New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-08-21

THE ELEcTIvE FRANCHISE.

The exercise of the elective franchise, when fraud,
violence nor official tyranny Interfere TO prevent "
from truly interpreting the will Of the majority, is
unquestionaby not only glorious and blessed priv
ege for the individual but safe and valuable feature
Of domestic polity. In the early days of the Re-
public and up to within few years of the present
time there was no feature of our government upon
which the people of this country congratulated them
selves more sincerely pointed to with greater pride
than that of free suffrage for every citizen no matter
what his condition or what the land of his birth. 1t
was privilege to which all were admitted who chose
to comply with the easy conditions required it in
vested the newly arrived foreigner, SO soon as he
should fulfill those conditions, with political mpor-
lance Of which he had never dreamed in his own
country and it soon became his first aim upon setting
foot upon our shores, not only to claim this privilege
but to take an active part in the affairs of Federal
and State government and share in the emoluments
of office. So far this was very well. Nobody could
or cared to complain of it, it was part of the
general plan of our government that the adopted
citizen should exercise rights in common with the
native born and honesty and capabity were the only
qualifications demanded in the bestowal of places of
responsibility and profit.
But the baneu spirit of party and its twin brother,
demagoguism, sprang up and grew to that bulk that
their shadows now darken all the land and in their
capacious maws, to speak guratively, may be found
the dsorganized remains of much that was once
known as political honesty and public good faith.
They attained their present Atlantean proportions by
virtually setting aside the conditions required OF the
candidate for American citizenship, inviting the
whole world to our ballotboxes, and thus securing
preponderance to party, whose sounding name ana
| specious claims to exclusive proprietorship OF the
principles Of human liberty and equality, catch the
ear of the foreign-born and secure his support and
fidelity usually before he has the slightest idea of
our laws or the nature of our institutions He has
hardly time to set foot upon the wharves of one of
our seaport cities, when some strong unged dema-
/ gogue bawls into his ear the word "Democracy!'
and his political complexion is decided as thoroughly
as if be had been instructed in the canons of the
modern Democratic party of this country all his life.
We say this of the mass of the foreign population
only. We state it as a truism, without wishing to
hurt any ones feelings. We know that many intel
ligent and educated men come here, who study our
institutions and laws and take their future course
derstandngly. Would it were possible that all could
| do so!
1 The immediate consequences of an almost undis-
puted reign of INSCRIPTIONS party spirit and dema-
goguis, have been the most outrageous frauds upon
the rights Of citizenship by reckless disregard of
the strict provisions Of the naturalization laws out
rageous frauds upon the ballot-box, fearful violence
at the polls contested elections, arbitrary abuses of
power corruption in high places, and, worst of ALL
upon the bench, and melancholy decay of respect
and consideration for what had hitherto been termed
/ the palladium of our rights and liberties Such,
briefly is the present condition of the elective fran
chise in this country and this is plainly the leading
cause of its being brought to such wretched state.
We devoutly pray that means may be found to effect
its regeneration and reinstate it in its primal purity
and excellence. is in this country now but little
more reliable in interpreting the public willthe will
othe actual citizens than it showed itself in the late
elections in France, where thousands who dared to
vote they pleased dared not do openly, but de-
posted their ballots in silence and concealed their
character by paltry stratagem. How many thousands
there in this country who dare not go to the polls
with open ticket mindful of the yoke of party Or
the decapitating Of government officials freely
used upon the department clerks in Washington and
the ship carpenters in all our navy yards where it
was possible?
We repeat cur prayer for the amendment of an
abuse fatal to the public health and happiness of
4 free government.