The Elk advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Elk Co., Pa.) 186?-1868, 1868-09-23

will ask them why they denied all rep
resentation to the Sonttern people in
Congress, when, in their uuquestioned
privilege to judge of the qualifications
of their own members, they had the
power to exclnde all members elect who
had taken part in the rebellion or we're
disloyal to the government. They will
ask why they suspended the writ Of
habeas corpus in ten peaceful States,
subjecting the people thereof to milis
tary despotism when the constitution
expressly forbids the suspension of that
writ, except "In case of rebellion or in
vasion," and then only when "the pub
lie safety may require it." They will
ask why, when there was no resistance
to the civil courts, the citizens of ten
States have been subject to military
tribunals in violation Of positive law and
most sacred principles of free govern.
ment 7 They will ask Why so many
little States have been carved out of the
Western wilderness; why the Presi
dent has been impeached and the Su.
preme Court threatened and paralized !;
why Congress has usurped power to
regulate the suffrage in the States; why,
in the exercise of this power every male
negro in the South twenty one years of
age has been made a voter aud multi.
tudes of white men disfrauchised why,
by eD post .tacto laws, they impUs- d
new disabilities upon men who have
been pardoned by the President why
they have removed them from many of
the most notorious rebels and enforced
them upon the less guilty and, finally,
why do they now propose to deprive
even the negroes as well as the whites
in the South of the right vote for Presi-
Dental electors !? To all these questions
and many more, the radical leaders can
in truth give but one answer, and that
is ave intend to keep possession of
the government. We feared the people
of tie Southern States would vote
against us if they were suffered to re.
main in the Union, and for that reason
alone we practically thrust them out.
We know they would still vote agaist us
if allowed to come in on the basis of
the constitution, and for that reason we
had to legislate outside of the constitu>
tion, assume the power to regulate
suffrage, enfranchise the negroes, dis
franchise the whites and impose upon
them constitutions virtually Of our own
making. Fearing there might be some
resistance to our plan for securing TO
our party the votes of the South by dis
franchising the whites and subjecting
them to the government of their late
slaves, we thought it necessary to sus-
pend the writ of habeas corpus and put
them all under martial law. The Pres
ident was in our way, and we stripped
him Of his legitimate powers as far as
we could by legislation, and not satisfied
with that, we would have removed him
from Office, but. for treason in our own
ranks. 1t was rumore6 that the Su,
preme Court would set aside all our
legislation outside of the constitution,
and TO prevent that we restricted its
jurisdiction and denounced its members.
Sad to relate, our new fiedged voters of
the South most ungratefully showed
signs unmistakably Of disposition to go
over to the enemy so, to make sure of
the votes of the reconstructed States for
our candidates next fall we have advised
their legislature, composed chiefly of
our minions, to take the appointment of
electors in their own hands 7; and as
Virginia, if reconstructed, would imme.
diately follow the example Of the ad-
joining States-Maryland and Kentucky
and 60 for the Democratic ticket by
an overwhelming majority, We determ-
ined to prevent the catastrophe, and
have decreed by an act of Congress,
though outside of the constitution it may
be, that she, as well as Mississippi and
Texas, shall have no vote at all. We
remove the disabilities of every red
handed rebel who will vote our ticket,
and enforce them upon every man who
seems inclined to vote against US. In
short, the political power of the nation
We are determined to retain by any and
all necessary means, whether inside or
outside Of the constitution
Such is the practical language of the
radical leaders. And if you ask them
how they expect to induce the people
of the North to sustain them in these
open outrages upon the constitution and
every principle of republican liberty
they virtually answer, "We have pop
ular Uniou soldier as our candidate for
the Presidency, and we expect the peo-
pie to lose sight Of the principles in
volved in their admiration of the man
In addition to this, we have powerful
arguments in ringing the changes
through our organs and orators, upon
the words rebel, ,coppehead, ,sympathizer
traitor to the party, &C., &C." What
but these are the means employed to Sc
cure the ascendancy OF the radical par
ty in Il . fall elections And now, hav
| ing subjected the white men Of tb(