454 



LOUISIANA. 



hope of the establishment in this State of justice and 

 right for all her citizens, irrespective of color, and 

 also of the enforcement of that patriotic declaration 

 of President Johnson, " that treason is a crime and 

 must be made odious, and that traitors must take a 

 buck seat in the work of reconstruction." 



Resolved, That we heartily commend the manly 

 and energetic course pursued by GOT. J. Madison 

 Wells and Judge Kufus K. Howell, in rising to the 

 height of the occasion in the performance of a solemn 

 act of duty, regardless of private threats of personal 

 violence, and unmoved by the ridicule, censure and 

 attempt at intimidation of the rebel press of the citjr. 



Resolved, That the thanks of the loyal men of Loui- 

 siana are due to the Congress of the United States for 

 the firm stand taken by them in the matter of recon- 

 struction, for the protection and aid afforded by the 

 " Civil Rights," "Freedmen's Bureau," and "Home- 

 stead " laws, and for the encouragement given to 

 the friends of the National Government in the re- 

 cently rebel States, to remodel their fundamental laws 

 in accordance with the immortal principles enun- 

 ciated in the Declaration of Independence. 



Resolved, That the military and naval authorities 

 of the nation are entitled to our gratitude for the se- 

 curity afforded by their protection and for the addi- 

 tional guaranty of impartial justice contained in their 

 recent orders; a guaranty unfortunately made ne- 

 cessary until the full reestablishment of civil law, by 

 the malice of our defeated and disappointed fellow- 

 citizens. 



Resolved, That until the doctrine of the political 

 equality of all citizens, irrespective of color, is recog- 

 nized in this State by the establishment therein of 

 universal suffrage, there will and can be no perma- 

 nent peace. 



At the same time when the above meeting 

 was going on, speeches were made from a plat- 

 form on the outside of the building to a large 

 assemblage of negroes, of which that of Dr. 

 Dostie is reported as follows in the New Orleans 

 Tim'es. He said: 



I want the negroes to have the right of suffrage, 

 and we will give them this right to vote. There will 

 be another meeting here to-morrow night, and on 

 Monday I want you to come in your power. I want 

 no cowards to come. I want only brave men to 

 come, who will stand by us, and we will stand by 

 them. Come, then, in your power to that meeting, or 

 never go to another political meeting in this State. 

 We have three hundred thousand black men with 

 white hearts. Also one hundred thousand good and 

 true Union white men, who will fight for and beside 

 the black race, against the three hundred thousand 

 hell-hound rebels, for now there are but two parties 

 here. There are no copperheads now. Colonel Field, 

 now making a speech inside, is heart and soul with 

 us. He and others who would not a year ago speak 

 to me, now take me by the hand. We are four hun- 

 dred thousand to three hundred thousand, and can 

 not only whip but exterminate the other party. 

 Judge Abell with his grand jury may indict us. 

 Harry Hays, with his posse comitatus, may be ex- 

 pected there, and the police, with more than a thou- 

 sand men sworn in, may interfere with the conven- 

 tion; therefore let all brave men, and not cowards, 

 come here on Monday. There will be no such puerile 

 affair as at Memphis, but, if interfered with, the streets 

 of New Orleans will run with blood ! The rebels say 

 they have submitted and accept the situation, but 

 want you to do the work and they will do the voting ; 

 and will you throw over them " the mantle of charity 

 and oblivion ? " 



" We will ! we will ! " was the unanimous response 

 of the excited throng, to which Dr. Dostie vehe- 

 mently replied : 



"No, by God! we won't. We are bound to have 



universal suffrage, though you have the traitor, 

 Andrew Johnson, against you," etc. 



On Monday, July 30th, the day on which the 

 convention was to meet, the Mayor of the city 

 issued the following proclamation : 



MAYORALTY OF NEW ORI.HAXS, | 

 CITY HALL, July 30, 1S66. )" 



Whereas, The extinct Convention of 1864 proposes 

 meeting this day ; and 



Whereas, Intelligence has reached me that the 

 peace and good order of the city might be disturbed ; 



Now, therefore, I, John T. Monroe, Mayor of the 

 City of New Orleans, do issue this my proclamation, 

 calling upon the good people of this city to avoid 

 with care all disturbance and collision ; and I do 

 particularly call upon the younger members of the 

 community to act with such calmness and propriety 

 as that the good name of the city may not be tar- 

 nished and the enemies of the reconstruction policy 

 of President Johnson be not afford_ed an opportunity, 

 so much courted by them, of creating a breach of the 

 peace, and of falsifying facts to the great injury of 

 the city and State. And I do further enjoin upon all 

 good citizens to refrain from gathering in or about 

 the place of meeting of said extinct convention, sat- 

 isfied from recent dispatches from Washington that 

 the deliberations of the members thereof will re- 

 ceive no countenance from the President, and that 

 he will sustain the agents of the present civil gov- 

 ernment and vindicate its laws and acts to the satis- 

 faction of the good people of the city and State. 

 JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor. 



On Monday, July 30th, some members of the 

 convention assembled at the Mechanics' Institute 

 building, standing about the centre of the 

 square, on Dryades Street, between Canal and 

 Common Streets. At 12 M. President pro tern. 

 Howell took the chair; a prayer was offered 

 by Eev. Mr. Horton ; the roll was called and 

 twenty-five members answered to their names. 

 Tbree or four others subsequently came in. No 

 quorum being present, which required seventy- 

 sis members, the sergeant-at-arms and assist- 

 ants were sent after absentees, and a recess of 

 one hour was taken. 



Meantime, during the morning, the Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, Voorhees, states that he called 

 Tipon General Baird to communicate to him the 

 President's dispatch, and also inquired from 

 the general if he would not have some troops 

 in the vicinity of the hall to preserve peace and 

 good order. General Baird answered that ap- 

 plication had been made by members of the 

 convention. The suggestion was then made, 

 that to have too large a police force on the spot 

 might be construed as meant to overawe the 

 members, and inasmuch as the civil authorities 

 did not intend interfering with the convention 

 until instructions were received from the 

 President, as had been agreed upon, it was 

 proper to have troops to cooperate with a 

 small police force to preserve peace, and pre- 

 vent all possible attempt to bring about a 

 collision. This suggestion met the approval 

 of the general, who then stated that he 

 would immediately give orders to have the 

 troops in readiness. Before the end of this in- 

 terview it was again agreed upon between Gen- 

 eral Baird and the lieutenant-governor, that 

 whatever warrant of arrest might be placed ID 



