Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1875-02-13
THE PROPOSED ADJUSTMENT.

proposition adopted on the night o
the 4th inst, by a majority of TIT
. Conservative members of the Legisla
ture of this State, in caucus, as
basis for the adjustment of our dilli
culties; but which action was re-
ended after it was found that it met
with such opposition on the part Of
the citizens of New Orleans; and
upon which we propose to give as
dispassionate an opinion as is possible
under the circumstances.
There are two sides to all questions
of discussion, and we have tried to
investigate both the sides of this, so
far as we have been able to discover
them; and while we are far from
impeacL,ng the motives of those who
voted for the adoption Of this pr,'po.
sition, we arc firmly convinced of the
fact !: that they made a grave mistake,
which will probably have exactly the
opposite result to that intended. And
why?
First, 1t Is voluntary PROPOSE
ton of the Conservatives 10 enter in
to the Legislation Of the affairs of a
Government whose Executive they
dcnouncc as an usurper, without any
assurance on :bc part of the opposi-
ton that the proposition will be &C.
cepted or even entertained
Secondly, 1t proposes to tacitly en-.
dorse all the illegal acts committed by
Kellogg anI his Legislature for the
past two years, and to establish the
precedent Of refusing to investigate
the conduct Of corrupt officials. Now,
Kellogg has either been guilty Of
malfeasance or he has not be is
either an usurper or he is not; and
no representative Of the people has
any right to pledge himself not to
inquire into and adjust these matters
according to law and equity, and no
official who is guiItless would ask or
accept such pledge, but would rather
challenge strict investigation.
Third, 1t is virtual surrender OF
the defense of the people, an abandon
ment of all claims heretofore urged
to the victory gained in the election
OF 1872 at very unpropi,ious time
and abandonment of the very princi-
pies for which the party was strug-
Cling.
Fourth, 1t proposes to rcscind or
ignore the former action of the men,
bers, acquiese in the military inter
ruption of its proceedings, set aside
its protest and withdraw its appea
to the people of the United States for
justice.
The simple declaration, iniermixed
with the tacit recognition of Kellogg
as the rightful Governor, that they do
believe he was elected, does not mend
the matter whit, but makes it look
worse if anything.
Unlike the Picayune, which seems
to view the proposition with great
favO:, we see a vast difference be-
tween this proposition and the one
made by Governor McEnery to sub
init the decision of bis and Kellogg's
election to the arbitration of the Con-
gressional Committee and also be-
tween voluntary support of an
usurpation and forced submission to
its rule. We hold that it would be
much more honorable to submit to the
remainder of Ke'iogg's term as we
lave in the past than it would be to
voluntarily offer our feally to his
Government. We are in favor of
assisting in enforcing the laws even
under usurpa,ion and tyranny, for
the preservation of life and property,
because we owe it to ourselves our
families and society to help protect
ourselves from murderers and thieves;
but that is no reason we should enter
into q covenant not 10 call into ques-
ton the legality of such a govern
ment and the official conduct Of its
officers. AS to our paying our taxes,
we had no other alternative but to be
turned out of doors by force, and we
chose to be robbed Of portion of
our substance rather than the whole.
But, it may be asked, what were
our Representatives TO do? The
State was going to the ID as fast as
it could; aud was it not their duty
to try 10 exercise some influence d.
recting its course? 1t is a deplora.
bic fact that the Kellogg concern is
running, or has ruined, the State; hut
we do not see how the Conservatives !
were going to accomplish any good