New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-20

public feeling or sentiment which to day
mi ght hang man, might tomorrow shout
hosannas to his Lame-too late. however,,
when dead
This uncertainty OF RICH. IN the public
mind was striking'y exemplitied in the can.
vass between Mr.. Gray and Mr.. Mcdonald,
fot the State Senatorship, to fill MIR. Abney's
vacancy. Mr.. Mcdonald was as tight and
true to himself and his country then. az be
wa. wrong and unjus. to himself and 70 his
country, when. a: las: election. he was
andidato for tie same office on tina: !nto!-
eca bic tumble. the Fusion ticke:.
Blu, the romance o: this contes: between
Mr.. Gray ard Mr.. Mcdonald followed
and eliminated in the result Mr.. Gray
was. Of course. slected-tha: senatorial dis
trio: beng Largely Democratic. before the
enfra nchisement Of the eoio,ei man--and
repaired 20 New Orleans. and remained
throu ghout the balance 0: the teym-iuring
which time, if I mistake not. be voted
agaiIs. the usual !eyee swindes. but very
foo.ishiy and inconsistency voted FOR an
Apr opr!a:ion TO ties: or contest tie consti
tuition atty of the Congressional reconstruc.
ton measures. Senator ". y. Egan voted
for BOTH
In the campaign in Claiborne parish. IN.
medistely after the close Of the war,
as related in my las: article. there
were many romantic. not 70 say dramatic
pass ages at arms. between William c. Mar.
tin and Wilbur +. observation-disclosures
flights and sparks Of oratory peculiar and
fare much of which would do to ''prin. IN
book" with illustrations. Martin. az be.
fore stated, represented The plebean class,
and Blackman the aIistocracy-thas Is.
what was left Of that class. The idea was
to retain the services and main tain the con.
troll of tho colOred race in q condition az
nearly approximating that of absolute
slavery as possible. To this end, Blackman
advocated on the stump what he termed a
"stri Dgent vagrant law" He wanted it so
ARA nged that whipping at the public pos.
should be instituted az punishment for
minor otfenses. This he advocated with
great earnestness; interlarding his notions
with some brilliant flights of oratory, of the
evanes cent spread-eagle character. 1t was
made to appear very convenient, not to say
pleas ant, just to take up q poor "darkey,'
if caught under misdem eanor, and lash
him TO post, and lash his naked back with
q score or SO of stripes-it would only lit.
tie ire shen those already there, barely yet
healed since the ''breaking out of freedom:"
and then i. would ",ave COST" But pie.
beian and unsophisticased Bill Martin did
not see it in this light. Unlike the other
candidates, who simply laughed at Wilbur's
whipping notions as TOO ridiculous to
discuss. Martin pitched into them as
matter Of great seriousness. He did
not much like the 'nigger." it is true. but
was great friend to poor people," being
himself one Of that class: and as the whip.
ping arrangement would have to include
all offenders, regardless Of color, he objected
to is most strenuously. Blackman. in all
the native courtesy - peculiar 70 one Of
the first and best families Of the South.
gracious! ~ proposed TO interpose proviso
in favor of Martin. exeppting him from the
penalties of this stringent yagrant law
This N ade the matter worse--the apology
| was more intolerabls than the original in.
suit: and SO Martin retorted with much ma.
tive. meat AK vim and uncultivated bitter.
ness. The pine hills literally reverbera.ed
with his denunciations of Backman, and
the moles and bats paused 70 listen. ..By
bleod." be would have the young mountain
sprout. Of played out ehivalry know he
asked and would accept of no such exemp.
ton for himself, and demanded in the name
Of the people that no such infamou. and
retrogradns penalties be enacted or even
discussed in a free country. for ''d-n hi.
melt if it would be submitted to. And
so. after being ''worn to 2 frazie' by Mar.
tin in this manner and style on various Oc.
casions. young Blackman very CALAMITY
| acknowl dged himself whipped. and con.
fessed his proposition impracticable and
wrong, and apologized to his rustic plebeian
friend in proper terms. But in the Leglsla.
ture which followed Deariy precisely such
a law as he proposed passed. which very
plainly shows what the Democrats: or Flu.
sion party of the South would yet do if it
had the power: for what men do once they
will do again. the opportunity being the
same.
SO i: will be seen that tbs romance Of
politics in the backwoods of North Louisi.
ana since the war implies the whipping of
Migrants at the public post as a humane
Democratic measure that would ''save cost.
and afford some amusement and recreation
as we'll.
The next event OF any special exciting
influence or romance that occurred in the
backwoods of North Louisiana after the
war was the campaign for members to the
Constitutional Convention. under the recon
struction measures of Congress. In allud-
ing to this l shall confine myself entirely to
what took place in Claiborne parish.
When Blackburn was defeated 70. the
Legislature in the contest of 1865. he told
the people that the next thing would be the
enfranchisement of the negro, and the dis
reimbursement Of more white men than were
included in the fourteenth constitutional
amendment. Immediately after the election
he went to Washington City. and was there
when the reconstruction measures were
passed; and they were so precisely as he had
predicted that all his home people persisted
in the erroneous belief that he had prepared
them himself, and had dictated to Congress
their passage. This of course was an error,
a foolish error: because, in the first place,
he would not have presumed to dictate, or
even uggest to Congress what 20 do in any
such important case. o. in any ease what.
ever: and if he had SO presumed, as mat.