Year: 1874

The Louisiana Question In the Senate. II


The debate in the Senate on the Louisiana
complications has been prOtracted, able,
and exhaustive. 1t is not, therefore, sur
prising that an experienced Senator like
Hannibal Hamlin should express the
opinion that the question had been sutfi-
GENTLY discussed, and announce his pur-
pose, as soon as the Senator from North
Carolina had spoken, or very soon there
after, to take the sense of the Senate on a
motion to lay on the table. The people of
the whole country will feel relief should this
motion prevail. Every intelligent man,
woman, and child in the republic fully un-
ferstands that the present government in
Louisiana is in perfect harmony with the
will of large majority of the people of that
State, and that it's possible overthrow would
be defeat Of the popular will. The ut
most that can be urged against the
maintenance OF the existing status is the
irregular mode of ascertaining the popular
will.


1t can not be maintained with even the


appearance OF truth that the McEnery


ticket was, in fact, elected 5y majority of


the voters. To overturn the Kellogg gov


ernment and inaugurate the McEnery pre-


tenders would be to enable unblushing


fraud and the unprovoked violence of a


minority to triumph over the majority. 1t


can not be expected that the Congress of


the United States can willingly %becofre


the agency of accomplishing such results


The clamor raised over the interference,


as it is called, of the United States troops is


hardly candid. Their interp0sitiOn extend
ed only to the support of the legitimate Of
tcers of the United States court in the exc


cution of process. This had not heretofore
been regarded as crime against liberty;
but it is urged by the Democratic leaders
that the Judge erred in his opinions of the
true intent and meaning of the law. If this
were to be granted in argument itdOes not
affect in the least the propriety of support
ing the judicial officers Of the government
by the military arm. 1t surely is not the
duty of the army to review the decisions of
the courts, and the decision of which com.
plant is made has never so far been decided
to have been erroneous by any competent
authority.


A few disputants attempt to answer


every objection to the legitimacy OF Nc
Enery's pretensions by the declaration that
ii the United States troops were withdrawn
the Kellogg government could not sustain
itself a single day. We do not know this
allegation to be true, but if it were to be


granted it proves nothing against the Kel-
lugg government except the superior mill
tary prewess of the white race in Louisiana,
although in a minority, to the military abil-
jty OF the colored people of that State. That
| is to say, it is proposition to decide the
right OF great question by the relative
physical strength Of the contestants. Such
a proposition might be tolerated among th 9
| untutOred savages of the plains, but it


sounds strangely from the lips Of United
States Senators.


In a republic numbers, and not strength,
is supposed to be the talisman. In our
opinion about the wisest course for Con-
gress to- pursue in this affair would be to
follow Senator Hamlin's suggestion and lay
the pending bill on the table, and devote
the residue of the current session to practi-
cable legislation; and if the House should


follow the same line Of policy in the Durell
impeachment controversy it would be
equally well received by the people, as it


would be very difficult to divest them of the


conviction that the prosecution of this .iurist


originated with the same parties who so We


hemently denounce the Kellogg govern


ment. In their opinion the successful i'm.
parchment of the judge. the enforcement of


whose opinions resulted in KellOgg's lnau.
guration would be strong point gained in
favor of the Nc Emery party


If let alone the people of Louisiana will,
in comparatively brief period, settle these
difficulties for themselves. They will be
half cured, without doubt, at the approach
ing elections next autumn.-Wa Washington
Chronicle