Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-01-22

Mayor 81 New 'rk was tie gentleman
who served as the late Private Secretary
Of JEFF. Davis, While President Of the South
ern Conledcracy. The great mass of ez-rcbcls
are now, as they were before the rebellion,
the natural allies &c og Democracy.
The Free Press isyo1Y disingenuous The
IiatrtyaoG has not assumed OF intimatcd
that the only people in Louisiana are the
hIte League conservatives, any more
than it has assumed that the only people
OF Vermont are Republicans, OF the only
people az Massachusetts are Democrats, and
Yet The people Of Vermont elected a Repub-
lican goyernc,, and the people OF Na~,a-
chusctt- elected Democrat as govern r.
In Il popular government the act OF She
majority is the ac. Of the people. Docs the
Free Press need TO learn this, or j. it under
the delu>ion that the minority are "the
people, and that the majority are 10 be
deiraudcd Of thciT vote when it Is not in
harmony with it, wishes? We were labor
the impression that Louisiana was restored
10 the old times; that it had a republican
iOrm OF government; that Il had right 10
vote, that its vote was 10 be respected. !
whether II accorded with our political !
sentiments or not. We do lehOr |
under the Impression that it j. net |
right or wise to cheat a people out of their |
vote by subsequent manipulation Of re- |
turning board. and then 10y the exercise of /
the military power OF the government to /
determine membership in State Legisia- |
tuTe. We had Supposed that this was true |
Republican doctrine that il was the |
''paten, OF civil liberty. the patent" of
popular government, and not the patent
OF the Democrats" We DO not think that
hovernor Peek, or President Grant, or Gen.
Sheridan la, q right to determine hy mill
tary force the membership Of the Vermont
Legislature, nor of the Louisiana Legi,la-
ture. Is that a "Dem0crdi5c DGfcat?'' i it
wise 70 try and save the Republican party
IN Congress Or the country by the over
throw OF those principles which have mace
its history 50 glorious? 1t can be saved hy
preserving thom.-AloW9elcr Hdtclwan.
We do not think the disingcnuousness. if
there he any, is on the side Of the FarE
Pass, in this little discussion. II, to,
do not think it right o9 wise to cheat
people ont Of their vote, by manipulation,
returning boards. w other process; or to
use the military to determine membership
Of Legislature. We DO not think that
any Governor, or General. or President
has hight 10 determine the membership
Of any Legislature by military force or it
any other way. We think the vote Of
Louisiana Should lie respected, whether it :
suits L. or not. Al thi, is cheap and easy
to say. We could 90 farther than the
lVatci1laH Las gone in such declarations.
The HafotHan explains that by the people
I means tie majority. The trouble with its ,,
POSITION Is that it assumes that the Louisi- =.
M Republicans are the minority and TIE a
White LeagueTs the majority. That is p
egging the whole question, as the Demo- 4
rats constantly beg it in all their talk: II
ct the llmotmau cannot deny that the !,
ensa' of Louisiana made it altogether II
roblble tina. there would be a strong c
epubliean majority in Louisiana as soon as
he black men were enlranchised; that the :.
irlier elections demonstrated such MAORI h
:, and that the Carpenter Congressional +,
Committee, 50 quoted by the Democrats. q,
lille not ALI to report that a Republican n
overnor was legally elected in 1872, did 7,
eclare unanimously he existence OF :.
epubliean majority in Louisiana, who n
ould have heen cheated out Of il
leir vote. if McEnery had been H.
cleared and made Governor. There is. -.
lereiore, no intrinsic improbaJiilty that the Of
epublicans are now the majority in Louis ".
ma. They clam to be the majority and No
icy do not complain Of, bat welcome the "
essence OF the military They complain re,
1t Of General Sheridan : presence or action; II
I'd they do not admit that the soldiers re- NJ.
owed any members from their Legislature.
does not lessen the force Of theiI claims. So
r Us, tina. they are not the class which m,
rs to killing people as soon a. their dit
inns are disputed. d;f
Now tLen. we say, that tie HaicLsan in NJ,
article to which we took exception. utterly VI
nored the Louisiana Republicans. If. as 90,
ey assert, they are the majority, they are tr,
he people, bat the ITa,oh1lan had dis 40,
7ered no people, bat an abused and r,r
TRACED g people, cheated out of self gov of
lment by Governor Kellogg and President are
ant And this is the Democratic view of thu
situation. IL the WatotDlan did not fins
IS assume that the Conservatives arc "the ;ec.
ple," and the only people for there exc
not taco peoples Of Louisiana, we take it an
hen We cannot understand the force OF gro