New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-25
BULLYING AHD BEGGING,

the other. It enacts what the common
law entities the sturdy beggar." Unde
the heading 1.-THE Duty of the Fedora
Government to Maintain the Levees," i
employs the following dictatorial reason
ing:
l. The government will sell its lands il
the Mississippi territory, and encourage
settlement" thereon, thus increasing the
volume of water from drainage of these
open lands.
2. There should be a tythe of the sum
expended to suppress the political rebel
lion" applied to suppress 'this rebellion
of the waters. A small portion of the
material loss of the people from the ami
hilation Of their slave property would be
equally effective"
8. There rests upon the nation s'moral
obligation" and "duty" to repair the con-
sequences of the war, and to extend their
help 'to those Of the people upon whom
these losses have chiefly fallen"
AS sincere advocates of federal aid, and
with undoubted confidence in the requisite
authority, we protest against having the
question presented on any such equity
as that alleged by the Fusion organ.
1t would be unreasonable to expect that
| section of the Union which enforced its
construction of the constitution by the re-
suits of war waged for that purpose
alone, to admit any responsibility for the
consequences Of that war, except for just
treatment of the vanquished. Such
concession as is implied in this argument
can not be expected and should be dis
missed. The reparation of losses occa-
stoned "the people by the humiliation of
their property in slaves, resolves itself
into the just argument for indemnity.
1t is, however, subject to the further OBJ
lection that great many of the people |
who waged the war on the winning
side do not admit, and never did |
admit, that there was any property"
in slaves. While it is not reason
ably to be expected that those who
majority of the voters of Lou
isiana or the colored voters anywhere else,
would vote for measure of relief upon
the basis of any such s.moral obligation"
The concession of this principle by Con-
gress would open the question proposed
by Mr.. Hunter of indemnifying the slave
owners, and this, so far from being
with any justice limited to the lowlands
Of Louisiana, should be applied equally
throughout the Southern States. Under
his principle of special indemnity, as we
nave explained, while the Southern man
Who had lost q slave would recover a
thousand dollars, another Southern man
Who had lost an arm in the same cause
would get nothing at all. The terms of |
his demand on the federal government ]
re, therefore, truculent, offensive and un- I
quail. ,
There are reasons, however, far more ,
orcible, which may be urged without any ,
ectional objection, without reviving old ,
uestions and without awakening old :
uarrels. The valley of the Mississippi
reduces more than million of bales of :
otton. 1t is capable of producing just 9
en- times as much, and the State of Lou
llama may be so protected and cultivated .
) to turn out annually million hogs
eads of sugar.
These products, in the first place, add
} the clothing and comfort of the whole
merican people who wear cotton and use
lgar. In the second place these staples .
e worth specie in the worlds markets. .
he cotton will employ the mills of Mass :,
husetts, and when exported, either raw :,
wrought, will protect the national :,
edit and tend to parity the national =.
lrrency. 1t will also freight the COM -;
ercial marine of the country, and its .,
oduce will create specie currency. ~
These productions of cotton and sugar -
II give the Changers an increased mar -.
for corn, bacon and mules, while Gin w w
matt and ST. Louis can sell more steam q,
gines, plows and whisky. The inter- -
and foreign freights of the country by -,
er, rail and ocean steamers will furnish -
mestics for our common carriers, while =
improved exchange of the products 49,
u import more foreign goods and pay ~
re federal revenue. The enlarged pro- ~,
ction of sugar will keep at home specie 81,
" exported to the amount of more than -,
enty millions annually, which has the on
'ct of increasing the balance of trade A.,
inst US, perpetuating slave labor in ovo
npetition with free labor and postpon- th~
the resumption Of specie currency. tbl
here are many other incidental adj no,
tages in which the whole Union will ~,
ticipate, but which we will not recite
detail. Enough has been stated to
W why it is extremely unwise to re-
ach the federal government with having gar
troyed private property without due in lisl
unity, and imperatiyely reminding it lea
the ''moral obligations" and "duty" to ma
air the damage it has so wantonly in
ed We apprehend that if the pre-. the
Die for bill to repair and maintain 1t i
levees of Louisiana should premise, adv
IN consideration of wrong done and sew
Try inflicted upon q portion of the dut
es and people, who resisted the gov diff
nent of the United States in the late tor
war, the government would atone tho
the wrong and indemnify this injury Or s