The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-05-24

IL uoG Ue uore maEly, equally 1uSG-
and present your claims moro intelli-
gently, if you would allow the ten
states embraced in those districts to
remain, as the distinguished gentle
man from Pennsylvania Mr.. Ste
vensl says they now are, waste, out
lyingprovinces, conquered territories,
till after the November election, md
send your bureau agents or other
suitable emissaries into the States of
New York, Pennsylvania and Indi-
ana, on the first Tuesday in Novem-
Der next, and in the presence Of all
the people thereof, burn mp the bal
lot-boxes and ballots, on the claim
that you have right to deprive the
Democratic candidate for the Presi-
dency of that number of votes, to
set off the political power of these
territorial dependencies. which YOU
claim to own and control by right of
conquest. The people would under
stand that issue and have something
to say about it; yet that is precisely
what you are doing now in an indi-
rect way, and the people are begin
ming to open their eyes, to the truth
of it.
L know this Congress thinks it is
omnipotent. It is nearly so. 1t has
acted as though it was, in spite of tho
decision of the highest judicial tri-
bunal in the land; tribunal made
coordinate in power and authority
with Congress by the Constitution; Il
tribunal erected as barrier against
Legislative usurpation on the rights
OF the States and the people; tri-
bunal whose exposition OF the Con-
stitution has always been deemed to
be binding and conclusive on all the
departments of the Government.
Congress, i'll these so-called Recon-
struction Acts, in time of profound
peace, nearly two years after the last
hostile arm had been raised, and long
after it, by its own legislation, re-
cognized the war as ended, subordi-
mated the civil to the military power,
suspended the hdbeds corpus, struck
down the trial by jury, declared all
civil government at an end, and in
all things civil and political, substi-
tuted its will and orders, and the will
and orders of its agents, for the will
and the acts of the people themselves.
1t can impeach the Chief Executive
Magistrate, elected by the people,
without cause, or because he is an OBJ
struction in its onward march to
power. It can withdraw tho au-
thority from the Supreme Court to
question any act of outrage commit
ted by its servants on any of the peo-
pie of the South. In short, it is al
most omnipotent, or seems to be so.
But there is one appeal left. Presi-
dents, Courts. States and citizens
may be stricken down by those in
power, but the servant is not above
his master; he has to retire after q
term from these halls. and give an
account OF his Stewardship to those
who sent him. The majority here
will then find before that court of
last resort, that all their acts will be
reversed and annulled; that the Con-
stitution is still the supreme law; that
all their doings here are known and
disapproved; that this is n whito
mans Government, and because
they have sought to subvert it, they
have been weighed in the balances
and found wanting. The hand writ
ing is upon the wall, the Meme, meme,
tehel uphU'sin, is seen and understood; !;
and the guilty Belshazzar did not
tremble more at the recorded verdict
of offended Heaven, than do the radi-
cal leaders now, when called to face
an indignant and outraged people,
whose trusts they have betrayed,
whose liberties they have sought to
subvert. and whose rights they have
trampled under foot, in violation of
their known and expressed will.
The people will take the matter
into their own hands. They will
want to know why ten States of this
Union are kept under n military
despotism and prevented from con-
tributing their share toward the
revenue of the country. They will
want to know why millions of white
people are disfranchised and millions
of dollars are taken out of the Trea-
sury, for the purpose of holding them
i'll armed snbiugation TO the ignorant
negroes. They will do away with
your reconstruction laws, your con
quered provinces, and your disjointed
Union. They will remove the OBJ
strnctions from these halls. They
will insist upon the restoration of