The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-09-22
Will Congressional r on stru t o r
Stand, or be Swept Avvayt
WHAT THE NEW YORK WORLD SAYS

Under the heading, ga Frank Answer to ar
Insidious Question" very significant leading
editorial appears in the New York World o1
Tuesday last. The World is the most proRi-
nent and influential Of the Democratic organs
at the North, and is under stood 10 reflect the
views of those who will shape the policy of the
Democratic party in the event of its success
in November. The position which 1t has taken
differs very widely from what very many South
ern Democrats have conceived to be the aims
and publicly declared intentions Of the Nation
al Democracy, and, as faithful chroniclers OF
political events, we, therefore, place the state
ment Of the World before our readers. The
article to which We refer was in reply to the
following paragraphs which appeared in the
New York Times, of Wednesday last:
according to the policy thus authoritatively
proclaimed, 1t will be incumbent on MIR. Sey-
mour, if elected, to set aside the new govern
ments as null and void, and with the help o1
the military to dispense them and re-establish
the order Of things which Congress abolished.
This programme involves the torcible destruc-
ton Of governments organized und:r the law,
and whose validity Congress has recognized,
the overthr5. OF co ,stitutlons which have been
ratified bya majority of the people, the dis.
franchisement OF the freedmen in defiance oi
existing law, and the restoration to power OF
rebel leaders in spite Of the disability imposed
by the fourteenth amendment.
Will the World give its opinion frankly touch
ing the practical application of the Blair doc
trine as to the dispersion OF the Southern gov
ernments and the disfranchis .ment OF the
freedmen by the mere order of Democratic
President2 Will it explain how it reconciles
it's professed respect for law, and its acknow'
ledgment of the de .fac!o authority Of the new
governments, with its support of candidates
who are pledged to defy and violently to over
throw both2
To which ''insidious question" the World
makes ''frank answer" as follows:
This strain of remark and request for infor-
nation proceed upon the unwarrantcd assn up
ton that General Blalr's letter is part Of the
of fair reasoning by hh.ch 1t can be made to
appear 30. The Democratic National Conven-
ton adopted its platform before balloting for
candidates, and without any expectation that
MIR. Seymour would be it's nominee for Presi-
dent or General Blair for Vlce-President.
Whatever candidates had been nominated,
their acceptance would have bound their perso-
nal honor to the support OF the platform, al
though it might have conficted, in some re-
nor Seymour, not long before the Convention
met, made noteworthy speech on the payment
OF the public debt. Does the Times believe,
or does anybody believe, that in nominating
him the Convention in1orsed all the views eX-
pressed in that speech2 On the contrary. every
body admits thst Governor Seymour, by accept
ing the nomination, yielded whatever in
his previous views did not fully accord
with the platform. The same reasoning ap-
plies to General Blair. he is bound by pre-
cisely the same obligations Of personal honor.
IF there is anything in his Broadhead letter ln-
consistent with the platform, he renounced it
in accepting the nomination, just as Mr.. Sey-
mour made similar remuneration if there was
anything inconsistent with the platform in his
financial speech. The candidates OF great
political party stand in representative capac-
ity. Their honor which forbids them to ac-
cept the nomination Of the party unless they
have previously agreed with it in cs sentials,
binds them to sink minor differences. What
ever the Times may think Of the ethics Of such
matters, 1t cannot be permitted to make diff
ferent rule for the two candidates OF the Demo-
cratic party. Our cotemporary must either
hold that the Democratic party is pledged to
all the previous views of MIR. Seym 'ur, or else
admit that the party is not pledged to all the
views expressed by General Blair previous to
his nomination. The Times may take which
horn of this dilemma it pleases, but we shall
force it upon one OF them.
In our opanion, the contingency contemplated
bg General Blaar in hts Broadhead letter IS
neuer I,kely to arase. The example Of Georgia
demonstrates that everything desirable can be
accomplished through the agency OF the new
State governments. The fact that, IN the
greater part of the South, the white citizens
are majority, and that they mo1opolize the
property, the education, the social influence,
and the political experience OF their section.
proves that, if let alone, they can mould their
institutions into any form they please. There
soiA be no need Of dispersng The ne0 gogggn-
1,,ents 6y force, because they can 30 easily be
made the agents of their own reformation.
Encouraged and supported by the public ,t%a, 9%pn,
whites will be by the election of the Demo-
cratic candidates, they will have no difficulty
in revising the present constitutions BY meth
DDS so free from legal question, that no tede,
raj interference soaH be possible 10 ttacdrt and
none necessary to atdher.
We are confirmed in this view by the fact
that the ingenuity of the Times itself can de-