The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-12
WHERE ARC WEE.

hack in the past when every man who was II
citizen of the United States rcioiccd in thr
possession ui the most perfect liberty ihal il
was possible Tor mnn to enjoy. II seems but
yesterday that We had country prosperous nj
h"mc. anl capable Of protecting its citizens
| abroad, which performed all Of its functions
| without direct taxation, by means of moderate G
duties on Imports an,l by the sale of its public
lands. To-day the United States groan nncr
an accumulation Of drht, which is Il sl,acklr
"n every industrious man in the country. We
have no right to complain Of lhr debt. II
grew ont Of the war i'll which we look part:
anl Southern opinion. We lo moi believe il
| impossible 10 get rid Of the bmriheu in very
few years, as compared to the life of Il nation
The resources of this country. unboundcl ns
| they are, would soon enable uur cntrrprising
population TO free themselves from lhr yoke ii
the country were united anil policy pur-
sued marked with ordinary Wisdom. We navo
| no right 10 complain OF taxation. Tint scourgc
| grew out of tho war, and of necessity
| followed the war. We have no right IN
complain of the paper currency which is Hood
|
crgics. That, loo, is n creature Of the war
We have no right to complain Of any thing
which WAS necessarily result Of the frigiful
conflict through which we have passed: hui
VIC have right as men 10 complain when our
rights are tramptcd in the dust. We have a
right and an interest as American citizens 10
protest ngnins The deprivation of our liberty.
nnd To warn our fellow citizens of The dangers
| by which VIZ are threatcuel We have n rigl,
10 protest against any and every ungencror,s az,
| committed By our former foe. m 10 complain,
when the state of WAsulSarox that grand
| oii Commonwealth the mother OF Presidents.
an,l Of Statesmen, is under the absolute control
| Of militnry commander whose only title TO
| authority is the sword which he wears nnd
! The gun of his suhaltcrn. We have a right 10
protest, when the land of MADISON aud MAR
SHALL, the grent framer, nnd the great ex-
| Pnmu,ier of the Constitution, is known. not hy
her proud name of Virginia, bnt by that of lis
lrict No !. Wo have righ, to complain when
among The old tirfesssn," fE'ss En;inc of CnanLEs
rIScKSEY, anll of JOmN RrrLEDGI, is known
as part of District No. .. We have n right 10
complain, when ten stars practically oh
liberated on the national bnnncr. and when the
| stripes on that ing nrc the emblem of political
| degradation 10 ten Suites of the Union We
have n right, nnd it is our duty to raisc our
voice against The evils that surround ns; and
| though our warning may be unhccded, it is
none The less our duty TO proclaim the truth
Let him refuse TO hear who chooses TO he deaf
tn his head be the responsibility, on him let
the punishment he visited
We do not desire 10 be understood rs Offering
resistance to the Reconstruction Acts of Con-
grcss. We believe them to he unconstitutional.
We think them unwisc. We are sniisied that
the snmc ends might have been accomplished
by moro siatcsmanlike means; but we know, too,
that those laws nrc sustained by military
power and sanctioned by the will and malig-
nifty Of an ambitious and irritatcd majority
The South is powcrlcss and no sight can be
more ritifml than scnseless resistance. She
can. however. appeal TO the sober sense OF tho
Norll, and hope for better days while submit
ting 10 her fate with manly fortitnIe AMI pa
ticnt endurance.
History is constantly repeating Itself; yet
the party i'll power refuses 10 acknowledge its
'NaS''H6o " W Ia oH' ''J cAUulplc. lliStpTy
teRches us That whenever the checks and hal
nnces in government are destroyed-whcn-
ever one branch Of government encronchcs on
the other, some portion OF liberty, perhaps nll
liberty, is lost. The party in power have al
tempted 10 make, and, if they succeed, will
make the Legislative override the other two
branches Of The government. The New York
Tribune, the nblcst exponent Of the party, coun-
sells Gen. GRANT to disobeY his commanding off
cor under the Constitution, and snys that .f he
had done that, he would have done what the
country and Congress wants" In the snme
article, and with the knowledge that q Deputy
Marshal Of the United States represented in
North Carolna the majesty of the law, il says:
"A rebel Deputy Marshal Of the United S,aics
is more powerful today than the General of
the Army Of the United States" Where aro
We TO what point are we drifting, when the
ablest organ Of the Radical party, edited by one
of tho ablest men in either party, counsels in
nnc and the same article resistance 10 and vio-
ation Of the Constitution, contempt for the
judiciary, and open, unlawful opposition on the
pnrt of n subordinate TO his superior under the
Constitution, Tho President of the United
Stntes.
Many of The advocates of these doctrines are
good lncn, honest men. and some of them great
men. Their goodness, their honesty, and their
greatness, only make their opinions the more
dangerous. and the necessity to combat them
the more urgent. Because of their cnpacity, il
is the more necessary 10 show the end 10 which
| their doctrines must lead.
}he will of the majority is, nj present, 10 use
military power to make new experiments in
politics on the Stnies of the South; though when
M attempt is made 10 carry out the same cx
pertinent in The North, such men rs Mr. Sena-
tor TRuMBrLI. pronounce The effort unconstitu
iional. My OK and your hull nre very different
things from your OK and my bull. This is their
rnlo of conduct. This is their theory of gov
ernmcnt. II cannot, however, be pretended
that this theory is logical The history of mill.
inry governments through the ontire world
is tho same. H. matters not how COOL may 10
The intentions with which Tho soldier begins
his work. lie is not only fond of power, hut
| he is also aggressive. Not only s he unwilling
TO surrender his power, but he is also nlways
'lesirous Of adding TO his strength. Where
there is military government, there can no lib
crty exist. Day by day it encronches, and step
by step freedom retreats before its advance