Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1874-11-28

in care very l.;iie-i am RESPONSE
bic - my chnlrh f,r every word ! say
in regard 10 the moral order-hut NY
responsibility 10 her goes 10 further.
Men by reasoning came to the con-
clusion Of what wa, right and just
and lcgitima'e, and That under all laws
there always eAi,t,! and always Will
exist, the right OF Resistance against
that which is wroT g. 81 they not
only petition but argn". liIt some
times, my friends, arguments will not
reach their conclusions; spIn"tiHcs
arguments fall upon the ears OF th"ra
who are opposed to those who argue.
Sometimes, AMI perhaps most ott,a-
times, petitions may be written, but
they avail nothing.
What must a man DO then? The
bullet must reason, iEc rife must rca-
son, Tchccgs the cannon must reason,
cheers !. Hence it is that one Of the
grande,t theoiogians Of my church,
speaking Of the peoples Of the earth.
and taking II broad, grand deep and
glorious view, admits that in the peo-
pie, in their collective capacity, when
tyranny can no longer be endured,
rests tie legitimate right and the
power TO overthrow it,Wi;h the words
on their lips "Sic Senpcr iyamjS."
1t was more than day. 1t was
the old Fourth ofJuiy Of the last cen
tury come back again [applause with
not shadow on its glory. because
those who acted upon that day show
ed what is but too seldom shown,
moderation . magnanimity in the
hour of triumph. Applause.
Principles are eternal. They never
change. Men may change. Have
YOU looked at the sky to-day? The
gray clouds We're floating across the
armament, hiding the bright glorious
light of the sun. Tomorrow look up
again, aud the clouds may have pass
ed away. Clouds may hide it, but
the great grand sun shall still be
there.
So mems opinions-thcy are like
the clouds and shadows, very often
obscuring and marring the beauty and
light Of principle and truth. But
principle is where it always was-it
is fixed in the armament of right
Let the clouds roll on, let the light.
ming flash, bat the cloud shall pass
away and principle shall still be
there.
So the nth of September was more
than a day, and the deed Of that day
was more than a deed. 1t was the
manifestation Of principle that lies
deep in the heart and conscience oi
every man. That Is, that wherever
there is tyranny, in my conscience
have q right to say 10 every govern
mcnt: You are wrong and | au
right; shoot ne down, if YOU please
fetter me if yon please, put me in ;
dungeon, if you please, bring me tc
the scaliold, if you choose, but, a:
right, so principle is an eternal word
that never can be erased.
While it may be in part orasct
from one or two pages Of human his
tory, it never can be erased from tht
tablet of human hearts, SO long as thc
human heart has the nobility to wor
ship at the foOtst0ol Of principle
rather than cringo and crawl at th'
pedestal of cxpediency and policy ,anC
offer there, upon the altar, hearts
minds and conscience, temporal q
well as social interests, at the idol 0
policy. Policy is the idol, principle
is the God. Applause,
| know very well that if that won
derful man who smokes the everlast
ing cigar laughter were here, and
he could by any high flight Of imagi
nation presume for one instant tha
he could answer your thoughts or m,
argument, he would say that we wer
wrong and that be was right. Smok
your cigar. The smoke. oft symbolic
the shadows that gather around you
Presidential brain. Laughter
And he would wish to make you bt
lieve, and make me believe, that W
are but province and not State q
all, perhaps not understanding the pc
litical economy Of what is the diiiel
ence between a conquered provinc
and free State.
Now, MY friends, govcrnmen
may be legal, in the technical sense {
the word, and yet not legitimat,
That i5-if you will let me say it i
palmer wOrds-a government ma
not represent the people, who are th
State, and at the same time, by a judg'
perhaps, by President, or by GeI
eral-(have you any Generals in Ne
Orleans? A.? | don't mean Genera
who are in the right, like Gen. OgdoI
but Generals who are in the wron;
like General-what's his name!
really don't know Laughter y
considered, in a technical sense, ii
legal government Of the State.
Well, i: has often been the case,
stated by one of the greatest Cathol
; theologians, that a Government ma
: sometimes be technically legal, and,
the same time, in reality iilegitimat
| reckon that was the case of yor
: Government on the l4th of Septei
Der. [Applause.]
Sometimes it is no use to arg
with them. Once there was an IRIS
mani reckon there was an lrlshm'
! more than oncc-but once there wa'
i particular, Irishman. who bad coi
S here from Ireland and got his natl
u aiization papers.
l. oh