The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-07-31
THE BAYONET NDTHE BULLET AT
THE BALLOT-BOX.

THE BALLOT-BOx.
| The calling out OF the regular troop (slarines
by the President Of the United Slater, and tieiI
shooting down unofsnding ciIizeDs-boys and
chiliren--pt election poll in the city OF Wash.
iugtoD, done on the LIST of June, strikes the
| people Of England and France--those monarchica
countries whose Subsection 10 the military power
we so much deplole--with utter astonshmentA y
What would have been ths indignant and denun-
citory anatlemas of the America Democracy, and
the " Irish Brigade against The British Queen
or the French Emperor, had either of them called
out military force, and ordered regular troops 10
fire into a peaceable crowd Of people attending
the polls in London or Paris. There would have
been united burst of denunciation swelling up
from every city town and hamlet OF this country,
and tile warmeat sympathy would have been ex.
pressed for the oppressed people thus subject to
arbitrary and tyrannical power; large meetings
| would have been held, windy patriots would have
poured forth scorching diatribes upon monarchi-
Cal governments, flaming resolutions would have
been brought in and passed by reclamation, and
g the poor down-trodden people" Of France or
England would have been invited to leave their
accused country, escape from the grinding oppres
sion of the arbitrary and tyrannical government
| under which they were born, and come to the
land Of liberty and equality" where the inestma.
BILE rights of man are known, recognized, respected
Of suffrage without the fear OF the bayenet or the
bullet in the hands of regular trained bands house,
hold troops, or imperial guards.
BY the laws of England no regular troops are
allowed to approach within four miles of any cleo
ton poll while an election is progressing; such is
the jealousy with which the people OF that king.
dom guard the freedom of elections and yet here,
in this land Of liberty, at the seat of Government,
| what have we seen? Regular troops ordered to
the polls on the day of an election, when all was
quiet, and the voting proceeding as orderly as
could be desired, and these Royal Guards" or
dered to fire among those gathered at and in the
| vicinity Of the polls and passing at the moment
| No wonder the papers in Europe speak of this
| transaction with anazement and horror. But the
wonder is that snch outrage, pepctrated here at
noon day. underline very ewes ofthe Capitol of this
:" great model Republic" should not only not have
called forth universal burst ofndigDant condem-
| nation from the whole American people and the
American press, the profeased guardians of our
liberties but that instead of such manifestation,
the outrage should excite the plaudits of large
portion of the people, and three-fourths of the pa
pers published in the United States.
The time was when we used to read in history,
accounts Of the tyrannous acts Of those in power in
the Grecian Roman and other Republics, and
wonder why the people would thus tamely, and
cowardly submit to such tyranny; why they did
not at once punish those who thus trampled upon
and oppressed them. But since we have seen
their history acted over in our own country since
people justifying the most outrageous, tyrannous,
and oppressive acts, simply because they were per-
petrated by their own party, and because to con-
| denim the acts of their party leaders, no matter
how they may outrage the rights of others, and set
at defiance every principle Of civil liberty, would
| be endangerng their power and supremacy, we
can fully understand why it was that Marius and
Scyla were sustained by Retrospective adherents
while they alternately drenched the streets of
Rome with the blood of her best citizens and pre-
pared the way for Caesar and the Empire which
was raised upon the ruins Of Roman liberty, and
its foundations secured by being drenched in the
blood of all whose patriotism a stumbling
block TO those who had command of the Pretorian
Guards.
For the first time since the British troops were
called out in Boston and fired upon the people Of
that patriotic city, have Eoops-regular United
States soders--been lately called out aud ordered
to fire upon the people in the peaceable exercise
of the rights and duties of freemen, here in this
city, bearing the name of Washington. And the
officer who commanded them instead of being in
dicted as the British officer in Boston for muir
der, has been promoted from Captain to Major
| Ye Godsl