The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1868-08-15
The People Determined on a
Change.

From all the lights We can gamer "a
to the direction of the public sentiment
Of the nation, we are led to the conclu-
sion. says the National Intelligencer,
that it is bearing on with irresistible
force to the expulsion of the Radical
marty from power. This is the deliber-
ate conclusion of our judgment, and 1t
is shared. as we shall demonstrate, with
almost equal confidence by the leaders
whose doom is thus to be pronounced.
In he autumn of 1865 the Radicals
succeeded IN retaining their power,
though with comparatively small MAORI
ties. in New ork and Pennsylvania, by
skillful appeal to the passions evoked
by the war, and by the pretense that
they we're not really at issue with the
policy of the President. Their lying
platforms of that day were the fitting
prelude to that of Chicago in May n
In the year 1866 these leaders sun
contrived to retain their power much IN
the same way, partly by melting section
al hatreds, by misrepresentation Of the
policy Of the Executive, and BY the IN
,E''e plsIre that they would use their
power " Congress TO .e-.,.. .,,ao., r, the
country. On this last idea. espooIs.lI,,
'hey Nssss s--' small ihat. II ssfgaslsr ma
taught them by how frail tenure theii
power was held.
This lesson OF arr-5 out, instead Of
stilIed ~ enem to the paths of justice,
moderation, and peace, it ilnpelled to di-
reetly the. reverse temper-to acts of VIC
ience, tyranny and wrong, designed to
cement and perpetuate their power. Dis
trusting the North, they sought to t;s1e
"a bond of fate against defeat, by Nan
ufacturing rotten boroughs at the South.
To this end they struck down as illegal
State governments to which they had
themselves given the highest sanction by
submitting to them for ratification their
own constitutional amendment" and
inaugurated military despotism. They
thus ''put sword, = as ;heir own orators
annouSred, ''to the throat of every man
in the South, proclaimed universal suf
frage, and DISTINGUISHED one-third of the
white population. And, then, having
thus created new constituencies unknwn
to the Constitution, they provided care
fully for further fraud by test oatlls, |
which necessarily threw the Offices of reg
ister and judges of elections ia many To-
calities into he.hands ofignorant negroes
or corrupt adventures.
Such was the sin Swift followed the
punishment. The first State that voted
after these reconstruction laws were pass
ed, and after the enactment of negro suf-
frage, was also the first to repudiate the
Radical party. California followed Con-
necticut. Maine reduced Radical ma ]
iority from % 1900 in 1866, to II 600 in
1867. Pennsylvania blotted out Rad
cal majorf5 Ohio elected Democrat !,
Legislature and repudiated Desro suf n
rage by $4,000. New York and New
crsey uDrning inter TN -rs,oosivr.-i.a.t a.
cen thus demonstrated, rolled UP enor al
nous Conservative majorities. The re- = >
ction werfe6n everywhere, in every State, Il
a the large cities, lin the great hives of in
Industry, in the workshops, in the fields al
nd prairies of the West. Everywhere 8
uman nature rose up and testified i
sainst the brutality and low villiany Of Of
hese bad men. RI e
Seeing their almost inevitable fate. "
he Radicals abandoned all their favor :,
e statesmen, smothered their ambitious nj
spirants- the Wades, Colfaxes, But I'll
'rs-and even repudiated SO great an. in ie
'llect as Judge Chase; hoping that by =
foking drum and fife enthusiasm for q
eneral Grant, they might delude tie fe
soplo into allowing power to romain in tn
'e hands of these leaders. Their au Of
mnal defeats of 1867, in effect, nomi- - ~
tied Gen Grant; the Chicago Congen
On siIaply registered the foregoing con-
asiof and expedient of leaders who II
" no hope whatever for themselves in fer
e acknowledgement of the people. ed
The year S68 has now more than half en-,
ne, but showsno ebb in the great pop tle
II tide---no eeas;pgof the mighty cur rem
(which has oeeasioned these. conspir- bs
70 SO much alarm. Al the elections tua