The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-06-13
right to decide Is placed there and not IN the

courts. s
SO, too, as relates to the clause In the above
mentioned article OF the constitution, pro-
y slig for cases OF domestic violence. Il
rested with Congress, too, to determine upon
the means proper to be adopted to fulfil This
guarantee They might, II they had deemed
~ y most advisable to do so, have placed 1t liz
me power 81 court to decide when the con
Mn Ig had happened which required the
gresa thought otherwise, and no doubt wise
"; ana by the act OF February %, 1895, pro-
vided that. In case OF an insurrectlon In any
p a T. aaInst tfe government thereof It shall
5e lawful Tor the President OF the United
States, on application Of the Legislature Of
such State or Of the Executive. when the
Legislature cannot be convened. Ia call forth
such number OF the militia Of any other State
or States, as may be applied for, as he may
judge, sufficient to suppress such Insured
| ton
That Is decisive Of this matter In nv opin-
Ion. The supreme recognition rests In CON
gress. Where were our congressman Why,
they were standing recognition of the Kel..
logg government through every Congress-
man elected In this State. And did not the
executive supplement that reeognition? Did
not the successor of this very Kellogg govern
ment in 1874 elect O Senator In the person OF
Mr.. Eustis? That was paramount reeog-
milton behind which you cannot go. am
speaking nowo the law, and under the law
and the grasp Of the law on this case, and 1t
covers it fully. There Is no chance to elude
1t under our theory Of government. Either
we are supreme--ahl we have tested that
under the arbitrament OF the sword, and
found that the United States government
was supreme. III we are supreme we can dis
regard this authority but II will be the SUI
premacy Of might and not the supremacy of
we must be guided BY the law, tho constitu-
tiDnai law Of the United States
To constitute a de jWre government 1T Is
only necessary under this article Of the con-
stltution, and this decision that have read,
for the United States government to reeog
two dejure governments, and this case, which
have cited from Howard, has many features
similar to the case of Louisiana.
Now, sir, SO much for that. IT that were
to revolution? Would you destroy the last
vestige Of authority From the time the
first gun fired at Sumter would you say there
has been no law and noauthority In this land?
It seems to be so implied from one Of the ar
guments Of the gentleman, that from 1861
noring the Nichols Legislature and the SUI
preme Court decisions under that Legisla-
ture, wiping out all government, that these
gentlemen delegate us back to q condition Of
anarchy without any government, floating
around In chaos, without any constitutional
guide or law.
Now, sir, Ii faction In q State, which may
be the representative portion of that State, Is
temporarily deprived OF power by virtue Of
political combination, and that faction under
trary faction, where Is the arbiter who Ia to
decide2 Does not the constitution Of the
United States decide the question for us? 1t
does decide 1t by this decision. 1t decides Ii
Let us look into this matter. Suppose, for O
moment, that party inmical to US should,
after o time, capture this government:
suppose, for instance, that the Repub-
1iean party were to capture II, aided,
perhaps, by the authorities Mt Washing
they captured the government under the
guise and color of law; suppose that by
reason OF some new, sudden and unlooked-or
change, impossible as it may appear, they
should capture the government under the
color and form OF law, and suppose In the
meantime we had raised up our State and re-
habiitated her, and then came this succeed
Ing wave and washed away everything that
We had done, when they would say to us,
You were revolutionary body; you mis-
us, you intimidated us; you
ran us away from the polls; We were always
ln the majority; you ignored u.s." Would
that be tolerated2 That ID an extreme
case but extreme cases would prove the rule
and the rule Is that we must abide by the law
rs 1t Is. Those. who go to battle must pay the
penalty, and when We cast our fortunes on the
result Of war, and lost we paid the penalty.
and we paid 1t dearly. Our prosperity was
swept away -, our rights were sacrificed; we
were poWefIess. We tried the arbitrament Of
placed government upon US as the result Of
iefeat. That was the government OK 1864: |
hat was due to reconstruction. and
iue to the franchise placed La the
Exercised IT before; and they contend that
heir franchise given them was as legal as
,urs they contend that their government was /
% legal as ours; and soft was under the law
lnaer that law which we could not resist
lndsr that law which was driven down orr
hToats and pinned to us with bayonets. Yon
ak about those governments being weak |
look at their immense power You say that I
government that can collect S40,OOO,OgO Is
weak II had the power Of all strong gov
FEDERAL prop held 1t up, That was the sus-
aiming prop, and when that fell this govern
nent fell with It, We all know that: it ID a
natter OF history.
Mr. President, say that these acts having
cen passed by a government with com petanf
over to enforce It's DEGREES, these acts Of the
legislature and this constitutional amend
TENT having been passed and apparently pro-
1nlgated and ratified under and by virtue of
nis tremendous government; this govern
,aa Inc DEGREES Of which we could not re-
st, we are bound and held fast by this In
Irument which Is the supreme law OF the
md. The character Of that government was
lat OF ae Jure government; necessarily 80
ON the Tact OF Its existence. Therefore we {
,nnot question their acts. That Ia NV no. !
ton. N-N' ~
Let US take the other ground Let us take
le ground that these governments were
ere governments Of brute force; mere revo- 9
!tionary governments; that they had no sort !
power OF themselves; that they were !
erely the expression OF Federal Will; cast e
'ide the constitution of the United States t
10 the recognition Of courts; cast aside the 9
,elslon OF Congress; cast aside all these t
lags, and say we still had a government a
the shape OF the Nichols government. a
nat government has ratified and indorsed
ese acts. Sir, 1t is no use for me to try to |
owe self-evident proposition. There is 6
'ancis L, Nichollslin the gubernatorial chair: ]
ere Is his Supreme Court in session, and t
ne we are, elected under and by virtue Of q
. power residing In bis Legislature which i
ets , staring us In the face, after this f
litlcal turmoil and strife, such as cannot g
repeated without exhausting the power J
the people; how can we, with such non t
a a 1 and disregard of facts, undertake to y