American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-09-15
CANTON, MISS.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER IS. 1866.
Paralysis of the Press In the South
Abuse Of Power by the Radicals.
THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

We closed our last article by say
ing how little the press of the South
had done to demonstrate the fragrant
violations of the Constitution and
the enormity of the wrongs inflicted
upon the South by the self-styled
Republican party; and we remarked
how strikingly these acts contrasted
with everything in our past history,
and the traditional republicanism of
the American people.
True, it may be, men have been so
astounded by such acts that they
are paralysed, petrifed by them, and
think all attempts to argue with those
whose souls can look with Indifference
upon the destruction of rights which
governments are made to protect,
not destroy, would be throwing
pearls before swine" Still we are
convinced our people should learn
what the Constitution was by the ex-
amples of fraud upon their dearest
rights, which the history of abolition
cruelties and the usurpations of the
Rump Congress so conclusiyely es-
tabliSh.
The very abuses Of which we now
complain, the people of England srt-
fered under the Plantagenetts, TIL
doris, and Stuarts. Successes were
occasionally obtained by the people
over kingly prerogative for several
centuries previous to the revolution
of 1858, which resulted in placing
the Prince of Grange upon the throne,
by which event those important prin
ciples of human liberty embodied i'll
the Petition Of Rights and the Bill
of Rights were ingrafted into the
British Constitution.
These were copied into our Federal
Constitution, and also in the origlnel
charters of many of the American
Colonies. gUnre Of tlIU must inpUl l.
ant of these bulwarks of freedom
had been recognized from time to
time by the kings and Parliament of
England, before the revolution of
1868; but they were too often disre
garded by both the monarch and his
court, and also by Parliament itself,
when the party which sustained this
body were in the ascendancy. BY
reading the history of these eventful
struggles it will be seen that the
Rump Congress are taking the words
out of the mouths of those who abused
the rights of the people, and tIampled
into the dust the leading principles
of the Constitution of Great Britain,
in their attempt to justify the tiendlsh
outrages they are perpetrating upon
the Southern States. Every reader
would be struck with the identity be
tween the two governments. The
Rumps, however, have far transcend
ed anything done in England, for the
wrongs suffered by the English people
were inflicted before their COnstitu-
ton was perfected by the Punishment
of James III from the throne.
After the firm establishment of the
principles of popular liberty IN Great
Britain by the overthrow of the Stu
art dynasty, but little has occurred
to excite the fears of the people from
the extension of the claims of royal
prerogative. The judicial murders
by Jeffries, at the suggestion of James
III, committed upon those subjects
who had engaged in the rebellion of
Monmouth, and especially the hang
ing of q woman by threats made
against the jury by the prostituted
court, were the eliminating crimes
which overthrow the Stuart family.
The agents of the Rump faction
took the lives of Mrs. Surratt and
Writ, and have continued their viO-
lations of the dearest and most holy
rights of the South upon the identi-
cal ground on which the loyalists in
England they had lOyalists who
abused the rebels and traitors under
the Plantagenetts and stuarts,) rest
ed the justification of those outrages
which the people go much abhorred,
and which led to their final and glo-
riGrs triumph. The British Consti-
tutiOn was improved by the Bill of
Rights adopted by Parliament and
the usurpations Of the court of James
and his predecessors, and the muir
ders and robberies committed by mil
hary tribunals, were acts which in
famed the minds of Englishmen to
the highest pitch of ennlity, and the
prevention of sueh acts was the prin-
opal aim of the revolulutioD- Our
Constitution was copied almost rsr-