•^1 F 374 .07 Copy 1 T H lii POLITICAL PosrriON rii A LETTER HON. A. F. p S T 1 E, Aadilor of rnblic Aceouidn of Louisiana, II N . H E N 1( Y L . D A W !^: 8 , Chairman ComniUlee on Eltdions, House of Iteprcseidalives. NEW ORLEANS: PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF THE TRUE DELTA. 1865. V 37 -^ DR. DOSTIES' LETTER. New Orleans, I)pc. 29, 1864. Hon. Henry L. Dewees, Chairman Committee on Elections, House of Bepresentatives, Washington, D. C: Dear Sir : I sea hy the ne^-spapera that the Congressional delegation from Louisiana has been met by a protest from thirty-one citizens of Jiouisiina under the leadership of Thomas J. Durant. AUh )Ugh this proti=st was drawn up and signed in this city, the free State men of this SUte knew not its oon'ents until the docu- ment had quietly been sent to Washington, and after being printed by order of Congress, found its way back again to this city, and was publiwhed in one of our r.ewspopers this morn- ing. The friendly spirit which you manifest- ed towards the Union men of Louisiana in your successful efforts for the admission of her R(st obeiiient adharentp. Although al)0ve the ago to he rcqtiired to do militia service, be with oiuih alacrity en- tered as a pri7.ite into the ranks of the oitizi'.n soldiery, and his ptaf>ly and measured tread and per'eC'ion and accuracy of drill were emu- lated by the admiring youth of the city who were wont to look to him na an example. CONFEDERATE LAW PRACTICR. He conformed to the requirements for mem- bers of the bar and entered as one of the earliest and most active practitif nf;rs in the "Con- federate States Dis'rict Cc)ur'." In doing this he showeu much m'>re readine s than after the arrival of tha Union flef't when ht^ refused to practice his profession for some six months on account of having to take the o^tb. Ilereis a specimen o( Darant's pri»?tioe in the so called "Confederate States Di-itrlot Court," which may bo seen in his own hand writing in the United Stnto3 ('ourt of this place : John L Mannino, Ac, vs. Romakta Til- i.OTSON. — In the Conir.dfr>ite States Distri(»t Court for the Di -triot of L ui.-tiana. And now into this honorable Court, by counsel, oimea Romanta Tillotson, the dofend- ant, and pleads a peremptory exocpfion to the jurisdiction of the Court, and for cau■ Clerk's UllU-e ) I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original on file in this ofii.ie. F. B. V/NOT, Deputy Clerk. New Orleans, Deo. 27, a. n. 1864. MANUFACTURES CLOTHING. His house w.^s a manufactory of Confederate soldiers' c'othini", whero rubel ladies nsed to Bssemlle, and with their tongues and th5 the first Union Associa- tion of New Ofieans, he withdrew. won't fractick. M*ji>r Bell, fhe .Judge of the Provost Court, after most of tho leading members of the bar had comraericrd practicing in his Court, sent Col. Thorpe to invite Durant to do so also, but was Tffuied on the grouod of his objoction to taking the oath to support tho Q< nstilution of the United Srate--. don't like I^NICRE SOLniKRH. When tho hetrt of fvery true Uoion man thrilled with j'ly to spo the welcome blua coats frequenting our strrets, Durint coldly and heartlessly said : 'I hate the very S'ght of a Holdier ; to me it is emblematic of tyranny and despotism." TRIP north. Desiring to take a trip to the North 5 for the henefit, of his heaUh, act! una- ble to pT'^ciKo rt pa<8 through the nsiisl oban uel.a without, tahiag >he oa*h, be Puc^^eeile;^ in obtaining oce 'roin Gen Burler. Wbfn thfi lat- ter Icarneil 'oo ):*te, that thi-'Ugh this means htt had gone N'rth without, tak'n? the oath, he gave vay to the sfrorgpst and most indig- cant vfx^ti n. LBTTHFS TO THE PRBSIDKNT. lie wrote letters t.i fho Pr«fiident of the United Sta**!-', OAlliLg, or, as with a voice of John Hook, hoarsely bitsHrig f.T pro- tedtirn to nsgri property as a sine qua von to siibmissioti r.r loyalty. P.rhap^'the President still has Dura? l'« ar.peal.-: inr a'd to the cause of s'avery ; if not, a' all eeents, Mr. Lincoln's patri'.tic rtply i : no di>ur>t on file at the Exe- o-itive M>nfi(>n. ANTI SLAVKRY. This man se!s himst^s in favor of letting the "peculiar institution" alone an-l against the ur.cea»ing agitation of the slavery qiiesti m throughout the nat'On, and thcffure against the abolition plan of c;rryirig on the war: bu'. when the in placability nf the rebel- lion manif'isted itself and t!te pxperifnco of the war showed slavery to b", its strong pillar, when thttion8 in his favr. Those wh > opposed him beli^>ve^^ in his views but deem'-d tbnin pri>m.j- ture. This was in February, 1863 He ocn- ti ued agitating 'n the question in the dis- trict or locil clubs. He became Attorrey G«iieral un.ler the miliiary authority of Gov. S^fpley, and commenced a rf'g'stry system for voter.s of the ci y and oonn'ry parishes. He had reg'se s appointed in rill the parisVes withia the 1 n>-s. He got up a plan of a convention upon the white basis, to consist of one hu'idrvd and fif'y merubers, aprorioned umoDg the parishes almost identically as was ad' pted in the calling of the Convention of 18ri4. It was understood that Durant was the active promoter of the schema of a c n- ventiiin, but that Gov. Shcpley al way. s found eause for dt^lay. Excepting his penchont for delay, be left everything in Du'aot's hands ; and wi h this Durant was wjili pleasrd. But a ctrtnin letter wus received from Prfstf'ent Lincoln, who, not pleaspd with Shepley's delays, placed everything in the bands of Maj. Gen. Bunks. 6 HE TAKES ANOTHER TURN Here was the begiriDing of Durant's hostility to the plan which bus been tubstantially fol- lowed in the restoratioii of Louisiana. Before that time there w.s, accirdin 5 to Ms own >>j)eecJies, territory enough an J jjojjit'af ton enotiyh fully to warrant s-uch a proceedicg. Tikiug the thing out of Shepley's harids wa^; iaking it out of Duranf's hands. Although all the proposi'ioos Did plans of Darant have betn substantially, nay almost id«titioal!y foiiowoii, his opinions hare undergone a radical chinge. What caused that chwuge to come "o'er the spirit of his dreams ?'' Diaappointment and ambiti'iD. He oould not rule as " master," theref re he has striven to 7-uin. On Novem- ber 22, 18fi3, at Ljceum Hall, Mr. Durant said: "In this contest there could be no neutrality ; if one wai not with his country wholly and entbusiaatic-tliy, he was co-cper- ating with its enemies."' AIko : " He who f'iils to uphold the Administration in all its measures helps the rebellion to rear the coun- try in pieces." In this speech he expressed his belief that he was ad Iressing an audience that was willing t . lay theirall upon the altar of tboir country, to pres^erve the Union and estab'ish freedom to all mankind. " But wo are not, a territory in the commnn aoaepfation of that term — fUcVi, for instance, as Nebraska and Nev&da — wo are merely in a sttjta of insurreo'ior, under military rule and without a Slate (Government, and when the time comes, if the people themselves will step forward and frame a Ci)riiJtitulion, r' cognizing the principles of frei'dom as laid down in the Emancipation Proclamation, and without slavery, the re urn of the State to her allegi- ance will be hailed with one universal shout of joy from a'l liar free sisters ; but until they do this, ibey mus', bo content to live under the laws made by our military rulers, or as a tarri'ory of the Uuited KtHtc?." This is the closing paragrajih of one of his most elaborate speecbeH m»de but Httlti mure than one year ag ^ Tt)o State's integrity is not aiisaiied ; Sca'e lines ar.d State rights un- der the Federal C institution are forcibly and eloquently defended. He says, in his letter to the Hon. Henry Winter Davis, that the friends of freadom were thwarted in their ef- forts by tho «ix«cutivo at Wapbington. Ho says he has watched tho prrgreps of the Davis bill with ansie'y because hepf-rceived it would give " us " reliiif from the inoaiiaciiy and in- fidelity of tho executive admini.-tration. He, in his letter, is suddenly apprised of the great efDcaoy of the Davis plan of reoonstru cli< n Prom the moment I had tho honor toinvitehim to identify himfclf with the cause of Uaiouitim an^ libarty he urged, in his powerful argn- loeiits, that Louisiana had cot seceded, that she was siill a constituent member of the Union, that she could not disconnect herself fri;m tho hallowed bonds otherwise than by the providons of the Constitution thtit formed it and made for us the great and glorious Republic; and now ha speaks of tho Davis' bill as being tho only constihitional power known to the G.ivernment for the restoration of which in his ablest arguments he claimed had not been lost, and he dares to abuse the great and wi^e President in seeking to per patuate in Lmisiana "oil that incapaci'y and selfishness can render odious to the citizers." HIS SLAVEOCRACV. Tbat Durant has been ro stranger to the system of slavery, the following document, which may bo seen at the Conveyance OfBje of this city, will show ; be did not scruple to traffic in, asd buy women and children. He said rfcontly iD a letter to the New York Tri- bune, that the people of New Orleans kneiv what ho had done with his slaves. Yef, they do know. He kept thtm till the close of 186.3, wh.'n, having got all the work he could out of them, and Gen. But'er's administration against his remonstrances having rendered them of no further pecuniary value to him, he ostenta- tiously emarcipatcd Jhcni in open coutt, not quietly like hundreds of other citizens, telling them they were free, and contracting for their services as free laborers without a forced and iinf'oasonabio display f{ pretended generosity. What magoificcTit philanthropy ! Njnth May, LS51 — Sale ok Slaves of Widow Peter Cenas to Thomas J. Durant. By act passed before W. Christy, Notary Pub- lic, dated the28(h dey of October, 1845, Pan- lino Maria St. Jean, widow of the late Peter Censas, late of this city, deceased, has sold unto Thomas .1. Durant, also of this city, tho following named slaves, to wit : B-osanna, a nogress aged about twenty-nine years, and hef three children, to-wit : EiizHboth, aged about seven years, Tyler, aged about three jears, and Sally, an infant, aged about six months — all blade. That Fale was male for the sum of eight hundred dollars, ($800), for which said pur- chaser has furnished his note benrirg e'ght percent, interest from its date until tjnal pay- ment, drawn in favor of said v< ndor, dated 28th October, 181.5. New Orl«*ans, !»th May, 1851. Bbrnard Marignv, Register. not opposed to slavery extension. I now give an extract of bis remarks at a uc'ited Snu'hern action mass meting at tbe Orleans Theatre, as puSlisbsd in the Daily True Data, January 4th, 18151 : Thomas J. Durant was next introduced to the mtetinjf. A'ter eli quent atd «onenjUf< ailusioa to the city, which had taken him by Iha hand, when a boy and which bad fostered the efforts of hia maturer ago, and picturicg the contrast of Liuisiana as a French colony and her gK>ry and prosperity as an ird^pend- ent State in n ooaredtT^oy of equals, Mr. Durant saiii, that under the grave oiroum- starices in whic!i the couotry was now placed, any CKJbiJtr-ition of a personal charaote: might seem to his audience peculiarly out or placd and would certainly rtceive no attention at his hands, were it not that irjustice, uiiiu- tentiocal no doubt he thought bad bccu done him in this very place last evening. A gentleman who was an ornament to the cause be e-'p -uced, a raaa of hono'-, and one whom he (Mr. Duraot) had known and es- teemed, be might s\y, from bcyhood, bad ailuded to what be otceived to have been hi.-; (Mr. Durani's) vi«ws on the annexation o- Texai; ia 184 1, suppling that Mr. Durant had then opposed it on the ground, as was staged 'n the reps rt of his spefch in one of the oity papers of this morning, that it would exteci^ the area of slavery and give too gre.ir a pre- ponderance to tbe flave power. Mr. Duran* 8%id he regre'ted to see the cause of unUed Sou'.hern action assailed on his account, but tbe more so by tbeimputati'^n to him of faults of which he was not guilty. His views of Ih.st tinoe hnd been totally mis«ppreheuded ; he hud then di-cu-sed the question on constitutitnal grounds, btlievirjg that there were Ftrious ob- jectiocs to the measure on that score, and be- lieving that the time and manner of annexa- tion then proposed would burden us with a war which a diflfercnt course might aviid, but that it waa a grave etror to impute to him (Mr. Durant) views which did ni^^perate in the discussion at all. "^^ Mr. Durant said that sixteen tu^sevenleen ye*rs was a long time to look back to, and he was glad his oppotient.s could finti nothing more recent to urge against him ; but in re- curring to the history of that period, it will be found that his position in the Dcmucratic party of that time was such as to procure him the cnnDdantial post of member of the State committee which managed the election of Poik and Dallas, the annexation candidates against -J- • Mr. Clay and the Whig party of the day, who were then unanimously opposed to annexa- tion ; that his position was then, also, such as to secure him the nomination, not long after, by the Domooratio party of this city, as candi- date for the State Senate, to which he was tri- umphantly elected ; and to secure him the ap- pointment, by Mr. Polk, of the responfibie place of United States District Attorney here, which he had filled with satisfaction to the public. And none of thefe positions could he (Mr. Durant) havw attained, had the people, the party, or the Government imputed to him the opinions which are now erroneously sug- gested. And it seemed to him (Mr. Durant) that after such endorEements, it was too late, under any oircumstinces, to go behind the ree)rd, after seventern years have elapsed. The g'--nt!eman w'oo has boon reported in the pres^, Hrtid Mr. Durant, as having called my patriotism in question, is a msn of honor, and would not, I am sure, misrepresent me inteationalJy. I wii! tbftie''ore dwell no lon- ger on that Bubjcot, but of the snouking fel- lows who go round in dtrk o orcers traduoicg me, I here denounce them as mor.d'icious cal- umniators, atd Rm prepared to meet tlieir cal- umnies here or elsewhere. But, said Mr. Durant, the true question is — what shnll we do now? Not what v;e d'd formerly. We should make an tft'^rt to Hccuro tbe safety and honor of the Stitte in the Union, and if that e^>uld not be done, we should, all of us together, take measures for our safety and happiness out of it. HE don't recognize EMANCIPATION. Ho says "no free State C< nslituiion had, on the 8th day of July, been adopted or installed in the fragment of Louisiana held by the military foioes of the United States." On the lltfa May the Convention, reprefent- iog fully two-thirds of the entire pojjulation of the S^ate, passed the Ordinance of Emancipa- tion. Eighty-five members of the Convention were present and voted upon the great quef- tion. Of this number seventy-two voted in favor of the Ordinance, declaring slavery for- •ever aioZ/oZ'erf and prohibited throughout the State, and iuhibitin.^ in their fiat the Legisla- ture ffom making laws recognizing the right of property in man, and proclaiming that all children, from the 'tges of si.x and eighteen years, shall be educated by maintenance of free public tchools ; also, that all able bodied men in tW> State shall be armed and disci- plined for its defence, and that the black man may receive tbe full rights of citizensfip. Are not those jewels of liberty? With these invaluable jewels the Corstitution was adopted in the hearts of the people. The form or ceremony of ratification had not been gone through 'tis true ; but Mr. Durant, from his knowledge of the loyalty of his fellow- citizens, could scarcely help knowing it would be ratified by an immense majority, and if he was imbued with that patriotism and love of liberty his eloquent speeches in his saner and more generous moments portray, be would feel to thank those who stood by the helm of the ship when he was in the hold endeavoring to scuttle and sink her. PARTICIPATES IN THE ELECTION. Durant participated in the election for State uffioora ia Eobruar>, 1864; be wais cbHiruisn of a oouuiitittd which oouiluoteJ the oauipaign fur ooe aet uf oaadidatis ; he aiade iiumurous publioaiioDS unJ speuoh^s, and bis p'V luurh, with c0141.te1f.lled elee. At all his Jokis, lor iniiu} a Joke tiai he." CONCLUSION. Bit I fear, my dear sir, that tho lob^th of this le'.ter uiiy tire you. I have writ'oa hur- riedly and therefore incohereatiy. Let the patiiotism and ea'.°nestne^s of my heart com- pensate fi>r ijny deSuiency of style. I have written mote in a rpirit of isorrow than in auger. My aim has been uotbiug to extenuaie nor aught to set down in malice ; but I have considered it my duty as a g-jo.l ciizen to unmask tho conduct uf me who has immo- de tly and unjustly sought 10 thrust him.ieif before tbe country as tbe only o.>ncie- teut. Union iind Froe Staie man of Louisiana, and thus Si)Ug'ijt to icjure tbe glorious C'tuss of loyalty ac>d restoration, un- der our new CoLStituii'>D. Uiw far he wi I succeSa in his misohievouj and disloyal prao- tio: 3 or in his efTvria tj coritml the pv coufidenfe iu his p. hti cal integrity or wis.Jom. With high regard, I > m, very respeetlullj, yours, • A. P. Dostik. P. S. — While closing the above letter a number .of additional dr.cuoieuts have come i&to my possessioi), thiowicg 'urthor lit:lit upon Darant'j record, which [ fha'i, if ntciv- sary, mike the subject of another letter. A. P. D. LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 'Jiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 014 544 136 5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS i1||li|nil[l!||ll!'IM||l!{|li{| 014 544 136 5