The Colfax chronicle. (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1876-1877, 1877-04-14
The Voice Of the People.

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We take the following from the
New Orleans Democrat of the It'll
inst. The meeting which took
place at Lafayette Square, the day
previous, was the largest that ever
assembled in New Orleans. The
Democrat says: 4}fHfh> -f ta8is
"Has the age of miracles past?
He who reads the columns of the
Democrat this morning will be
almost forced to reply mo- The
commissioners who were sent here
by the President to ascertain what
government has the support and
confidence of the people of Louis
lana arrived in this city Thursday
night, and yesterday forty thous-
and citizens in Lafayette Square
answered the inquiry through the
resolutions adopted at that mon
ster meeting, and printed i'll our
columns to-day. And, with this
emphatic utterance of the people
of New Orleans, we print the de-
clarations.of the people of twelve
parishes, expressed in public as
|semblages, accounts of the. pro-
|ceedings which reached us Just in
time to be published in this issue
of the Democrat. Indeed, the
throbbings Of the popular heart
of this State may be seen in our
columns this morning, and the
commissioners of the Presi-
dent may read therein the earnest
and determined usterances of IL
people who long for peace, who are
pleading for justice, but, who,
having endured eight years of OPP
preston, lawlessness, plumber and
shame, are now resolved to main
tain their rights under the consti-
tuition of the United States, and
to protect their property and their
interests from further spoliation,
at'any and all hazard, and, if need
be, to the bitter end. "-'aii'a
The resolutions of the people
everywhere express the sincerest
loyalty to the Union and the ut
most confidence in the purposes OF,
the President. But without an
exception, whether they ieminate
from the people of New Orleans
or from the meetings Of the people
in the most remote parishes, they
proclaim the Nichols government
to be the legitimate government of
the State, and, denonncing Pack
ara as usurper and public enemy,
proclaim the purpose of the peo-
pie to resist the establishment of
fraudulent government and to- dis
pute its authority upon every foot
of Louisiana territory. H IS
The universal and almost stimuli
taneous expression of these senti-.
ments. must convince the commits
sion that they are rooted in the
hearts OF the people of this State,
and that if the President should
determine to overthrow the Mich
oils government, or even to. impair
it in, any respect or measure, his
scheme would be unsuccessful.
unless he first crushed out of the
people that spirit to defend the
right which constitutes the only
safeguard of Republican institu-
tons and without which men are
slaves. We think the commission
ers of the President cannot fail
to be impressed by the universal
ity of the determination of our
people, expressed through the
Democrat this morning, not to
peacoably submit to Packard nor
to any interference with the State
government they elected by over
eight thousand majority; which
they have organized, and which is
now discharglng its functions.
The President has expressed an
earnest, and, We believe, sincere
desire to restore peace and pros
perity to this State. This we as
sumo to be the desire also of every
member of the Commission, and
the Commission will very likely
influence the President in adopt
ing measures for that purpose.
Can the commissioners then
recommend the President to recog-
nize as the Governor Of Louisiana.
u malevolent enemy and bitter and
vindictlve hater of the whole white
population of the State, and whom
The white people loath, detest and
desplse as a public enemy If
they cannot conscientioasly re-
commend the President to recoc-