LOUISIANA. 



511 



Judges of the District Courts and District Attorneys, 

 as soon as practicable. The former class of officers 

 are made appointive by the Executive under the new 

 Constitution for a term of six years, and I invite rec- 

 ommendations from you as to who shall till those 

 offices, as also District Attorneys. 



I cannot urge upon you too strongly the import- 

 ance of your acting promptly and with unanimity in 

 the matters herein brought to your notice. If you 

 neglect to avail yourselves of the opportunity offered 

 you, I shall be compelled to make appointments to 

 office for your section, from the best information in 

 my possession, and you cannot blame me if they are 

 not acceptable to you. Important elections will be 

 held this fall. Members of Congress and a Legisla- 

 ture will have to be elected ; and if each parish is 

 provided with proper officers to open the polls, an 

 election for Governor and other State officers, ac- 

 cording: to the new Constitution, will take place at 

 the same time. 



While the population of that portion of the State 

 which has been so fortunate as to enjoy the protec- 

 tion of the strong arm of the General Government 

 sooner than other sections (and for which they are 

 not entitled to any merit of their own), in order to 

 hasten the restoration of civil government in the 

 State, have adopted a new Constitution and elected a 

 Legislature which has passed laws; yet I feel au- 

 thorized to say, that it was with no intention of 

 forestalling or denying your rights to participate in 

 the making of the fundamental, as well as all other 

 laws. 



In conclusion, I assure you that no one is more 



anxious to have the whole State represented in all 



general elections, and particularly for the office of 



Governor, than myself. J. MADISON WELLS, 



Governor of Louisiana. 



This proclamation was followed by a local 

 reorganization in nearly all of the parishes. 

 Considerable discussion subsequently took place 

 on the validity of the existing Government of 

 the State. It was created by the Constitution 

 prepared in convention, in 1864. On the one 

 hand, it was urged against the validity of the 

 Constitution, that the first article in the creed 

 of American republicanism was that a State 

 Constitution is the written embodiment of the 

 people's will, expressed in the most authentic 

 form. To make it valid, the voters throughout 

 the State must have an opportunity to be rep- 

 resented in the convention which frames it. 

 A form of government imposed upon a State, 

 no matter how, unless it springs from the will 

 of a majority of its voters lawfully expressed, 

 is not " a republican form of government," 

 such as the United States is bound by its Con- 

 stitution to guarantee to each State. But the 

 people of the State, as a people, had nothing to 

 do with framing or adopting the Constitution 

 of 1864. It was therefore without a legal sanc- 

 tion, and the government under it a provis- 

 ional de facto government, resting on force as 

 a necessary consequence of the revolutionary 

 state of things in which it had its birth, but to 

 be obeyed and respected as a de facto govern- 

 ment until it could be replaced by a govern- 

 ment of constitutional law. On the other 

 hand, it was urged that the civil business of 

 the State had been transacted under the Con- 

 stitution of 1864 for a year or more ; two ses- 

 sions of a recognized Legislature had been held; 

 laws had been enacted and put in force in ac- 



cordance with that Constitution; a Governor 

 had been elected and was in authority under 

 its provisions. Its first article provided for the 

 abolition of slavery in a formula that had sub- 

 sequently been inserted in many State Con- 

 stitutions. It also contained a provision, by a 

 short method, for amendment. Furthermore, 

 every thing was then in a train for a speedy 

 resumption of civil rule in all portions of the 

 State. As soon as the anomalous position 

 under the military authority ceased, every por- 

 tion of the State Government could be effect- 

 ually organized, and the first fruits of civil ad- 

 ministration would be at once apparent. To 

 this it was replied, that the formation of 

 another Constitution by a convention was the 

 path to restoration pointed out by President 

 Johnson. The Constitution of 1864 had been 

 tried in Congress, and found wanting. The fact 

 that more of the people may have voted under 

 it, than did for it, could give it no higher valid- 

 ity than it had before, for no other choice had 

 been offered to them. 



On September 21st Gov. "Wells issued a 

 proclamation, declaring that an election would 

 be held in every parish in the State on Novem- 

 ber 6th, for the choice of a Governor, Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, 

 Attorney-General, and Superintendent of Pub- 

 lic Education ; also Representatives in Congress; 

 also State Senators in place of those whose term 

 of office had expired, and also Representatives 

 to the Legislature. For the guidance of public 

 officers, and for the information of the voters, 

 the Governor annexed the following qualifica- 

 tion of voters as established by law : 



Every white male who has attained the age of 

 twenty-one years, and who has been a resident of the 

 State twelve months next preceding the election and 

 the last three months thereof in the parish in which 

 he offers to vote, and who shall be a citizen of the 

 United States, shall have the right of voting. 



In addition to the foregoing qualification, every 

 elector is required to produce the amnesty oath pre- 

 scribed in the President's proclamation, either ofthe 

 8th of December, 1863, or that of the 29th of May, 

 1865, sworn to and subscribed by him before compe- 

 tent authority : 



" I do solemnly swear or affirm, in the presence of 

 Almighty God, that I will hereafter faithfully defend 

 the Constitution of the United States and the Union 

 of the States thereunder, and that I will, in like man- 

 ner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proc- 

 lamations which have been made during the exist- 

 ing rebellion with reference to the emancipation, of 

 slaves. So help_ me God." 4 



This oath is imperative on and after the 29th aav 

 of May, 1865, and will be rigidly enforced. It will 

 be understood, at the same time, that those who are 

 excluded from the benefits of this amnesty oath, by 

 any ofthe list of exceptions contained in the procla- 

 mation, will not be allowed to vote unless specially 

 pardoned by the President. 



In all other respects the election will be conducted 

 in accordance with law, which is the same as under 

 the Constitution of 1852, and returns will be promptly 

 made to the Secretary of State. 



On October 2d a Democratic Convention was 

 held at New Orleans to nominate candidates for 

 State officers ; ex-Governor Robert C. Wickliffe 

 was elected temporary chairman. On taking 



