The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-10
RETR1BUTION.

The Returning Board had no sooner com
pleted its work of classifying tho election re-
turns Of this State than the DHMotRAT de
pounced them as gang Of forgers, called
mon the Grand Jury to indict them and
mlIlisbed the law Of this State defining the
crime Of forgery and fixing It's punishment
Month after month we followed lip these men.
keepipg their crime fresh In the memory Of
the people There was purity in the State,
not namerous,4 but active and noisy which
advocated what they termed the policy Of
Cancellation and magnanimjty; which talked
and wrote and worked 10 defeat the iridict-
ment and prosecutions.
The spirit Of Christian forbearance which
seemed to animate tho party Of charity was
wonderful indeed. We never. however, Inn
blpd any Of 1t. We knew how the tascals
who composed the Returning Board had out
ragged our people and ruthlessly trampled
upon tho laws We could call to mind no in
stance in which they had ever displayed the
ieast mercy III their dealings with the people
of Louisiana. We could not understand why
the good Of society demanded that the wretch,
driven To desperation by want, caught steal
ing, should be sent 10 the penitentiary, while
ynagnanimity required that Madison Wells
and Tom Anderson, mon Of intelligence,
wealth and power and who had committed n
crime greater than hundred murders, should
be permitted to escape the law and walk like
honorable and honored citizens In the free
light Of heaven.
We could not In short. understand the
policy Of tho eoncliationists; their theory
was too deep and too antagonistic to our
sense OF right and the fitness Of things for us
10 gtapple with ii comprehensivey. and
we we're forced tn oppose it. The crime which
we charged Wells, Anderson and their negro
associates more than u year ago, with hay
ing committed, and for the preparation Of
which wo called for their indictment, has been
proved against Anderson. and will be. If poss-
bic moro clearly proved against Wells and
his other associates. The law officers Of the
state dreerve the thanks Of the people Of
Louisiana for their nntiring aud able prose-
rution Of these criminals: and when they
have landed the four criminals In the State
prison. they will have done the cause of civil
liberty u great service
Justice has at length overtaken the raseals Of
the Returning Board and WE are determined
to SEQ that II also brushes under It's heel the
rings and monopolies which curse this State.
The Louisiana Lottery Company had best
begin to put their house in order. The flush
days Of that ubiquitous institution arc mum.
.bered. Tho lottery to-day is not so great and
powerful as was the Returning Board twelve
months ago, yrt now one Of tho members Of
The latter awaits in the parish jail his sen
innce to tho penitentary and tho others be-
hind the iron bars of the same institution nre
held for trial which must result III their
conviction and, sentence to the State Prison.
II the present Legislature does not repeal
the charter OF the lottery wa shall carry the
case before the people Of the State. who will
pronounce their verdict through the Leglsla-
turaof 1870. The Lottery Company must be de-
atroyod or the State become It's prey or play
thing. We know something Of it's secret his
tory. Of its support of Radicalism when Radi-
calism wks III power. and Of its other crooked
transactions. We shall. during tho coming
week expose the facts, and we venture to say
that no man who then opposes the repeal Of
its charter on the ground that IL possesses
''reaied rights" will be able to confront his con
stitueney and claim that he has done an hon.
cat act