Rensselaer Union, Volume 12, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1879 — A STALWART DELIVERANCE. [ARTICLE]

A STALWART DELIVERANCE.

the Bair at the Saratoga Cosvsstk*^ Cnswsttos hmsty vests ago, whew the stave *r a si. ha 1 tag the niunmia Iha taws, the BttsMvkOnsrtMi writteCUßji^nih Basse of the rathKes ctm war wasca, attain two yesw thereafter, opened its dread drana ta Charleston Harbor ta the three of rievea bast is Ire ~f irtm«ty, which buried their iron U nit troops, whoas the toraMMßt, ta its earnest desire to avoid hostile haw str—loaa. was endeavoring to feed, and no* to rrtadnssa. it was at Sumter that the exaerisseat at atarviaa the Government was hdhtad, with repetitions at Anderson title aad other places of historic brutality, and more recently at Washington at the late extra session cf Congress, I came to this petition again in 1812. The curtain had then fallen upon the Moody drama opened at Charleston. The long, weary battling rears that had intervened had drifted into the dead past. The Bag had been bfted up front Its humifiatioa at Punster, and again inviolate and supreme, proclaimed the National sovereignty from the Potomac to the Rto Grande. A half million of the defenders ot that sovereignty were sleeping ta soldier's graves. The Mood of hundreds of bat-tie-Aeids, the emblems of mourning, the tears in a million of sacrificial homes, the bereft, the desolate, the helpless, the scarred and the wasted, encountered oa every hand, attested the costliness of the sacrifices which hml been made for the National life. We then confidently believed that by an immutable law of the Supreme Ruler, such sacrifices had not been made in vain ;that the Nation’s Mood, the Nation’s tears, and the Nation’s treasures had found compensation in the destruction of the germ of the fatal heresy of secession and in saving the grand framework of our Government from falling into wretched fragments. With immense majorities In Congress and every Northern State, and omnipotent to fix the status of its defeated enemies, the Government, with a magnanimity for which the history of the world furnishes no parallel, treating the contest as one of principle, snd not of personal hatred, and lifting itself above the low level of a mere sectional triumph, had condoned the crime of treason and rebellion, and actually reinvested traitors and rebels with the rights they had forfeited, and made them equal participants in the privileges they had insolently cast off in their mad purpose to destroy the National authority. This magnanimity has been supplemented by every possible effort to establish In the Southern section of this country a substantial era of reconciliation an»* peace. Military garrisons have been withdrawn, all alleged National interference heretofore complained of discontinued, and, contrary to all political precedent, appointments to office have been given to those who, a few years since, were moving heaven and earth to prostrate the Government and Union. To-day we are here confronting the consequences of the magnanimity of the Government and of its wasted and despised efforts to conciliate its late armed assailants. In the light of recent events it is not hyperbole to Inquire, Was the surrender of Appomattox a wretched, hollow truce, patched up to enable the rebellion to choose a new line of assault upon the Union? and was the mushroom Confederacy proclaimed at Montgomery really a failure, or are the founders and ideas to become the living, controlling forces of the country? The spirit which defied the authority and sought to destroy the unity of the Republic has again taken living form tn a Solid South, supported by the whole power of the party North, which in 1881 declared that the Constitution had left the Government powerless in the face of an armed enemy, which, with valorous spirit but fainting fiesh, pUvlged itself to resist coercion unto blood; and which, when our victorious legions had prepared the winding-sheet of the rebellion, in its National Convention assembled resolved the war a failure.

Stripped of all guise, the two great parties of the country are again ranged on either side of the line of demarkation of the powers of the National Government anti the States. Wherein now differs the Issue from that made up in 1861? Then the Democratic party demanded of President Lincoln that he should perjure himself in his official oath, or they would overthrow the Government by armed force. Lincoln answered in his inaugural: “ You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the Government, while I-have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.” This demand was referred to the last dread court of arbitrament, where fur four years, in the white heat of fearful war, the great argument proceeded, until at last, at Appomattox, the verdict was delivered to the matchless soldier whose marshaling of the Union forces had brought rebel traitors to submission and avenged an outraged Nation. That verdict was that tho Constitution of the United States was not a compact entered into by the States, but was ordained and established by the people of th© United States for themselves and their posterity; that no Stato or combination of States can nullify the Constitution; that the Union is a family of States, independent of each other for local concerns, but united under one Government for the manairement of common interests and tho preservation of tho general peace, a plan—to borrow the language of another—" most hopeful for combining tho home-bred blessings of a small State with the stability and power of a great Empire.” In short, that verdict was that the Nationality proclaimed by our fathers shall stand until justioe, domestic tranquility, the common defense, the general welfare and tho blessings of liberty shall, in God’s own good time, under the Stars and Stripes, be the lasting heritage of all who may bo dwolling upon the face of this entire continent. And the Republican party of tho Empire State, remembering that the great charter of our Nationality was enacted upon her soli, and recalling the heroic deeds, the sacrifices and tho fldclltyof the almost hair million of her sons who participated in that bloody assize,pledgee Itself here anew to stand by the verdict. In this year of grace, tho same Democratic party which sought to coerce President Lincoln from his official duty has demanded of President Hayes that he should perjure himself in his official oath; that he should surrender a prerogative given him by tho Constitution, so that Congress alone might beoomo the law-making power, and that the party might, by Congressional enactment, strip the Government of tho power to pretoot its citizens, to enforce its laws for the preservation of tho poaoc, and for the security of tho ballot-box, to tho end that tho palladium of our liberties might be left a prey to fraud and violence in the South and swindling repeaters In the North. This revolutionary demand was accompanied by the menace that, tho President refusing, tho whole machinery of the Government should bo brought to a standstill by withholding the suppllos which constitute its very lifo currents. This new assault upon tho Constitution, differing in form only from that made by tho same party in 1861, was met with a firmness, dignity and patriotism which make Rutherford B. Hayes illustrious in his high office, and a worthy successor of him who, for twelve years, in field and cabinet, stood against every such assault as a wall **f adamant. From the decision of President Hayes, as from that of Lincoln, the Democratic party takes its appeal; not this time to wager of battle, for tbe Insurrectionary States, the great factor of tho party, havg not yet forgotten the tramp of the armed legions of the Union who bore upon their banners Into the heart of its strongholds the death warrant of slavery, nor tfie old Inspiring notes of “Glory Hallelujah!” rung out’by those. legions, as they swept by the gallows of John Brown, carrying tho day-star of the morning of liberty to those who sat in the night of bondage. Tho appeal is now taken to the txtilot-box, which Itself is made tho brunt of tho assault of tho Denmeratie party, lav cause through Its abuse alone lies its only hope of success. I make no apology for putting tbe perilous National isque now Joined above all Stato Issues. Tho Republican party bclloves, first of all things, in tho -altsolutu supremacy of the Constitution and the laws of the Nation. Wo .are thus early, by the action of tho Democratic party at the last session of Cougreks, forced'upon tho first lino of tho Presidential canvass of next year. Tho rebyko of that revolutionary action by a majority of tbe people on November next will be the assurance of the complete overthrew of this now attempt to .subvert, the Constitution. The Democratic party lacks now only tho Executive Department to control tho Government. The Congress has already passed to tho absolute rule of the over-mastering Southern section of the party, which, by a more than twothirds majority, chosen always for its conspicuous fidelity to the rebellion, dictates tho action of tbe Northern followers. It is of this Democratic party 1 am speaking to-day, which, despite ail debate upon the question of Northern or Southern responslbilitf for tho initiation of any given measure of Governmental policy, can alone control and does Ax the final Impress and give it effect. This ascendency in the House of Representatives hus been gained by clutching tbe increase of'representation given by the fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution, meanwhile exhausting the catalogue of crimes to defraud the class who form the lasts of that Increase of the benefit which should accrue to them, and by thus arrogating to themselves double the legislative power to which they are entitled, curtailing tho Just influence of other States in the making of laws and tho administration of the Government. In tho insoleneo of power thus gained tho Democratic party becomes defiant in Ita denial of the right of the Government to defend itself by regulating the National elections or by enforcing its statutes for the protection of its citizens, either by the military or even the ftivtl authority. It denies the Government any participation in the control of proceedings which affect the “common defense'' and the “general welfare.” Anarchy may reign tu-

r- .:!? ” w \ . the fiager cat the dtaiaaato reverse the tag* istaticai sff the Nation for the hast eighteen thta stakeetreTthe dstaSSra^"* *T* < the knowledge of every ana off ordinary into*hgcnco la the (and, thnr are a minority of the legal voters off the Pafiwd Bsafies, ssaktag up taforce ia numbers, sujv tag always across tae pathway off the progress off the masses, despistag the rule of the majority; edaeated to despotism aad violences and impriied hjr one cootroWnw purpose born off their barbaric institution—to rule their section ta their own way. They tie a party led and dominated by those whose violated Constitutional oaths and forsworn atleghusee to the Government are the only testimonials of their fidelity to the Union, and whose contempt for the Government aad law-defying spirit are shown by their neglect, in their entire domains, to bring to justice even one of the numerous foul assassins of United States officers, guilty only off attempting to diecharge their duty In executing the taws of the United States—a party whose leaders launched the spurious Confederacy, with negro slavery as Its corner-stone, and which was buried in the abyssmal depths of that outgrowth of treason. but which, resurrected tar the beneficence of the Government, rewarded its tksswuy by restating at every Step the work of reconstruction, the amendments to the Constitution, and the legislation necessary to give them effect. Who are these who demand to be made the sole custodians of the National foith? A party which, on its dismissal from power In 1881, left the credit of the Government dishonored: which, during the war, flooded the South with its Confederate promises, until they became as plenty as the drifting leaves of autumn.and as worthless as the wasted parchment signed at Montgomery; which, since the war, has been engaged in the South in the open wort scaling down and repudiating Its State and municipal obligations by the wholesale; which has waged unceasing war upon the obligations of the Nation; which, tn National Convention and Congress, has restated to the last the great measure of resumption—the crowning achievement off the Republican party, and the first instance in the world's history in which a Nation has redeemed its forced loans on demand, without discount and tn the money of the . worhl, and under the influence of which every prostrate Industry in the land is throbbing with new Hfe, and the whole country entering upon a career of unprecedented prosperity. This Solid South, to whom our obligations are the irritating token of their subjugation to the National authority, now demands that It shall be invested with the sole power of regulating, collecting and disbursing the revenues of the country, upon which its faith rests, through which we saved the Government. and which, perverted or abused, would cripple and destroy Its ability to maintain- resumption or even its own existence. Who are these who, to inflame the partisan ignorant, conjure up the use of the army as an instrument to overawe State authority, and shout themselves hoarse- over the phantom? It Is the party of Jefferson Davis, under whose order, as Secretary of War. in 1848, United States dragoons rode down and dispersed the free State Legislature of Kansas. Who are those who prate of the freedom of elections and the sanctity of the ballot? It is the party which, by the denial of free discussion, by lawlessness, violence and assassination, ballot-box stuffing and the invasion of meetings and polling-places by bands of armed ruffians, has mocked the sanctity of th*' ballot, and has made, in th*' South, the republican form of government guaranteed by the Constitution, a by-word ami a farce.

To these demands the Republicans of New York make this answer: We love honorable peace and hate contention; but we put the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, justice and our own equality in the Government, before cowardly peace and craven submission. We acknowledge tbe sovereignty of the people within the rule of the Constitution. The war of the rebellion was fought in vain if it failed to establish the doctrine that the will of tho majority, fairly expressed, shall lie the supreme law of the land. The majority have successfully asserted their fidelity to the Union upon countless battle-fields, and at every fair trial by an honest ballot, and despite the machinations an«T revolutionary agressions of the Democratic party will again maintain their right to gqvern, ifnder the Constitution, their own Union, rescued by war from the toils of treason, in their own way. As Winter Davis said at the close of the war, “We who have laid down our half million of men under the soil, have a right to say who shall triumph above it.” Tbe question is no longer the equality of the freedmen in the Government, nut that of our own bqualtty. We will no iouger be deluded by fluent premises and punic professions. We, too, make our demands, ana will exhaust all Constitutional and legal methods to enforce them. We will have the equality in tho Government to which we are entitled under tho Constitution, and wHI not submit to the excessive power usurped by the South in the subversion of law and citizenship. We assert the right of tho Government to control National elections, so that every man entitled to suffrage may east, in peace and security, ouo free vote ami no more. We demand ono law—Justly enacted—equally binding upon every citizen of the land, to be respected and obeyed alike by all, and, when all other means fail, to be onforood by the strong arm which subdued the rebellion. We make no secret of our partiality for the regulated bayonet in the hands of mon wearing the blue of the Government as against the shot-gun in the hands of the red-shirted mobooraey of tho South. We demand that this laud —

She that lifts up the manhood of tho poor. She of the open soul and open door, With room about her hearth for all mankind—shall be made tho land of supreme, Constitutional liberty, as unchangeable as the stars symbolized upon her launicr. We demand that tho faith of this Nation to its creditors shall bo maintained upon the basis upon which wo placed It iu the hour of its peril, and havo steadily upheld it through weary years of privations, reverses, sacrifices and vanishing values, until now every dollar of the public debt commands its face in gold. Insisting always upon the equality of the National obligation with gold, we will keeptho Nation’s honor unsullied and never pormit it to bo tainted by the touch of tho repudlator, whether ho comes in open assault or in artful guise, with silvery tongue. Wo demand a Government which shall protect tho weak, tho ignorant and tho helpless whom wo havo liberated, and that American citizenship shall bo raised to the dignity at least of that of the Roman Empire. when Paul had been bound with thongs, he said to tho centurion that stood by: “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and unoondemned?” When tho centurion hoard that ho wont and told the chief captain, saying: “Take heed what thou doest, for this man is a Roman.” The Kopubliean party will bo wanting in “ decent respect to tho opinion of mankind,” will bo false to itself, false to its plighted faith and false to humanity, until this scourging of American citizens, uncondomucd and iinaoouscd, save of exercising a right given .by tho Constitution, shall cease, and until the admonition: Tako heed what thou doest for this man Is an American, shall be as potent when applied to tho lowliest froedman of the bind as was that of the Roman centurion. From the day Luther burned the Pope’s bull at Wurtemborg. tho progress of tho human race toward a higher civilization has swept on, not always with uniform force, but with muny a temporary recession. But the tide, gathering new powor in its subsidence, defying every ohataeio In its pathway, has in its return overleaped all barriers. In this temporary ebbing In the tide of our civil liberty and universal freedom, the Republican party finds new opportunity and new duty. Wo of Now York earnestly and with determination dial Unite ourselves to tho work of warding off the new perils which threaten us. Tbe spirit which inspired the organization of the party and its deeds, immortal fgr freedom and Nationality, is again n living Uamo in all hor liberty-loving homes, kindling anew tho determination to make secure the foundations laid with such costly sacrifices, and to garner up their full fruition. Let us hero to-day, as her delegated repri'sonttives, enter upon onr work with a just conception of Ita magnitude. Our sueuass at the coming election is not only vital to the welfare of the Nation, but will insure us well the control of the administration of the affairs of tho State, to which wo are Justly entitled by reason of having shapini its financial policy so as to havo redlicedlts taxation and indebtedness and of having laid the foundation in our Constitution upon which our public works mid reformatory institutions can bo maiuigcd with tho greatest effletonuy and economy. Theso real reforms ought, by every consideration, to be intrusted to those who originated them and are uiost thoreugly imbued with their spirit. Lot us not be lulled by the idea of division In tbe ranks of the Deinovrutle party. We shall confront an opposition which will challenge our every legitimate effort. Sinking ao cry . eunsUlorat lon of ambition and personal partiality, let us be rivals only In every needful saorittoo, to the cud that by our notion to-day wo may lift up the tiannor, by whose sign—“ The Union, the Constitution and the Rnforoemeut of tho Laws"—wo shall not only oonquor now, but lay the sure foundation for National auooess in tho greater contest Just before us. And so, romenuioring our obligations to the loyal dead and to tho generation* who are to follow, let u« gird ourselves for the now conflict, invoking the guidance of Him who bath hitherto boon our deliverer. Beyond those lowering clouds, in another’s language, “wo see piled quietly up against a golden sky mmintalns or compensation, bright with tho hues of a glorious peace, and holding within their inirnje bosom* treasures for the endowment of all the coming generations of men." Sound logic —Arguing through the telephone.