The Opelousas courier., 1874-07-18
IN. 0. Picayune.]


! The most insolent of all the pretences OF
the Radical damagogucs of this State is that
Which prates of the wrongs and expressions
of the colored people, which represents their
political and social status as that OF a pros
cribed people, who require special care aud
intervention of Government in their behalf
The Republican keeps up this ridiculous and
insulting cry in the face of facts of such a
character as may we'll astonish the civilized
world, by the audacity they expose on the one
side, and the submissiyeness they betray on
the other.
Here is large commercial city of 100000
white people, and q State of 400, ,0O0 whose
Governments are absolutely under the con
troll of this oppressed and prosecuted people
governments in which the principal and most
lucrative offices are held by negroes who a
few years ago were porters BARRIERS, walters
and vidangeurs, and who have obtained these
offices by 10 acts or proofs of mental or moral
qualifications, but solely because they are ne
groes. The second officer in the Executive of
, the State Government is a little dandy of I'M
adulterated African blood and race. The Sc
cretary of the State and the Treasurer are also
OF the same race. A majority Of the Lc2is-
lature are of like or even inferior class.
mostly plantation negroes, who atfix their
marks to the receipts for their warrants for
their per diem.
The whole armed and uniformed militia of
the city and State, commanded by full-bloeded
Africans, are OF the same race. There is not
q tull organized company of white volunteers
or militia in the whole State. On military
anniversaries our streets are crowded with
these burlesque limitations of the 'armedeyco-
many Of the nation. They. with the Ne
tropolitan Police, organized into a Radical
Pretorian band, to execute the mandates of
the Radical party. possess and control the
arsenal and all the munitions of war Besides
these special privileges Allowed to this perse
cnted race, they have others equally extraor-
dinary. Whilst in all their social relations
i'll their religious societies, political clubs, etc
they maintain q rigid exclusiveness they
have managed toiuvoke the aid of special and
severe penal laws violatiye Of the natural
and political rights of white men to choose
their own companions to regulate their own
property and conduct their own OCCUPATIONS
Whilst a white man who would appear i'll any
OF their clubs or churches would be imme-
diately elected as an intruder, we have laws
and judges who give them judgments of a
thousand and five hundred dollars for declin-
ing to sell them glass of soda water or a
seat IL the dress circle of a theatre. And this
is the prosecuted race! Negroes unfit by ma
ture, and by an ignorance of the simplest ru-
diments of knowledge grow fat and rich in
offices to which white men, with like incapa-
cities, would never dare to aspire. Instead OF
oppression, these are the proofs of domina-
tion asserted by the negroes through race
conspiracy, and encouraged and aided by a
class of base white renegades, from motives
of greed and avarice. To overthrow this dom
iuation, to relieve the white people of this op-
preston IF Ignorance, brutality, vice and semi
barbarism, to give the political and legis-
lative power of the State to men of intell-
gence, virtue, honesty and capacity, should
be the sole object of the political organization
which alone can save this State from the Afri-
canization and Barberization with which it is
lnenaced.