Year: 1879




was introduced BY Gen. King IN eloquent
terms.


Gov. Wiltz then spoke as follows:


Mr- President, Ladies' ond Felto,c- Citizens
or tie nartsh sf Ouachita In 1876 and upon
this very spot had the honor OF speaking to
the good people Of this parish. At that time
! Was candidate for the second position In
the gift OF the people OF this State. You had
as your standard-bearer that brave that true
and devoted son Of our State, the Hon. Francis
7. Nichols, Of Assumption. It was here that
he spoke to you, and IL was here that he said,
II the good people Of Ouachlta parish would
turn out on the day of election and give him
and his ticket their votes, he would be elected
Governor OF this State. He told the peo-
pile OF thIa parish and the people Of the State,
and those upon the ticket with him also said
to the people: "If you will but do your duty.
as you have a majority of Democrats in the
State OF Louisiana, You Will elect your ticket,
and the men whom your people In Baton
Rouge have selected az your officers will take
possession Of them aud take In hand the
behalf of tho great Democratic party, and as
one of the representatives Or that party to
ask the people Of Ouacbita whether OF not
Francis J.. Nichols and those whom the De
mOGraCy selected your standard bearers
with him have redeemed their Pledges Jap
plause,l


come here friends and fellow citizens as
one Of the humble workers OF the Dem mocratic





pledge made by the Democratic party has
been redeemed through the officers Of your
selection. You know that the first pledge
made by us was, notwithstanding the exist
enoe at that time Of an infamous returning
board, the machinery Of election In the hands
OF some OF the most Infamous men that ever
lived In our midst. the military authority
against us. the national government against
us. that we would take possession Of the
government II elected; and you know that.
Notwithstanding all the troubles that sur
rounded the officers that you elected, they
took possession Of everything that he
longed to you In this State. How well they
have administered the affairs with which
you entrusted them-how truly, honestly
and sincerely these officers have redeemed
the pledges Of their party, you know
as we'll as | do. To begin with tho first
Legislature OF the Nichols government
now ask the citizens of Ouachita II they have
not felt a reduction OF the heavy burden Of
taxation that ground them 70 the earth2 Your
taxes at that time were and per cent and
III three short ye$sas-Sa Democratic rule they
have been reduced az low as they possibly
could be In order 70 maintain an efficient gov
eminent, They would have been much lower
at this time had 1t not been for the existence
OF the infam GUS document known as the con-
stitutiun Of 1sGS-a document prepared by
men who had no sympathy for you. and who
cared not what became Of the State-pre-
pared by men who had not lived In our midst
and who came here with but ono object In
w.
people from the State II possible.


When the Nichols government discovered
that they had done ALL as government and
Legislature, that could possibly be done
until that obnoxious document was buried
forever and forever, the officers joined In the
movement for new constitution and to call d
constitutional convention toprepare it. They
did this at the cost Of the offices 10 which
they had been elevated; they did 1t without
regard to personal interest or aggrandize
ment. They found that the constitution of
1863 was barrier between the impoverish-
ment Of the people and their success, and at
once they called for a constitutional conven-
tion. The people of Louisiana. knowing how
impossible 1t was TO live under that obnoxious
constitution. sent to the constitutional conven-
tion the best men that could be found. large
majority OF that body were Of the truest and
best Democracy, men who loved Louisiana,
men who were willing to sacrifice all In order
that they might submit for your consideration
a good and substantial document .one that
would last as long as we can live


Friends and fellow -cItzene TOOK carefully
ut the constitution submitted to you for rati-
ticRtipn. Take the bill OF rights. the bill that
determines the rights OF all Louisanians and
American citizens, and YOU Will discover that
nothing has been left undone. 1t Ia bill Of
rights that we all may be proud OF as the bill
of rights of the people Of Louisiana.


It ID one In which the rights OF a man In
our State are we'll laid down, and In good and
unmistakable English. Ii is one that each
one Oh you can LklpfOUAHly uuueTSt8Iu WHEN
reading It. Take the constitution, from that
bill of rights down to the last word In the
constitution. and you will see how carefully
every word Of that document was weighed by
your representatives In that body. You will
see that that document was prepared Ivy men
who understood your wants, who understood
your necessities: by men who were deter
mined to raise Louisiana from the position In
which she had been thrown by the Repub-
Hcan party. .


You have In that constitution one of the
best judiciary systems ever given to the
American people. You have a Judiciary sys-
tenn there that will meta out speedy and
quick Justice, and YOU will thereby be enabled
to relieve yourselves Of burden which has
prevented our people from getting along rs
well rs some Southern States have been able
to manage in the past. The great difficulty
that we found was that the judiciary system
under which we had been aboring for the
past, and the one prepared BY the infamous
Republican party, was SO defective that capt.
faiists. naturally timid. were afraid to come
into parish 10 invest because where a differ
ence existed between Il capitalist and man
residing In the parish 1t was impossible for
the first to obtain speedy Justice and there
fore he becomes ttmid aud refuses TO loan his
capital. Now. fellowcitizens that judiciary
system OF ours comes as near perfection as III
Ia In the power of man to make IL. Il will
remove that great objection, it will bring the
capitalist and the borrowers together. 1t will
enable the one to loan to the other. and 1t
VIII assure pOsl IhAl 3aSAA@S @tli w Lncttu W
each. m.M#


Take the wisf Limitations " The new con
Stitution. and you will see that tire gentlemen
who peuned 1t worked for the future and not
the past; you will see that We have gone
ahead Of our sister States, and have said. that
hereafter the servants uf tue people must
distinctly understand that they ars but the
servants, and not the mas,ets Of this great
people From the governui ship dawn to the
lowest Office In your gift, yor will find the
rights Of Louisiantans are perfeats protected,
you will find that even the G0r"rnur OF the
State, who once had as much power N u king,
will discover that he il but an agent OF
the people, and his duties and functions are
limited as much as those or a eansMhle. He
has certain duties TO perform, he owes those
tuties to the people; his duties Are latI down
state will be careful that the ExeCaave does !