Year: 1873

l


stituents; for 10 not intend they snail De
| left in the dark, or be deceived by duphclty,
| if ! can possibly prevent 1t.


Now, what is the cause of all our political


troubles! What is the matter with this


country-with this State Why does
| Louisiana langulsh !-bleet as she is With


all the natural advantages that would lead
TO a perpetual prosperity. Why is her
| financial faith being impaired, and her com
| merce disorganized and demon allied Why
| is her politics so mixed and debauched
| And, above all, why is her socitl and re
| ligious status so proscriptiye and so abased!
/ charge it all directly TO the Democratic
| party as the per Sc pro-slavery party before
| the war, and the anti-recOnstructioD,
proscriptive party since the war. But
| am willing to let all OF wrong that preceded
| the war and that was enacted by this party
during the war, pass unnoticed, 20 rest IN
| the tomb of fOrgettulness, and dwell only
| upon what has transplred since.


And what do we here sect We see this
| party ins Louisiana, in its first legislation
| Immediately after the close OF the war, en-
acting the most partisan and proscrlp-
| tive laws-laws which remaDded back
| the liberated slave into bondage more
helpless and defenseless and servIle than
when he could be bought and sold as a
mule OF a hog. Look at the statute books
| and see. And you will there find upon the
| record the names of many of the leading
| men who are now howling for power and
place in Louisiana, under the specious and
hypocritcal plea that they are the best
| friends of the dear people, and the special
friends of the dear and beloved negro.
You will there find, too, that these same


patriotic gentlemen voted for large appro-
priations Of the dear peoples money to test
the constitutionality of the same reconstruc-
ton measures which they now would tain


be considered foremost in supporting, and
if possible prevent the contamination OF the
enfranc hisement of the same dear negro


whose vote they now SO mach crave, and


whose principal if not sole redeemer they
would now fondly have the world deem


themselves. This is all so. Look at the
record and you will find it there.


And since that time continuously have


these political malcontents been brewing


strife in the land. They tried 10 prevent


the reconstruction of Louisiana in every
conceivable and incOnceivable manner.
They tried 10 defeat our present State
constitution. And failing in all else, they
have tried and TO great degree success
fully, to demoralize the entire body-polltlG
of the State, and to change and prostitute
legislation to their own personal and selfish


and corrupt aggrandizement. To the lead


ers of the played out Democracy III New Or


leans may be traced, either directly or IN


directly, all the principal legislative


swindles enacted since the war, and


which are generally laid directly at


the door OF the Republican party. These


old fossil partisan hacks would rather die


the death Of dog" than give up the power


TO rule and dictate and dOmlneer. They


believe manual labor degrading and abas-


ing: they are of the class who ruled the


State and the entire South before the war,


and who brought on the war; they were


l.1.,


born 10 rule, that they belonged by sane


ton OF high Heaven to q race OF masters


and that those whom they bought and sold,


though having souls 20 be lost or saved,


had no rights they were bound 20 respect.


This class of men, I say, and their pam


pered descendants, still live in Louisiana;


and since the war. seeing the sceptre


of power and authority departing


from them forever, they have sought


and are still seeking to regain and


retain that power, by whatever means, and


no matter how foul or unfair. In the lying


plea OF liberty they sought TO destroy the


integrity Of this great government, that


they might thereby the more certainly and


the more safely enslave eternally millions


OF human beings: just as now, under the


hypocritical cry of the rights of the people,


they are striving to regain power, that they


NAV enrich themselves at the expense OF


=


mails and perpetual ''hewers of wood and


drawers Of water of those whom they can


never hope again to buy and sell as chat


tels-and of all who honestly earn their


daily bread by the sweat of their brow.


To prove all this, point blank, we have


only TO look at the actions of these men;


for actions, you know, speak louder than


words. Look at their conduct during the


last campaign and since. They started out


I, ,of


a robber-as SO infamous that to cOnsort


with him would be infany itself and as TO


George A. Sheridan, he was too scoundre!ly


and rotten to be even mentioned, only in


hurried contempt. But soon they found.
rs they thought, that by taking these two


characters in with them, they might win


the race through fraud-viz: through


these fingers rs''-Governer Warmoth's fin
gers. They openly and unblushingly con-
tessed this on the stump. And here in New
Orleans during the past winter many lead
ing Fusionists, belonging to the pretended
Legislature at Odd Fellows Hall, have
openly and candidly confessed that with a
fair election and fair count the Re-
publicans would have carried the State
by large majority; " but they thought we
should allow Governor WarmOth to cheat
in their behalf Just once, and then enact
laws to prevent cheating" Who enact
y
which prays to get into power through
fraud and cheating just so. But what
queer logic is that. What could the people
hope at the hands ofsuch apartyt Nothing
but rOttenness and corruption. And these
men, after having started out IN the cam
paign with the prestige Of a white mans
party, par excellence, and with the boasted
plea that they could carry the State with
out a single colored vote, became sudd enly
scared, aud in nope of the spoils forgot all
their nicely-drawn principle and eX-
ira manhood, and placed the dirtiest and
meanest negroes in the State on their tick
cts, both State and legislative, and begged
harder and more humbly for the colored
vote than ever did an old moon-stricken
gray y-beard" for the hand OF the blushing
and disdainful maiden. And yet such men
talk about principle and extra manhood, |
and prate of the rights Of the people, and |
curse id Radicals with gusto equal ;
10 that of grass-fef two -year-old at
clay-rOot. And the people look on in wonder |
and surprise; but, trust, not often II ad- |
And follow these gentlemen up
IN their conduct here in New Orleans |
during the past few months. We see them |
proposing TO sell cut or swap |
of with the Republicans. One day they |
are willing TO take kellogg and give up |
McEnery if they can get Penn-another |
day they are willing to give up Penn and |
take Antoine if they can get McEnery-
and TO change and swap of promiscuously |
N the Legislature-a white man and mig |
ger, and niger and white man! Just |
SO some il not all can get into office. They |
are hungry tor office. and tn at IS the whole |
story. Jus. anything TO get into power and |
place once more; and each is so eager tor |
himself that he is ready at any moment and |
more than willing to sell out and betray his |
as the sordid brethren OF |
Joseph sold him into Egyptian bondage.


And SO the mixed programme goes: and !
still these gentlemen claim to be extra hon.
orable. and the extra and special friends |
OF the poor. dear people-''upon prnei- |
pie '-hlgh-strung principle ! confess it |