American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-09-15


batim from the Bill of Rights, and
yet minority Congress are not only
avowing the same principles which
Jeffries and the royalists offered in
justification of acts committed by
them, before the principles OF then
constitution had become part OF
British law, but they are going far
beyond anything the people of Eng
land ever suffered at the hanas OF
her sovereigns or oppressors'
One of the most obnoxious acts OF
James, says McCauley in his history
was the garrisoning of English towns
and cities by Irish troops, with a
view of overawing the English, and
of gaining majority of Parliament
in favor of the Catholic party. With
only one man in fifty a Catholic, by
DENYING the right of voting to some
and comforting it upon others, estab
fishing the proper kind of military
Judges and bureaus over the whole
kingdom, the king hoped, with good
reason, to carry his point. The his
torian remarks, that the feelings Of
the English, excited by such conduct
of thier sovereign, may be conceived
by supposing what would be the IN
dienation of Southern men to see
New Orleans and Charleston garrls-
oned by negroes. This very outrage
has been committed, in compliance,
it is claimed, with the duties imposed
by our Constitution of course tue
Radicals, to be consistent, would have
iustitied the conduct of James II, and
denounced the people of England as
"rebels and traitors" They are
guilty of the same acts which the
British people were intiamed at, and
which the Bill of Rights was designed
to prevent in future. The RumE
Congress, processing to follow the
Constitution of the United States,
which was an improvement upon the
English Bill of Rights, intended in
many respects to guard the people
by more republican and popular bar
riers than our transatlantic fore
fathers were quite willing to receive
for they were not republcans-seem
perfectly satisfied with going over
the grounds of the Stuarts, with
their military tribunals, packed jurles
and prejudiced judges, practically de-
claring to the world that the English
liberals failed to establish the princi-
pies they intended, and that the
wrongs they complained of were real
IL nothing more than just punish
ments inflicted upon rebels, traitors
and their accomplices. This they
are forced to concede, or to assert
tho ridiculous nonsense that the
American Constitution was less lib
eraI than the English, or than the
principles set forth in the celebrated
Bill of Rights.
We have con fined our remarks and
structures to a few of the glazing as
sumptions, Inconsistencies, and con-
tradictions of the dominant party
We hope to be able to take up spec
ially the several acts of the sham Re-
aud proue to the satisfac-
ton of every unbiased mind that
they have not observed the require
ments of any law, human or divine,
national OF constitutional, STAGE they
have been in power; but, on the con
trary, they have set at defiance every
rule of right recognised by civilized
and christian man. Should the South
present her complaints as they might
be, we feel confident that a majority
even of the North would come to the
delivcrance Of a brave and gallant
people, suffering from a despotism
more CALLING than any the serts of
Russia or the slaves of Tripoli ever
received at the hands of their rulers
and oppresSOrS.