The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-17
THE COUNTRY PRESS.
Various views an the subject Of Com
stitutionaI Convention.
Madison Journal!

Madison Journal
Heretofore we have expressed our coDvc-
lions rs to the policy Of holding n constitution.
alconvention In this State. We have read moth.
Ing, o. thought Of nothing, which has changed
them We have the highest respect for the
opinions OF our contemporaries ot the press
We believe that the most Of them disagree
with Us On this question, but our convictions
are 80 decided that we cannot yield them.
The people of Louisiana scarcely one ysssf
ago recovered their government. since that
time under tho constitution and laws framed
by their enemies, they have enjoyed peace,
quiet and Il reasonable degree OF prosperity
,fhr constitution and laws have been rigidly
enforced during that time. but under IN hon
est administration the people have suffered no
great detriment
Two or three years from now. our colorcd
fpllaw-citizens will have learned the lesson
that their white neiohbors are quite as good
friends " them as the men. who now tope
them and rob them. They will, by that tiine.
IN able to appreciate the fact that eofistitli,
ton which is good for the white ulll ~ good
also for the colored man.
lOuachita Telegraph
The New Orleans Daily DEMOCRAT of a re-
cent date contained an account OF reporter :
interview with number Of the members OF
the Legislature In reference to the calling OF u
convention Of the peoples delegates to frame q
new constitution for this State. The general
result appears to have been that the Legislators
tion. and that there is somewhat Of pool IN
favor Of running the State government us II
now exists.
The members Of the Legislature generally
agree that !" the present constitution, bad as
III H." could be remedied by amendments, and
Tint an election for constitutional delegates Mt
this time Is in0pportune.
OF tho changes needed in the constitution.
We have not the space to write. Whoever has
tsad Barnes notes on the New Testament, or
i'Uf lfln
ty two or three lines and the comments u page
OF small print, can form IN idea OF the task
required to point out the changes necessary In
tic constitution Of 1863 The spirit Of the in
atlument and the evil purposes OF it's trainers
are enough, without any specific analysis oil
what should be changed.
The idett prevails, ~ indicated by the DEM
pCIsAT, with the members of the Legislature
that the constitution can be amended suli-
GENTLY to answer present purposes. AT the
last election four amendments were submitted
10 the people and voted on. What has become
of thcinl Speaker Bush informs us that one
but the vote was In such confusion that u for
NAL announcement Of the result could not be
fiade Fifty amendments will not suffice to
change the constitution as IL should be- The
4 ballot boxes would have to be about the size OF
ii pulpit and the tickets as large az the New
York Herald and not one man In twenty
would know for what he was voting.
But can the Democrats IN the Legislature
tlo us they please IN proposing amendments
If they will consult the constitution itself they
will find that u majority Of the two houses
acting separately. can call a convention, bui
that To propose amendments two-thirds o
each House must agree.
In neither house have the Democrats two
thirds majority. Without Radical votes they
cannot propose d single amendment. Prae-
tically, therefore. no amendments will ever be
proposed except such as the Radicals will
approve of, and they are all opposed, very
81 much desire for future security The pair
truth ill., there Is only one thing to be done
Let the convention he called
Marksville Bulletin.l
There are indications Of latent disposition
M certain quarters In New Orleans to stiflt
tla attempt now being made to reform the or
Asasc law OF the State 1t is pretended thai
tlMs agitation Of such question ct this time
hcnsls TO divide and distract the Democratic
party. But how or in what manner this divi
sion is to be brought about, and why more 81
now than at any other time, we are not 81
clearly informed.
Certainly IL will not be denied that .rcforn
going on In the State In favor of organic
changes. and equally certain thatif the Demo
cratic party Ia committed to anything, Ii ID
pledged to the policy embraced by the idea Of
reform On this idea II went into the great
campaign of 1876. and with this idea to serve
as a rallying cry to the people, IL achieved the
most memorable civic triumph In its party
annals.
To inform us coolly now, that the party dares
not fulfill It's plighted faith to the public on 80
fundamental an article us constitutional re-
forms, because Of apprehendd divisions and
tlissensions in it's ranks, argues q degree OF
pusillanimity and moral cowardice which We
did not look for In such quarter. The men
who have no higher moral plane tostand upon
than this are not the men who give law to the
Democratic party We know not from what
source they imbibe either their democracy OF
their spirit but we pity them If they arc
thoroughly honest. But we have no idea that
they are honest, any more than we believe
that the public will put confidence in their pro
fessionS.
These people will have TO BIC taught that re-
forms are never accomplished without oppo
sition. The party which sets itself up to do this
Kind of work. and expects to accomplish its en-
rand without IL, steers In the face OF all history
and all experience No true and lasting re-
form was ever wrought without encountering
the most formidable obstacles. The Demo
cratic party, In the natural course of things
must expect TO encounter some of this very
sort of hostility But Is that any reason fox
being frightened Mt 1t before 1t actually devel-
opes itself II it should come, and comes from
be expected. But If 1t shows itself in our
ranks. 1t must and should befought down with
u hand Of iron.
The Legislature which sits in New Orleans
on Monday next must see to It,, that IL does
not suffer itself TO be ipterposed as STUN.
bling block between the people and their just
demands. 1t must order n convention. We
warn the Legislature now that any attempt
to defeat the calling of convention will fail
Ut It's end and result disastrously to the
have n new constitution, and they
will not permit their representatives to stand
In the way Of this contamination. There will
be no appeal from this decision II they can
not organize to this end inside, they will do II
outside the party lines. But convention they
must and will have. If split occurs ii viii
come, not from the Legislatures performing
It's duty. but from failure to perform 1t. Il
the Legislature prepared to accept the re-
sponsibility by dividing tho people ON thi,
issuef We await the answer