LOUISIANA. 



485 





We, the representatives of the Democratic Con- 

 . r party ot the State of Louisiana, in cunven- 

 tiun asm- milled, do hereby declare administrative 

 and political reform to be the paramount issue in the 

 coming gem-nil election, and we earnestly appeal to 

 our fellow-citizens, of every former political associa- 

 tion of white and colored, to zealously cooperate 

 with us in our pronounced effort to effect such re- 

 form. 



We arraign the radical party of Louisiana for 

 marked and frequent violations of the letter and 

 spirit of the Constitution ; for the assumption of il- 

 licit powers for the benefit of party, and to the great 

 injury and almost total ruin of the State ; for foment- 

 ing dissensions between the races and deliberately 

 exciting strife and turmoil, thereby cruelly sacrificing 

 tin- lives of colored and white citizens, with the in- 

 tent of procuring unwarranted and unconstitutional 

 interference in our State affairs. 



We denounce the usurpative and bad government 

 which Louisiana has suffered for the last four years, 

 a usurpation under which officers elected by the 

 people have been displaced, the government arbitra- 

 rily overthrown by Federal power, the Legislature 

 invaded and dispersed by bayonets in time of pro- 

 found peace; and such violent and unlawful inter- 

 ference adds but another to the long list of crimes 

 for which the Republican party should be held to 

 account in November next. 



We hereby proclaim that it is our desire and fixed 

 purpose under any and every provocation to have a 

 fair and peaceable election ; but we demand and will 

 insist that there shall be no violence or intimidation 

 exercised toward such of our colored fellow-citizens 

 as may wish to cooperate with us for the redemption 

 of the State from misrule. 



We fully recognize the binding effect of the three 

 recent articles ol amendment to the Constitution of 

 the United States, and accept the same as a final set- 

 tlement of the controversies that engendered civil 

 war, nnd we pledge ourselves to protect every citizen 

 in the exercise of the rights acquired and guaranteed 

 by said amendments, whatever be his race, color, or 

 previous condition. 



We hereby pledge our party to the satisfaction of 

 all the legal obligations issued bv the State of Louisi- 

 ana ; to the most strenuous efforts in the direction 

 of reform and an economical administration of the 

 government, and especially to the abolition of all un- 

 necessary public officers ; to the reduction of the fees 

 and salaries of offices ; to the standard of a fair re- 

 muneration and the consequent reduction of taxation 

 to the lowest possible limit commensurate with the 

 necessary expenses of the government and the pres- 

 ervation of the public faith, and to the curtailment 

 of the dangerously-large patronage of the chief Ex- 

 ecutive of the State. 



We declare ourselves in favor of the passage of 

 the Texas Pacific Railroad bill, now penning before 

 Congress, and recommend our members of Congress 

 to advocate it - passage at an early date. 



We advocHte the fostering of the public schools 

 for the benefit of all the educatable children of the 

 State, and that equal advantage be given to all chil- 

 dren, colored as well a* white. 



We cordially approve of and indorse the platform 

 of the national Democratic party, recently assembled 

 in convention at St. Louis, and feel inspired with the 

 hope of a better government in the future; but the 

 great question of reform is brought before the people 

 of the whole country by a great national party, and 

 we pledge ourselves to use our utmost efforts to secure 

 the success of those great exponents of national re- 

 form, Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks. 



On the fourth day the nominations were 

 made, the State ticket being as follows : For 

 Governor, Francis T. Nicholls, of Assumption ; 

 for Lieutenant-Governor, Louis A. Wiltz, of 



Orleans; for Attorney-General, U. N. Ogden, 

 of Orleans; for Secretary of State, William A. 

 Strong, of Winn ; for Auditor, Allen Jurnel, 

 of Iberville ; for Superintendent of Public Ed- 

 ucation, Robert M. Lusher, of Orleans. The 

 candidates for electors were: John McEnery 

 and R. C. Wickliffe, at large, and Louis St. 

 Martin, Felix P. Poch6, Alcibiade De Blanc, 

 W. A. Seay, R. G. Cobb, and K. A. Cross, from 

 the districts. 



The political canvass, though attended with 

 considerable excitement, was generally free 

 from disorder and exhibitions of violence. 

 There had been some political trouble early in 

 the year in the parishes of East Baton Rouge 

 and East Feliciana, but it was of a purely local 

 character, pertaining to alleged misconduct in 

 parish offices. In East Feliciana a mass-meet- 

 ing was held in January, in which both white 

 and colored citizens took part, and resolutions 

 were adopted declaring that great good had 

 been done in " ridding the parish of malicious, 

 ignorant, and corrupt officers," and pledging 

 support to all " fair-minded, competent officers 

 in the maintenance of peace, law, and good 

 order." The "malicious, ignorant, and cor- 

 rupt officers " alluded to appear to have been 

 driven out of the parish by organizations called 

 " regulators." In East Baton Rouge, in March, 

 the sheriff, the parish judge, and tax-collector, 

 were called upon to resign, and a petition was 

 addressed to Governor Kellogg asking him to 

 accept their resignations. The proceedings 

 were taken in a public meeting, in which col- 

 ored citizens took part. Governor Kellogg 

 wrote to the District Attorney, under date of 

 March 28th, calling his attention to combina- 

 tions of lawless persons to displace the civil 

 authorities of the parish, and requesting him 

 to institute proceedings against those concerned 

 in the " recent unlawful disturbances in the 

 city of Baton Rouge." The District Attorney 

 replied that he knew of no combination of 

 lawless persons; that the action of citizens had 

 been taken in public meeting, and was char- 

 acterized by calmness and deprecation of vio- 

 lence ; and that the officials had been induced 

 to resign peaceably and without the violation 

 of any law. 



Early in May two men were shot by a masked 

 assassin at Coushatta, and on the 17th of June 

 there was a riot at Port Hudson, in which 

 shots were fired, but these occurrences appear 

 to have had no political significance. There 

 was a slight outbreak of race antagonism at 

 Monroe, and through the surrounding country, 

 about the last of August. There was a gather- 

 ing of armed negroes and threats of burning 

 the town, but finally the negroes were induced 

 to disperse, and there was no serious disorder. 



Generally throughout the political canvass the 

 Conservatives pursued the policy of endeavor- 

 ing to prevent any compromise of their claims 

 through violence and disorder, and of securing 

 the codperation, so far as possible, of colored 

 citizens. Negro voters were in many places 



