The Van Buren press., 1868-02-07

-.-~suL-s1s<=sasscss - -sss'4 80
the strange anomaly o.thc creature swallow
ing mp the creator. The Confederation Of u"
was made by and among States having SOW
creign existence. and the treaty, with Great
britain. acknowledging our Independence
Wa signed by the States ofNew York, Caro-
lima. and the Others; it acknowledged heir
separate independence and not that OF the
Federal body. This Confederation. having
been made for and during warwas soon FOUND
TO be unfit for peace. IL acted upon the state
alone, and bad lao means of enforcing obe-
dience to any of decisions upon questions
arising between States. II created but one de
partment OF fGoyernment,it IL had no Executive;
no Judiciary. When the present Government
was organized 1t was deemed necessary to
clolhc ii u iil ihcpower, 20 jar as - jsT.s,';e-
ton pcrlAitisd, to act upon individuals Instead
of States. In its delegated power, and K has
no other, the present Government, established
in 1881, is but little stronger than the old Con-
federation. It's powers arc not centered in one
body, as before, but is made up Of three CO.
ordinate branches. ltpossesses tie power OF
enforcing its legitimate deeiees, but 10 Others.
The national rights OF the States are nearly as
numerous, and fully as important as they
were in the Confederation; and departure
from the strict Interpretation of the Constitu-
tion, has been the germ Of all our woes. I'M
der the general welfare" clause Congress has
by stealthy steps encroached upon the rcsery-
ed rights Of the States, until they now claim
the power and the right to determine the
qualifications of electors. In support OF the
attempt to force negro equality upon the South
they tell us we have drited tar away from the
landmarks, established by the trainers of our
Government; that the Declaration Of indie
pendCncc and the Constitution both recognize
the equality of races. This proposition, how
ever absurd, had some supporters and should
be refut.d; in order to do this it would only be
necessary to read few clauses of the history
of the country, at the time of the adoption of
represent Government. In the preliminary
treaty between Great Britain and the United
States in 1892, the latter stipulated to evacuate
all posts, etc without taking therefrom any
ordnance, etc., negroes or other property
and the same language was used in the final
treaty ofl1S3, and payment for negroes that
were taken during the war was agreed to be
made. Again in the war of 1872 negroes were
taken by the British in large numbers and in
the treaty of I6lIthe same agreement was en-
ter2dnto, Great Britain promising to eyacuate
Posts, etc., without taking negroes, or other
property, and promising also compensation
for slaves; and final payment was made to this
Government for them in 1926. under the adj
lninistration Of q Northern President, john Q.
Adams. Did these men consider the negro
an equal politically or otherwise? certainly
not. By the want Of vigilance and activity Of
the Conservative men of Arkansas we have
visited upon us blightng curse, called q Con-
yention. 1t is now, through the negligence of
voters, holding its sessions in our Capital. 1t
may be an item of interest to the tax payers
| of this county to know that their distinguish
ed representative, and warm lover ofhis coun-
try, the man who pledges his party to an
| economical administration, receives only the
modest sum ofsiXteen dollars per day Sundays
| included, all this aside from mileage, ten daily
papers, etc. The General also found it nec-
essary to create few surplus offices and these
together with pay to members some seventy
! five in all, already amounts to nearly the sum
of twenty thousand dollars. How much more
it may cost no one can tell. As yet they have
not touched the Constitution, Republican in
FORM, but are consuming time in legislating
on other mems business, changing county
lines. etc, and ut last accounts the only i'm
p0rtant question before these sages was,
whether Gray (negro) of Phillips county. is
more white man than negro. In conclusion
the present contest was one principle-we
were struggling to keep back the tide of po-
ltical corruption which threatens to over
whelm the country. An adherence to sound
principles could, alone, accomplish this end,
and twas to be hoped that few white men
could be found in Crawford who would unite
with negroes against the White Mans Party,
and to the suppression ofwhite mems liber-
ties"