The New York herald., 1874-09-21
The Lesson Of LOuisia ana-Justfce 10
the south VIII Give Peace and
RecOustructfOn.

ana. w uht tuey say is WOrtuy Oi Eatioh'
and respectful attention. They ore represen-
tative men in the republican party. To that
party We must look for immediate justice to
Louisiana and the South. They give US an
idea of what its extreme thinkers will be apt
to advise as further measure OF reconstruc-
| ton. 1t may be useful for us to consider
how adequate their advice may be TOR the
peace and reconstruction OF the South. In
the light of this advice we may consider the
proposition that seems to be acceptable to the
country, that Kellogg and his concern should
resign and permit an honest election.
According to Senator Morton the whole
difficulty in the South arises from the conduct
of the enemies of reconstruction, mot be-
cause of any intrinsic defects in the system.
Reconstruction is resisted because OF oppo-
sition to the abolition Of slavery and the ele-
vation of the negroes to civil and political
rights" There has been ''a high carnival of
crime in the South for the past two months.
This carnival has not become known to the
Northern people, and has even escaped the
daring and almost omnipotent omniscience
of the press. This is because the news agents
of the press are either democrats or ''sym-
pathizers with these crimes-sometimes par
ticipators.' There has been no ''war of
races, simply war against republicans OF
the South, black and white" meaning to ''re-
duce the negroes as nearly as possible to
slaves" The McEnery movement "was of
the nature of Mexican pronunciamento.'
And there would be no reconstruction until
we had cessation of murder. General
Butler, in an interview accorded to our CORE
spondent, which appeared in yesterdays
HERALD, speaks OF ''intormation which
he had received two weeks ago" to the
effect ''that even then there was O rebellion all
over the State, and Kelloggs government was
as good as overthrown." General Butler
makes the significant admission that the Kel-
logg party ''have no rights whatever by law,
for we have no evidence that there has even
been an actual election according to the pro-
visions of the constitution" He does not
! think that General Grant has any right to say
whether Kellogg or McEnery shall assume
to be Governor" ''The people," he says,
''must, sooner or later, decide in the manner
of an election" In other words, General
Butler sees in the present condition Of Louisi-
ana something more than mexican pro-
nunciamento' or ''a high carnival of crime"
and the logic of his argument is that Kellogg,
as in no way representative or legal, should
retire his government and permit free
expression of the peoples will.
The fact that these two gifted men, each
| high in the confidence and authority of the
republican party and belonging to its extreme
! shade of policy, should differ SO widely upon
question like that of Louisiana, shows that
the republican party does not comprehend the
duties and the perils Of reconstruction. Sen
ator Morton simply appeals to the ignorant
passions Of the war, madly invoking the spirit
of rapine, with which we became so familiar
during the dreadful days of strife There are
none blind they who will close
their eyes and not see. But it is
mournful to find a statesman as influ-
entail as Senator Morton deliberately
ignoring the actual state of affairs in Louisi-
ana and speaking OF the McEnery movement
as though it were the work of the Thugs of
India or the bandits of Greece. This is SIM
ply demagoguery, passion, ill-considered in
vective. The McEnery movement illegal as
it was in every way, and introducing as it did
into our republican government that appeal
from the ballot to the barricades which has
been the dismay and misfortune of democracy
in France was nevertheless the protest of
! people against misgovernment and tyranny
a brave, temperate, wisely handled protest,
and none the less worthy of our wise consid-
! Grafton because it assumed the phases OF revo-
! luton
General Butler reaches the heart of the
matter when he says that the Kellogg govern
ment has no actual, legitimate authority.
| Practically he agrees with the solution ad-
vanced by the HERALD that peace can come
by the resignation of the rival factions and
the submission OF the question to the will Of
the people of Louisiana This admission
from man disposed to immoderate and
unusual views of public affairs is of the
gravest importance in the controversy. If
Governor Kellogg has no actual authority in
Louisiana, and will not yield to the demand
that he should retire and ask new express
sion from the people, should not the Presi-
dent undo the wrong which he, and he alone,
committed when he forced the contrivance
called the Kellogg administration upon that
State? The proposition to submit the whole
question to a vote by the people Is, as our
readers will remember identical with the
proposition accepted by McEnery in letter
from New Orleans we printed on Friday.
We therefore find Mr.. McEnery, who
represents the people of Louisiana. and who
is certainly supported by all that remains Of
Confederate sentiment in that State, and Cen
eral Butler, who is the extreme of the extreme
among radical prophets, standing on the same
ground Surely the PLATFORM which is broad
enough to sustain General Butler and Mr. Nc