Year: 1877

nolley, IHouSn. OChlBE.


Against Convention.


The discussion relative to a Consti-
tutional Convention continues, and is
! by no means as one-sided as the adj
vocates of the measure would have it
appear. A reporter of the New Or
leans Times recently interviewed sew
eral of the most prominent Democrats
of that city upon the subject, and
found them, with one exception, OPP
posed to Convention. A like result
is reported by the editor of the Sparta
Times, who discussed the question
with the lawyers in attendance upon
the District Court of Bienvlile parish,
the only difference being that in this
case there was no exception to the
disapproval expressed relative to the
agitation of such project at this
time. The following extract from a
late article in the Alexandria Demo
crat-the first journal in the State, we
believe, to take up the negative side
of the controversy-will indicate the
line of argument pursued by the op-
ponents of the Convention scheme:


Now, we say again that we are no
m r1akr Il
the Constitution of 1868, nor do we
deny that some important changes in
that instrument are not only desira-
ble, but necessary. But we re-
iterate, that the question of substitu-
ting an entirely new Constitution for
that one, is at this time ill-advised,
and likely to pl oduce by its agitation
NOR real, tangible harm in one year,
than would result from the proper
enforcement of the present Consti-
tuition, just as it stands, for the
next ten years to come. We have
just come out of a fight for life or
death, victorious, it is sure, but by
the skin of our teeth" and after the
result had hung trembling in the bal
ance for many months. Our success
was achieved through the intention
of the power which held our fate in
it's hands, to try doubtful expert
ment. Even as yet that experiment
is itself ON trial, and the opposing
sides are massing their forces for a
pr0tracted and bitter contest in Con-
gress. Our Senator knocks at the
door of one of its halls and our Rep
resentatives at the other. Until they
are seated, as of right they ought to
be, Louisiana is not properly free
State of the Union, nor can she be
secure from the Federal interference
which ground us to the dust SO long.
Agitation of questions which will
alarm the negro at home and give an
argument against US TO his supporters
and our enemies in Congress, will get
us into hot water again, and may re-
tard, if not defeat, our complete re-
demption from outside interference,
to which we owe so much of our past
misery and misfortune. This is the
lookout from abroad.


At home, the time is no more pro-
pitious for the agitation. We have
just emerged from struggle of eight
years, which has taxed all of our
patriotism and energy, and which
had we'll nigh deprived US of the
means of continuing the struggle.
We have before us three years of
peace and qniet, if we wish it so, un
der State officers in whom we have
every confidence and whom it was
our pride to hold up to the world as
models of unofficial propriety and ex-
amples of honesty and integrity.
They have proven themselves all that
we said they would be, and have, in
office, justified every guaranty we
made on their behalf. The people
who were then the least willing to
trust them are beginning to forget
their fears, and the election next year
is likely to be walk -over, unless we
ourselves furnish the occasion for
renewal and revival of their political
animosities. Why should we do so Z
The advocates of the Convention say
because the Constitution is bad. IF
it were ever SO bad, we would still
say that it is not advisable to make a
new one now, and if there was no
other way to remedy the master, We
should contend as a question of ex-
pediency, that it is better to bear the
ills we have and can guard against,
than to fly in the face of those of
which we can know nothing until too
late to avoid them.





Aalifi Paslla, the new Turkish am
bassador to Paris, is instructed to