The New Orleans Bulletin

Professions vs. Practice.

History of Reconstruction in New Orleans.

Programme of the Plunderers.

As is well known, the self-constituted leaders of the so-called Republican party of Louisiana profess to be the special champions and devoted advocates of popular government—that is, a government of the people, and for the people, deriving its just powers from the will and consent of the governed. And yet, in the very face of these profuse professions, these leaders have sedulously labored, from the very inception of said party in this State, to deprive a majority of the people of New Orleans of the right of self-government, of the right to regulate their municipal offices in their own way, and to choose those to be entrusted with their management.

That a majority of the legal voters of this city are uncompromisingly opposed to the party claiming to be Republican, is a fact so well known, that the adventurers who have sought to foster themselves, vampire-like upon the body politic, with all their unblushing impudence and utter disregard of veracity, have not essayed to deny. These facts and circumstances convict said leaders of either being false to their professions, or holding to the "higher law" doctrine, that none but professed Republicans have rights which the "truly loyal" are bound to respect, either as sworn officials or private citizens.

Act First.

Of the carpet-bag programme for robbing the majority of the people of New Orleans of the right of self government, was witnessed at the election held in April, 1868, at which time the people of the State of Louisiana were called upon to vote, not only for or against the adoption of the black-and-tan Constitution, formed by a convention composed mainly of unprincipled adventurers and ignorant negroes, but also to elect State, parochial and municipal officers. At that time a very considerable number of the old resident white population were disfranchised by act of Congress, and many had been deprived of the privilege of registering as voters, by the unwarranted interpretations and arbitrary rulings of the military officer in command of this department, and those to whom had been entrusted the execution of the so-called reconstruction law of Congress. These were advantages largely in favor of the adventurers who were laboring to obtain political control, not only of the State, but this city, to which they added those to be derived from a three days' election. Not content with these advantages, they resorted to criminal, as well as fraudulent means, in their efforts to foist themselves upon the people of this city as their rulers, well knowing that they were intolerably obnoxious to a large majority of the legal voters. They not only induced the negroes to procure false registration papers, but colonized them from the adjacent parishes by hundreds, if not thousands; and to enable them to "repeat" here in the city, these poor, ignorant dupes were provided with affidavits setting forth that they had registered in the parishes where they lived, but had lost or mislaid their certificates, and had not voted. In presenting these affidavits and demanding the right to vote thereon, they committed the crime of perjury, for upon many of them were found their registration certificates, which were evidence that they had previously voted. And the adventurers sent these colonized negroes from ward to ward, to insist upon their right to vote. Had Gen. Sheridan been in command of this department at that time, there is little question but that this fraudulent attempt to defeat the will of the majority would have been successful.

Act Second

was enacted by the venal, corrupt and ignorant Legislature elected under the black-and-tan Constitution, at its first session, by the passage of a bill taking from the city authorities all control over the police force, and giving it to a board of commissioners, to be appointed by the Governor. As a matter of course, this board was composed of his Excellency's creatures—unprincipled, unscrupulous and impecunious parasites—lickspittles at the footstool of power. This was to leave the people without local protection against the designs and machinations of those who had been foisted into power by fraudulent and dishonorable means, and at the same time secure an army of spies and informers. It was some time, however, before men could be found sufficiently mercenary to consent to become the pliant tools of a horde of unscrupulous adventurers for the privilege of serving on the police force. But such men were eventually secured, and as a consequence, the police force has been converted into a Praetorian guard, that knows no law, no right, no duty, but that of obedience to the will of a wanton usurper.

Act Third

was the removal, by the adventurer who occupied the gubernatorial chair, of a number of the members of the City Council, upon the pretext that they had not been elected strictly in accordance with the letter of the law, owing to the neglect or dereliction of duty on the part of the official or officials whose duty it was to order and provide for the holding of the election. And even at that early day in the history of forced reconstruction, there were found a sufficient number of old resident white men so lost to self-respect, and so regardless of the good opinion of their fellow-citizens, as to accept the positions thus made vacant. Then was discovered the ulterior object of converting the police force into an independent department, and making it subservient to the will of a designing State Executive. Without the aid of that force, he could not have seated the creatures of his wantonly usurped power.

Act Fourth

was the application to a mongrel Legislature for an amendment of the city charter. This was done without asking or considering the consent or will of the people who were to be affected thereby. The paramount object of that amendment was to secure to the Republican party control of the affairs of the city, so as to enable a horde of cormorants to plunder the tax-payers and property-holders. The result of the two elections in 1868, more especially that for Presidential electors and Congressmen, convinced the adventurers, that as matters then stood, they could not hope to carry this city through fraud and corruption, hence the amendment applied for. The appointment of the officers created by this amendment, as a matter of course, was given to the Governor, who, in order to retain a controlling influence over the city's affairs, and under the officials subservient to his will, required the appointees to sign resignations, dated in blank, before receiving their commissions.

This amendment substituted a Mayor and seven Administrators for a Mayor, Controller, Treasurer and Council, consisting of a Board of Aldermen and Assistant Aldermen. The bill, as it passed the Legislature, provided that the Mayor and four of the Administrators should be elected at the general election in 1870, and that the other three Administrators should hold over until the general election in 1872. But when the bill was signed and promulgated as a law, it was found to have been so changed as to make the number of Administrators holding over until 1872, four instead of three. This was to insure a controlling influence in the affairs of the city, even should fraud and corruption fail to control the municipal election in 1870. That such a change was effected in the bill amending the city charter in 1869, after it had passed the Legislature, we have the assurance of one who was kept in the confidence of those in authority at that time.

Act Fifth

was the enactment by the same venal, corrupt and ignorant Legislature of the registration and election laws, which gave the Executive as complete control over the elections as though he had the casting of the ballots. It gave him the appointment of the State Superintendent of Registration of Voters, and through him he controlled not only the supervision of registration, but the conduct of the elections, by requiring said official to sign his resignation dated in blank, so that he could be promptly removed in case he refused to obey Executive orders and instructions instead of the law. The result of this condition of things was that at the election in 1870 the Radicals carried this city by a majority of five or six thousand. That the majority was not larger is a matter of surprise, now that it is known that there were six or seven thousand fraudulent registration certificates issued in this city alone, and hundreds of voters imported. And in addition to this, it is a well known fact that the result of the election in several wards was changed after the polls closed, either by a substitution of the tickets, or a manipulation of the returns after they reached the hands of those whose duty it was to examine them and declare the result.

Act Sixth

was the enactment of the second amendment to the city charter by the rump Legislature at its first session. This proposed to revive the representative system of government by creating a city council to act in conjunction with the Mayor and Administrators. Had the bill proposing this amendment become law, it would have given the Radicals a controlling influence in the city council. It was never signed, however, but held in terrorem over the heads of the city authorities by the usurper who occupies the gubernatorial chair through Federal interference and by virtue of Federal bayonets. It is the belief of many, that by threatening to sign and promulgate that bill, Kellogg greatly influenced the action of the Board of Administrators during the first year of his usurpation.

Act Seventh

was the third amendment to the city charter, which was enacted by the bogus Legislature at its second session. The bill providing this last amendment of our municipal charter has not as yet been signed and promulgated, but the belief is that the usurper has made the same use of it that he did of its predecessor. It has been given out by his henchmen, however, that its fate depends mainly upon the result of the Republican Parish Nominating Convention. Should its nominations be of such a character as to meet his approbation, the bill amending the city charter will not be signed by him; on the contrary, should the nominees for municipal offices not be acceptable to him, said bill will be signed and promulgated. In that event, the people will be deprived of all voice in the selection of their public servants, and reduced to the necessity of accepting such as it may please the usurper to appoint. In such an event, judging from his past appointments, the people will have good and sufficient cause to deplore the future.

We have thus briefly sketched the history of political events transpiring in this city since the inauguration of the so-called reconstruction policy, so far as they bear upon the municipal government. The object is to show that those who have constituted themselves the leaders of the Republican party, and who have professed to be the admirers and advocates of popular government, have been untiring and unceasing in their efforts to deprive a majority of the people of this city not only of the right of self-government, but of the fruits of their honest industry and enterprise—to show that they are cheats and frauds, and that their paramount object has been to oppress and plunder all who refuse to become their followers.