the adventurers and
masterless men, who. so far from having
the real interest of the State at heart
are only Interested i'll impoycrishing the
entire community and rendering all prop.
:, erty rights impossible This is the case
not only with regard TO the State officers
members of Cons .'css and Legislature. II
is the ease also with the county and town
officers.
The party in power keep the ignorant
and brutaltZed majority ON their side and
in n state of irritated host lity to the tax
payers, by advocating the most infamou.
: sort of incendiarism and as .arianism
l Chamberlain told the Chester mob he wa.
I very glad to see them; the time had beer
when they could not have been there I,
hear his address. for they wold have bcel
!, over yonder in the field, with the lasl
| | over their backs. Before that meetin,
ended, it was broken up in riot and blood
shed. A mes 20 member of Cong .ess. sneer
I ing in Joint discussion at the white man
: profession of friendship for the negro
: | said pointing to his own mulato cheek
"a am an illustration of the only loy
they had for the colored race the It'd
"bits of sexual intercourse" and added
"Nou used to be lashed, you used to b
i sold, and your wives and daughters
4 used to be outraged" And then anothe
riot followed. Crews and others toll tn
G blacks that all the property in the Stat
4 belonged to them, they had n right I
= take us much of it as they pleased, and
, if the the white people did not behav
II themselves, they must burn their house
e and kill them. Right upon top of thi
h Crews and his son. by authority of tn
Governor. called out $40 colored m;liti
: and armed them with Winchester riff.
n and all-cartridges: whereupon the Laul
l. ensburg riots ensued immediately.
o How did the taxpayers fare enei
" in this terrible circle of fire Tn
" assessed value of property in 1860 WI
= SiS9, ,319, ,12S there were $l3, 213, OK
banking capital 2,21S, 22S coin en-
~ rency circulation. Sll, al ,210; the Stat
II debt was 5000. 900 the State tax,
n were S635. 525, and the town and count
m taxes scarcely anything. In 1870 tn
ly assessed value of property was $1S3
9l3 231 the bank capital 81, ,S95, 46Q