The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1868-09-29
Hon. Thos. L, Clingman's Letter.

letter addressed to the voters of North Carolina.
Supposing that all our readers would like to see
Mr. Clingmans views on national issues we make
lengthy extracts from his letter.
After stating the cause of the late war, and
rehearsing the efforts made to avoid it, MIR
,Clingman says:
When the war ended our people expected at
once restoration to the Union and immediate
peace. 1t is no fault Of theirs that their just
hopes were disappointed
Soon after the war began President Lincoln
and the government ofthe United States, after
due consideration, decided to hold US to be not
traitors but belligerents. For four years this
doctrine was maintained in all things, and pris-
oners were exchanged as in ordinary cases of war
between Independent Nations. After the war
ended and we fell into the power of the United
States the government could not with honor
change its position and hold US to be traitors
and liable as such to punishment. The difficulty
of such a course was the more insuperable from
the fact that our armies surrendered with an ex-
press stipulation that we should not be molested
in person or property as long submitted to
the Government and its laws 1t being the
usage OF all civilized christian nations when a
war ends to discharge all prisoners of war, We had
fright to expect such action from the govern
ment of the United States
To the establishment, however, of all intel-
gent men North and South, abandoning the
ground which the government Of the United
States had held for four years, President John
son proclaimed US to be traitors, pardoned some
and excluded others, especially those who were
regarded as the most influential members of our
society. He made however another decision not
less remarkable. During the whole war the
Government of the United States had held
through all its cpartments-executve legisla-
ton and judicial-that the Southern States were
still IN the Union States and that there was
among US only an instruction of individuals
which INSTRUCTED the execution Of the laws, and
upon this being ended, and the authority of the
Government acknowledged, We were entitled to
all the rights of States of the Union. The
President, however, claimed the right to abolish
our old State governments and to set up new
ones by military force to change our Constitutions
to dlstranchise large numbers of our people and
TO decide what should be the provisions of those
Constitutions. All of these things were quietly
submitted to by citizens.
1t is true that after the controversy with the
radicals had commenced the President fell back
on the orr inal ground Of the government, but
his own action had furnished his advcrsares a
weapon to strike him down. He was every
where met by the cry eff these were States of
the Union what right had you to overthrow their
Constitutions and governments and set up new
Ones. / have no wish to censure the motives
OF the Presdent the common opinion of the
Country being that he was oyer-reachcd by those
around him.
The result of these controversies has been to
keep our State in an unsettled condition We
are at present under the control of governments
set up by military force in accordance with GER
tain acts of Congress. These acts are admitted
by their authors to be 'outside of the Constitu-
tlon,' but every intelligent man knows that
such acts are unconstitutional and void tits
only the Constitution Of the United States that
gives more validity to the opinion of the three
hundred gentlemen composing the Congress of
the United States than would be possessed by !
any like number of persons in public meeting. !
In fact 1t was but recently that the Supreme |
Court, through its Chief Justice Chase, decided
that all pretended legislation outside the Con-
stltutlon was nullity
The great question then, fellow citizens, pre-
scented formally for the first time in a presidcn- |
tai contest IS, shall we have Constitutional Gov
eminent, or are we to be governed by despotic
authority in the hands of few or one2
The ticket OF Grant and Coliax is sustained |
by the Radical despotic party. Seymour and
BLAIR are the candidates presented by the party
we plunge into the dark abyss of civil OF military
despotisn or shall we return to the constitutional
system under which we prospered so wonder
fully tor the greater part of a century?
E:rorbjtcmt Expenses Of he Gorc,nneenk
Within the last three years the Government
has collected from the people more than fifteen
hundred million dollars, sum more than half
as large as the gigantic National debt But
though the debt was reduced somewhat after
the war closed, yet, since the Radical party
has usurped the entire control of the Govern
ment, that debt has been steadily and rapidly i'll
creased
You may the better judge of the present
enormous expenditures when L remind you that
the average expenditures of the United States
Tor the ten years immed lately preceding the war
was fifty seven million dollars annually 1t thus
appears that the expenses for each of the last
three years are more than eight times as much
1t cannot be pretended that this vast increase
IS due solely or even mainly-to the national debt
The expenditure in one year for the army alone
was one hundred and twenty eight million dol
lars. Bat during the four wears of Mr. Polk's
entire administration; including nearly two wears
OF a foreign carried On in Mexico. the whole
expenditure for the army WAS only ninety mil
lion dollars. In other words the Radicals in
time otpeace spend as much money in one year
as four years with war cost under MIR Polk and
thirty eight millions besides
No valid defence can be made for this waste
Of money. There never was time when orr
foreign relations seem less threatening. The
great power shown by the United States during
the recent war was in itself calculated to deter
foreign nations from attacking US. The Italian
and German wars between the great European
powers only lasted for couple of months, while