432 



LOUISIANA. 



tion,' shall bo decided by a majority of the votes ac- 

 tually cast ; and, at the election in which the question 

 of the adoption or rejection of any constitution is 

 submitted, any person duly registered in the State 

 may vote in the election district where he oifers to 

 vote when he has resided therein for ten days next 

 preceding such election, upon presentation of his cer- 

 tificate of registration, his affidavit or other satisfac- 

 tory evidence, under such regulations as the district 

 commanders may prescribe; " and 



" That the Constitutional Convention of any of the 

 States mentioned in the acts to which this is amenda- 

 tory, may provide that, at the time of voting upon the 

 ratification of the constitution, the registered voters 

 may vote also for members of the House of Eepresenta- 

 tives of the United States, and for all elective officers 

 provided for by the said constitution ; and the same 

 election officers who shall make the return of the 

 votes cast on the ratification or rejection of the con- 

 stitution, shall enumerate and certify the votes cast 

 for members of Congress." 



In accordance with the terms of this act, an election 

 will be held in the State of Louisiana for members of 

 the House of Eepresentatiyes of the United States. 

 and for such State, judicial, parish, and municipal 

 officers and members of the General Assembly as are 

 provided for in the constitution to be submitted to 

 the people for ratification. 



This election will be in all respects a part of the 

 election "heretofore ordered in Special Orders No. 55, 

 dated March 12, 1868, from these headquarters, sub- 

 ject only to such modifications as may be required by 

 the above-mentioned act of Congress. 



Any person duly registered in the State of Loui- 

 siana may vote in any election district, ward, or pre- 

 cinct, provided he has resided for ten days, next pre- 

 ceding the election, in the district, ward, or precinct, 

 where he offers to vote, upon presentation of his cer- 

 tificate of registration, or, in case of his having lost 

 such certificate, upon his affidavit of his registration, 

 in which shall be set forth the fact of sucn loss, ana 

 that he has not voted before at the present election, 

 or upon such other evidence of these facts as may 

 be satisfactory to the Commissioners of Election. 



The ballots to be cast u for " or " against " the con- 

 stitution shall have on them printed or in writing 

 the names of the several officers voted for under its 

 provisions, and the returns of the election will be 

 made to the commanding general, as directed in 

 paragraph 5, of Special Order No. 55, above referred 

 to. By command of 



Major-General E. C. BUCHANAN. 



GEOEOB L. HABTSUFF, Assistant Adjutant-General. 



As the time appointed for the election drew 

 near, some organized efforts were made, by 

 those opposed to the congressional scheme of 

 reconstruction, to defeat the ratification of the 

 constitution. An address to the people was 

 published by the Democratic State Central 

 Committee, denouncing in the strongest terms 

 the policy pursued by the Federal Government 

 toward the Southern States, and calling upon 

 the conservative people of the State to send 

 delegates to a convention to be held at New 

 Orleans on the 6th of March. The convention 

 met in pursuance of this call, but made no nom- 

 inations for the State offices. The sentiments 

 of the party may be gathered from the follow- 

 ing resolutions,' unanimously adopted at this 

 convention. 



Whereas, The people of Louisiana are immediately 

 threatened with the consummation of a policy involv- 

 ing their degradation and ruin, promising the de- 

 struction of ^heir material interests, intending the 

 overthrow of all constitutional safeguards, aiming at 

 the perversion of every social, educational, and gov- 



ernmental institution, and obliterating every vestige 

 of American civilization in this State, for the no- 

 torious purpose of recuperating the waning fortunes 

 and maintaining the supremacy of a distrusted, am- 

 bitious, and vindictive party ; and 



Whereas. It is the duty of every citizen to lend his 

 energy and influence to every effort, and his voice to 

 every protest against the imminent consummation of 

 a scheme so audacious, revolutionary, and destructive, 

 the incipient consequences of which have been beg- 

 garv, wretchedness, and starvation, and the fomenting 

 of bitter animosities, and the matured results of which 

 will be debasing despotism, or licentious anarchy, 

 disgraceful to the country which tolerates, and ruin- 

 ous to the people who endure it : therefore be it 



Resolved, That we invite all conservative citizens, 

 regardless of past political attachments or differences, 

 to unite with the national Democratic party in the 

 State and throughout the South, and that we cordially 

 approve of the views promulgated in the address of 

 the Democratic State Central Committee. 



Resolved, That we recommend to all conservative 

 citizens the propriety of immediately initiating a 

 thorough organization in all the parishes of the 

 State and the wards of the city, preparatory to the 

 electoral contests in which they will be called upon 

 to take part. 



Resolved^, That we will unite with the national 

 Democratic party in any policy which may be adopt- 

 ed to preserve the threatened integrity ot the Exec- 

 utive and Judicial Departments of the Government, 

 and to counteract the designs of a relentless and ty- 

 rannical party to subvert the constitution and to con- 

 vert our republican and democratic institutions into a 

 centralized despotism erected on the ruins of public 

 liberty, personal rights, and the sovereignty of the 

 States. 



Resolved, That we cannot refrain from expressing 

 our gratitude to the Democratic party of the North 

 for their zealous, earnest, and persistent vindication 

 of constitutional freedom and personal liberty ; that, 

 although, under the fatal influence of the reconstruc- 

 tion laws, we witness the decline of commerce, the 

 decay of agricultural industry, and the paralysis of 

 enterprise ; and. although, in the success of the re- 

 construction policy of the dominant party, we can 

 anticipate only a confirmation of these sad results, 

 and the final lapse of Caucasian civilization into 

 African barbarism, yet we hopefully declare to our 

 Democratic friends and brethren or the North that 

 the spirit of the people of this State has been revived 

 by the late cheering and auspicious Democratic suc- 

 cesses ; and that upon these successes we base an 

 abiding confidence in the wisdom and patriotism of 

 the American people, and in their firm determination 

 to preserve the guarantees of a constitutional Union 

 and the safeguards of public liberty. 



Resolved, That the Democracy of Louisiana, re- 

 membering the past, only to be admonished by its 

 misfortunes of the inestimable value of a government 

 based upon constitutional law, do earnestly desire 

 the restoration of civil supremacy as the best guar- 

 antee for the preservation of the Union and the 

 promotion of the prosperity and business of our 

 people. 



Resolved, That we recognize law based upon the 

 constitution as our only sovereign, and to it, and it 

 alone t can freemen be expected to yield a cheerful 

 submission. 



Resolved, That in the declaration of the above sen- 

 timents we expressly disavow any motive or feeling 

 of disrespect toward the gallant soldier and patriot, 

 Major-General Hancock, commanding the Fifth Mili- 

 tary District, or to his administration as a civil and 

 military ruler, for in him we recognize one who 

 unites in an eminent degree the character of a gen- 

 tleman, a soldier, and a statesman. 



The only Democratic candidates before the 

 people formed a ticket suggested by the State 



