Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-09-17

/ en-, 10 lct down this dead hll. in tho
. shane OF another condition disfiun.
chialng and pnnlshing all tho leaders
! Ia the South, and TO hc imposed BY
! tho votes OF the rank and Gle A silly
: deccpticnl No man IN Congress be.
licvcd that such a measure could be
adopted The Southern people were
poor and needy and helpless but the
! Radicals know their character too well
to suppose, that even under severe
trials, they would voluntarily disgrace
themselves. Even Horace Greeley
foresaw that they would scorn such q
humiliation. ! myself heard certain
of them express themselves in about
this wise "lf Congress imposes pen
alties on our leaders, they must be
borne, but when Congress submits to
us the option of furnishing our leaders
for doing what we wished them TO do,
il simply insults us. We should be
lower than dogs aud thieves were we
to comply" But still, could these
propositions have been voted on sep.
arately, doubtless all but one or two
would have been adopted. But it was
all or nothing.
Tho failure of this absurd pro
gramme was tho pretext for another
storm of passion, and for new execra-
tions of the South. Every obstacle
in the way Of tyranny must now give
way. The Constitution must be over
ridden. The solemn pledge of Con
gress to preserve the States "equal
and unimpaired" must be falsified, to
crafty mere lust for power. Even
the testimony of General Grant, pre-
viously presented to Congress, declar-
ing his belief that "the citizens of the
Southern States are anxious to return
to self-government within the Union
as soon as possible. "-"that they are
in earnest in wishing to do what is
required by the government, not hu-
initiating to them as citizens, and that
if such q course were pointed out to
them they would pursue it in good
faith" was powerless to avert the ven
geance of Congress, but il came we'll
nigh costing its author Presidential
nomination. Military rule and negro
supremacy were the least that would
satisfy Radical vengeance; and oftbese
measures / need not speak in detail,
for they are fresh in the minds of all.
Their purpose and practical effect was
to establish military despotism, and
maintain negro supremacy, and that
has been the result in many of the
I States. And because Gen. Blair says
these outrages upon our free insti-
tutions must be wiped out, ,heis charged
with melting revolution and civil war.
Why, gentlemen, il crimes Of this kind,
against the country, cannot be cor
reeted, then elections are scarce worth
holding. And besides, it is a mistake
to suppose that any kind of violence
would be necessary to correct these
wrongs If the people decide against
them at the polls, the Supreme Court
will be permitted to pass upon them
also, and they will pass away in less
time than it took to perpetrate them.
To these vicious measures, which
have kept the States apart, must be
attributed the political disorders Of
the present, as also the languishing
condition of commerce, manufactures,
and the other branches Of productive
industry
shall not deal at length with the
matter of negro suffrage. Its regula-
tion belongs to the States, and there
il should bepermitted 10 rest. If any
of the Radical States wish TO enjoy
that blessing, it is their right TO do so
but it is scarcely decent, much less
consistent in them, TO reject il for
themselves and then force il upon
others. Michigan, Kansas, Iowa and
other Republican States have rejected
negro suffrage, and yet their repre-
sentatives in Congress persist in fore
ing it upon Virginia and other States
in the South.
There is one phase of this question.
however, which ] would not have es-
cape your attention. That is, that the
influence OF negro rule is not confined
to She South alone. SO far from it, il
is intended that the negroes shall select
a President at the coming election.
They can also elect members of Con-
gress. Fifty thousand negroes in Flor
ida, through their legislature, can elect
two Senators, and that is all 100000
white electors can DIN Pennsylvania,
or 500, 900 in New York. Eight hun.
dred thousand negroes in the South,
under the auspices of the negro bu-
reaus, can select twenty Senators in
Congress, thereby placing themselves
upon an equality with ten of the larg.
est States of the North, containing
10000, 600 of white population. For
myself, though moderate in my views,
/ must protest against so much negro.
/ never thought negro suffrage a good
panacea for political diseases; but If
\ the people of any State choose to enjoy
il, let them do so, for it is the right Of
each State TO decide the question for
itself, and the right of no other power
on the face of the earth But / do
object to a congressional usurpation
that makes one negro voter equal to
five or six white ones, and / say fur
tbcr, that those who 20 this length,
for the negro, will soon find them
selves the advocates Of equality be-
tween the whites and blacks, political
social and domestic
The President, to bis honor be it
said, resisted the usurpations, frauds
and deceptions Of which | have spo-
ken, and thereby drew upon himself
and his high functions, the full force
Of Radical fury The struggle that
has followed between Congress and
the Executive has shaken the Govern
ment to its very foundations. Tho
frirhtfnl strides made by the former
in the way Of usurping the functions
Of the latter, must excite the deepest
alarm in the mind of every lover Of
our free Government. This is not
mere talk. 1t is practical fact The
Just powers of the Executive have
been usurped. Andrew johnson is