New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-10-11
TIE ooHyENrIou-ITs DUTIES.

! IDLY, the most nonentous occasion on
| which it has been called to perform this
duty. There is a powerful opposition
organized and armed for the possible
capture of the election. It is only held in
check by the military protection invoked
by the Republican authorities. who are
no. content that the rights Of majority
Of voters shalt be tried BY wager Of battle
in the :;eld. This opposition is infuriased
by the pressure Of taxes and the hunger
of Office: and theis fury can not abate SO
long as this pressure and this appetite
shall impei them.
! It's proper TO remember that the NAM
tenance o. Republican supremacy de-
ponds greatly upon the support OF public
| sentiment at the North. and this again
uyon the belief that the Southern Repub'
! Ecans are morally and politically worthy
of the popular confidence and protection.
It is due to candor to say that the fragrant
and indefensible abuses of power by the
State governments of South Carolina. Ar
! kansas and some other Southern States,
| for which the Republicans were held
responsible. excited much discomfort
among the Republicans Of the North, and
tended much to impair the position OF
the federal administration, and OF
tie Republican party generally. The
organized denial of the rights Of citizen
| ship to the colored people by the White
| League of Louisiana, the expulsion
and murder of American citizens, natives
| Of Northern and Western States: the
| storm and seizure by armed and insurrec-
tionary forces of State offices standing IN
appeal before Congress and guaranteed
al interim by the federal government, have
caused No rthern sentiment to react in
favor of justice and humanity. You are
indebted to the insane violence Of your
opponents for the permission to hold
fair and open election. Your opponents
are VIGOROUSLY armed and enrolled for
the purpose of securing to themselves the
results of an election which they have in
advance determined TO be unfair. it their
candidates be unsuccessful.
The colored people. in an address redo
lent of sound principles and OF sound
sense, have intimated that heavy respon-
sibilities res. upon them from counsels in
which they do not properly participate.
This displays noble consciousness of
their rights, their duty and their liza.
bilities. This will be well manifested in
the stan dard of character and ability
which will be required to represent Re-
publican rights and reputation. The
officers and representatives will succeed
to an impoverished treasury and con-
stituency sensitive to any abuse Of power
or increase of burdens. The opposition
has made q ticket of nominations very
different from many obscure and yenal
nobodies put in heretofore by ward
rings for their own purposes. Your
representatives will have to encounter
men OF ability and integrity. men armed
with fierce invective, and backed by an
outside power Of physical mischief which
the military force may not be at hand al
ways 20 prevent and which the judicial
power may not be always adequate to
punish. Your representatives will be as
sailed and tempted by even more dam
gerous foe to Republican supremacy. TIE
Democratic lobby Of bummers and bso.
kers will tn rong their halls and dog their
footsteps. They will offer share in the
fruits of prostituted votes. The pro-
ject v IL be theirs, the shame and re-
sponsibility our own. We shall expect
all Republicans who have the sagacity to
foresee the consequences Of such acts to
prevent, if possible, the nomination of
any candidate SO weak or so venal as to
fall into such snares. We could not refer
the convention to better rules of duty than
will be found in the address Of the colored
people to which we have already referred.
To insure the colored Republicans . safe
and satisfactory participation in the
councils of the party, only requires the
strict enforc ement of the principles Of
representation a. defined by the address
itself.
The nomination Of able and honest
men for Office and representative station
will establish the Republican party in the
confidence of the American people. 1t will
fix the President and Congress in their
determination to maintain the State gov
eminent. Republican principles are now
the established and common law Of the
land, and if those whom we shall
choose to illustrate these principles
be worthy of them, the Republican party
in Louisiana need fear in their simple
integrity neither the army nor intellect of
their adyersaries. We commend to the
Republican convention the consideration
of these views. We have a great battle
before us. The whole strength Of our
antagonist is in our imaginary weakness.
Give us leaders who will bear our stand
ard high and unspotted above the faithful
hosts that follow, and victory is assured.
If it be otherwise let the nominating con-
vention remember that those who set our
squadrons in the field will be entitled to
the honor Or responsible for the disaster
OF the combat.
4 PEEP AT THE FIGURES.
We published on two several occasions