Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-09-07

y
be levied out Of their property to paw the expenses
and damages Of the war. Congress in July, 1852 4
declared all their property forfeited and direct
ed the President to seize II for the benefit of the
United States; more than ten billions Of property /
thus became vested in the United States. Pressed
ings against more than two billions Of property in
eluding the abandoned estates had been instituted
and were in progress The President has restos- |
ed to the traitors nearly the whole of It. Thus |
has he illegally given away half enough to nav |
the national debt He has enriched traitors at |
the expense of loyal men. And yet Congress- |
bold as it was, had not the courage to reverse |
these proceedings and compel the executive to do
his duty. | trust that our constituents will give
us more courage, so that at the next session we
may compel the President to do his duty and exc
cute the laws. These are omissions which /
frankly confess and sincerely deplore But our
crowning sin the omission to give homesteads
and the right Of suffrage in the rebel States to
the freedmen who had fought our battles. We
have left them the victims of the rebels who every
day shoot them down in cold blood. At Memphis
forty-eight were murdered under the direction of
the municipal authorities, and not man prosecU-
ted. Behold the awful slaughter of white men
and black-of convention of highly respectable
nep, peaeeably assembled in convention at New
New Orleans, which Gen. Sheridan pronounoes
more horrible than the massacre of Fort Pillow.
Even the Clergyman who opened the proceedings
with prayer cruelty murdered. All this was
done under the sanction Of Johnson and his Of
aee holders 1t is the legitimate consequence of
his "poEcy.'
| aCnit Congress became demagogical in the
last not Gays, when all manhood was melted out
OF every body They did some things to seduce
| the Fenians into our Ilsgao-fISs
| right, and I vsted for them. / win speak
| plainly on this subject.
| The most effective argument (if argument it can
| be called which viii be used by opponents is
the effort made py the Republicans to give equal
rights to every human being, even to tha African.
| We shall hear repeated, ten thousand times, the
/ cry "Negro Equality! The radicals would thrust
1 the negro into your parlors; your bed rooms and
| the bOsoms of your wives and daughters. They
woIld even make your reluctant daughters marry
/ black men. And then they will send up the
| grand chorus from every foul throat nigger,'
! digger" "niggery "Down with the nigger
| party, we are for the white mans party These
unanswerable arguments VIII ring IN every low
| bar-rOom, and be printed in every blaekguard
! sheet throughout land whose fundamental max
| i'm is GAIL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL" The
| chief promoters of this slang consist of two or
three different classes. The unprincipled brawl-
ing demagogue, possessed of some cunning but no
| conscience Among those who have unequal
mixture of rogue and dupe, are the low, ignorant,
iliterate natives well foreigners, who dwell
about the purlieus of cur towns and cities, and
live by pilfering and "Odd jobs"
The protestant viii listen to devout sermon
from the text "Of one blood made he all the
tons of the EARTH and 60 forth to the next polis-
| ical meeting to shout clown with the negro"
The Catholic viii listen annually TO the reading
from the altar Of the Popes Bull denouncing slave
ry, and go forth to support the slavery party, and
| shout "DowN with the negro"
What shame that the countrymen Of the Dec
Elasation Of Independence; what shame that the
countrymen of the Immortal O'Connell, should
ever cast a vote on the side of human bondage!!
The President is not only using his high pre-
rogative to Obstructive action Of Congress, but he
is attempting to corrupt the nation as to render
| them unfit for self government. A kingly gov
! srnment may stand with corrupt ruler but re-
publics are founded and supported by the vir-
tue of the people. DemoTaiize them and the re-
public must fall. The appointment to Office
vested in the President by the constitution, to be
used for the proper administration Of the exeeu-
| tive branches Of the government It was never in
tended that it should be used to influence egisla-
tive or judicial proceedings Whenever it is used
| for the purpose of supporting political theories
Of compelling the people to abandon their p-iEci-
pies and adopt new ones, or to form new party,
| il becomes an abuse of power: a prostitution of
the patronage Of the government, which was vest
cd in the President for the good of the whole ma
tion, and for no personal party purposes.
When enyious death performed the horrible pur-
| pose of placing Andrew johnson in the executive
chair all the offices were filed by persons selected
| by Abraham Lincoln. They we're mostly selected
| from The party that elected him ard Andrew
johnson, because Others could properly un-
! derstand and carry out the principles on which
be was elected, and according to which he had de-
/ termined to administer the government. When
Johnso cane into power their principles were
! unchanged. But when he determined to betray
those principles and discard the men and the par
| ty which had elected him, he required Of those
officials the same prostitution Of character and
| abandonment of hOnesty. The penalty of disobe-
dience was removal from Office Hemade this rule
! with the lowest and most triHng Offices A coli
league of mine from Pennsylvania informed me that
having presented petition of the neighbors fer
| the appointment Of a post master to a hundred
dollar post Office he went to the clerk to ascertain
why the appoinement was delayed, and was shown
an order on file, signed by Andrew Johnson, di-
| recting that no appointment should be made un-
less it was directed by Ed Cowan! Judas Iscar-
lot dispensing patronage through Judas the
younger!
The Executive Of a nation Of thirty millions Of
| people; the commander-n- chief of the army and
, navy, going to country post Office worth less
, | than one hundred dollars a year to punish the
post master because he would not apostaeisel In
Rome and Greece, to corrupt the people, was
5 held to be capital crime. 1t was one of the
t charges in the prosecution against Socrates OF
> which being found unjustly guilty, he was SEN
! fenced to death. That the infamous use now
made Of the patronage of the government is a
g high official misdemeanor I have no doubt
Whether it win be prosecuted such will depend
t upon the courage OF the mercy Of Congress.
: The present crisis is exhibiting man in Amer ca
= in an extraordinary light In other nations, when
the King, the court, become debauched and cOrrupt
the of the people become demoralized But
4 the people of America, high and lew, from the
center to the circumference, remain untouched
notwithstanding the foul corruption and debauch.
Z cry which disgrace the centre. Notwithstanding
all the Establishments ofpOWer and patrOnage not
withstanding the tender of fat offices, not single
= genuine republican has been seduced from his
, allegiance to principle Not one has consented
to supercede one honest Office holder, and renounce
, his own faith rs the price. l know there are
few soldiers of fortune who hung upon the skirts OF
The party, who have consented to take office under
: Cowan and company. But they were men who
were never trusted by the party; who for years
i past have become so bankrupt in principles and
fortune as to be ready to join any conspiracy that
furnished rations. They are the army of Cataline
= Nor have the least fear that any respectable
man will be found to take service in their ranks
do not here speak of copperheads. see no rea-
son to prevent their accepting Office without loss
+. Of honor. They would violate no principle. They
7 would stab no friend. Eht warn YOU TO keen on
e eye on any professed republican WHO Consents tr
I'LL an enforced vacancy. However be may have
stood before there is viliany Wrapt up in his com
r. position. He is moral Leper whom you should
not touch. He should be socially ostracised as ul
G ftfor decent society. Let him ait about in tn.
. twilight, and hide his averted countenance from
. the light Of day.
I The President and his squad {it does moi
t deserve the name of party contend that the
it war rmadeno changes in the condition of ON
if institutions, underthe constitution. That the
t rights and liabilities ofall our former citizens
n rebels as welfas loyal remainunchanged. This