Year: 1875

| cure ndjoltS. lHlS compromise WIZ


denounced by large number of Demo


Gratis, and they have gone SO far as tt


claim that it was only intended to secure


to the Democrats the control of the lowel


house, and that it left the legality of the


State government still in dispute. 1t wa:


even proclaimed by Democratic mem


Der of Congress elect who went to Wash


ington with the credentials Of Governor


Kellogg in his pocket, that he would con
| trovert the legality of these credentials by
| demanding the eviction of the Republican
| State officials and the installation Of
Democratic officials. Congress seems tc
have disposed of the contest by direct
ing simple inquiry into the
formal legality of Mr.. Morey's election,
without inquiring into the legitimacy Of
the State government which certified his
credentials. Upon this subject Mr. La.
mar is reported by telegraph as having
admitted that there had been a compro.
mise last session, aud that that compro.
mise did acknowledge Kellogg as the act.
ing Governor of Louisiana.


What, however, must we think of the
sincerity of a party which now attempts
to set up what its organ calls certain
umOritten conditions of the compromise
These conditions are darkly intimated to
be pledge to repeal the registration and
election laws, with the Returning Board,
as signed by Governor Warmoth, and
constituted in the interests of the Democ-
racy Of that day.


We ask if the members of the Legisla-
ture are to act upon mere representation
in partisan journal and demand other
and outside conditions, not known or pub
lished at the date whe the compromise
was accepted here, or upon the report of
the congressional committee adopted by
Congress itself? Upon what other evidence
is this theory founded: If it had been un-
derstood by the McEnery Democrats that
the compromise did not only give the
lower house to the Democracy, but also
left the State government in dispute and
guaranteed the repeal of the registration,
election, and Returning Board laws, what
earthly motive could the McEnery Demo-
Gratis have had for opposing the compro-
mise and denounci ng as traitors all those
Democrats who voted for it?


But the organ intimates that the ''un-
written conditions" were not known to
Republican members. 1t is alleged the
Democrats demanded a guarantee that
''the more odious measures contrived by
the Republicans would be repealed, as a
condition of accepting a compromise, but
that on the Republican ''side it was said
that although the necessity for the repeal
of those measures was conceded, the con-
cesslon could not be expressly stipulated,
because the admission would alarm and
ALLEVIATE the Republican members whose
support was necessary to carry the COM
promise into effect" That this secret
term of the treaty was not known to the
whole Democracy is made apparent BY
their opposition, to which we have re-
ferred That it was concealed from the
Republican members whose support was
essential to the adoption of the compro-
mise, is palpably improbable. If the
Republican vote was cast for the compro-
mise, without knowledge Of the secret
conditions, what obligation could there
have been upon them to vote for the re-
peal of the laws referred to?


Upon this feeble showing an / improb-
BILE basis we are told that the Democratic
party of Louisiana demand that the
methods contrived by the Republican
party to perpetuate their ascendency
in defiance of public opinion and in spite
of the votes of the people, shall be aban-
doned at once and forever"


This demand is not based on the right
of the people to amend or repeal any law,
but because ''the spirit if not the letter
of the adjustment will be rebated by the
refusal of the Governor and the Senate"
to carry out the 'unwritten conditions"
intimated. Under this Democratic and
Jesuitical reasoning which first asserts
a proposition and then assuming it to be
uneontroverted, proceeds to deduce con-
sequences of the most conclusive charac-
ter; upon this grasshopper logic, we
have the organ ad interim actually
recommending that the House of Repre-
sentatives shall "refuse the supplies of
money without which the government can
not be carried on" and closes an address
to the members of the Legislature by
saying, "Let the House avail itself of that
power" There is sufficient reply to the
threat to suspend appropriations which
pass almost entirely into the hands of the
bankers and brokers who represent the
public debt, and into those of the land
lords, grocers and butchers to whom the
pay warrants of the school teachers and
policemen, are transferred. The reply is
that such an act of reputation would
also stop the pay of the Democratic men,
bers and employees of the House itself
Unless, therefore, it can be made appear
as one of the "unwritten conditions" of
the compromise, that nothing herein con-