Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1879 — The End of a Bad Job. [ARTICLE]

The End of a Bad Job.

Congress did finally adjourn on the Ist, and the country has reason to rejoice. After a few of the first weeks of the session, in which there were some proofs of an intention to perform its legitimate business, the remaining portion of the regular session and the entire extra session have been nothing but a constant source of disquiet, distrust and apprehension to the whole people. The dominant party, early in the session, relinquished the entire di-. rection of all its measures to an advisory committee composed of the most factious, impracticable and unpatriotic of its members. This partisan junto was headed by a man whosG every thought and aspiration was directed to a nomination for the next Presidency, and every measure which could have any possible political bearing, was made to bend in that direction. The caucus became absolute in its determinations. No bill or resolution or motion of the slightest political consequence was ventured upon until it had undergone the scrutiny of the committee and been regularly passed upon by the caucus. Often, in the midst of its deliberations in one House or the other, if any incidental question sprang up, the exact political bearing of which could not be completely foreseen and understood, an immediate adjournment would be forced, the alldetermining caucus would be at once convened, and the thinking committee set immediately at work to study out all the occult partisan tendencies of the proposition, if the caucus decided that it was all right, the outsiders were not put to the expense of any more thought or concern upon the subject, and it was ticketed through; if that despotic body tabooed the measure, that was the death of it. labor of the session has not been at all directed to any affirmative measures which it was expected would be for the interest of the country, but throughout the whole extra session the caucus has concentrated its labors toward the repeal of laws against most of which nobody raised any objection—in fact, which have heretofore been regarded both as non-partisan and salutary. But the President of the caucus conceived that these laws might possibly interfere with his prospects for the Presidency, and, as that object was his summum bonurn, ho issued his mandate that the Election laws and all laws subsidiary thereto must be repealed.. There was no great public exigenoy requiring this repeal; in fact, the whole public interest was in favor of the retention of the laws upon the statute book; it was only a few designing and corrupt partisans that called fur their repeal, but upon this the caucus fixed its ultima turn. It first threatened to starve out every department of the Government if its mandate was not obeyed; bat finding an Executive in the ohair who dared to exercise his Constitutional right to the use of the veto upon all laws which did not meet hfs approval, the Legislative and Administrative Appropriation bill was finally passed /without a political rider. And so successively, was there a substantial backdown; .of the caucus, upon the Army and Judicial Appropriation pills, and the great starvation process was finally whittled down to the withboldingof tho-paltry sum -of ffiOOiOOO 1 pay for Marshals and their deputies, upon which it was proposed to affix a restriction that no part of it should be used in preventing frauds upon the ballot-box. This diminutive subterfuge

is made to cover the gwsl retreat —the inglorious Bourbon back down, and never before did any political party ever exhibit a more despicat%»*orry condition than the Bourbon p*rty ®I to-day. . 1 Throughout all theso viciously aggresaive and reactionary measures the Republican npnority has stood firm, compact and' unmoved, ably and gallantly defending what they deemed to bo good and conservative principles, taking a judicious advantage of every parliamentary rule and precedent by which thoy oould foil Lpe nefarious attacks of the overbearing and proscriptive majority upon the laws and the Constitution. In these patriotic endeavors they ably seconded by the President; who in each of his successive vetoes has more and moro plainly laid bare the hurtfiifand revolutionary designs of the oaucus managers, and left them naked and exposed to the maledictions of all the friends or order and good government. The session has been fruitful in the awakening of sectional feelings which ought to have been burried; in demonstrating that in our Southern States the old States’-rights heresy which culminated in the rebellion still animates a majority of its politicians, and that reconciliation and reconstruction are yet unaccomplished. But if the whole shall result, as there is hopes that it will, in arousing the patriotism and the conservative elements to a closer attachment to tho Federal Union; if it shall strengthen the hands of those who honestly desire the integrity and perpetuity of that Union, then will not this otherwise profitless struggle have becD fought out in vain.—Wisconsin Stale Journal.