Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-08-11
q uiOn and 9tspatfh.
TUESDAY. AUGUST IL. 1858.
largest Circulation in CITY and state.
THE People DETERMrNED ON A


expulsion of the Radical party from power.
This is the deliberate conclusion Of our
judgment, and it is shared, Us we shall
demonstrate, with almost equal confidence
by the leaders whose doom is thus to be
pronounced
In the autumn Of 1865 the Radicals
succeeded in retaining their power,
though with comparatively small majori-
ties, in New York and Pennsylvania, by
skillful appeal to the passions evoked
by the war, and by the pretense that
they were not really at issue with the
policy Of the President Their lying
platforms of that day were the fitting pres
lnde TO that Of Chicago in May last
In the year 1866 these leaders still
contriyed to retain their power much in
the same way, partly by melting Sec
tional hatreds by misrepresentation of
the policy of the Executive, and by the
insineere pledge that they would use
their power in Congress to restore peace
to the country On this last idea, espeN
cially, they were tolerated, but by popu-
lar majorities so small that it should have
thought them by how frail tenure their
power was held
This lesson Of apprehension was ins
stilled into their minds; but, instead of
conducting them to the paths of justice,
moderation, and peace, it impelled to di-
rectly the reverse temper-tO acts of VIC
lence, tyranny and wrong, designed to
cement and perpetuate their power. Dis
trusting the North, they sought to take
"a bond Of fate against defeat by manu>
featuring 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
owh constitutional amendment" and
inaugurated military despotism They
thus put sword" as their own orators
announced, "to the throat OF every man
in the South, proclaimed universal sur-
fraCc, and disfranchised one-third Of the
white population. And, then, having
thus created new constituencies unknown
to tho Constitution, they provided care
fully for further fraud by test oaths,
which necessarily threw the offices Of
register and judges of elections in many
localities into the hands of ignorant ne~
groes or corrupt adventurers.
Such was the sin. Swift followed the
punishment The first State that voted
after these reconstruction laws were
passed, and after the enactment Of ne~
gro suffrage, was also the first to repudi~
ate the Radical party. California fol-
lowed Connecticut Maine reduced
Radical majority from 27,000 in 1885, to
1000 in 1867. Pennsylvania blotted
out a Radical majority. Ohio elected a
Democratic Legislature and repudiated
negro suffrage by $4,000 New York
and New Jersey coming after this reac-
ton had been thus demonstrated, rolled
up enormous Conservative maiorities.
The reaction went on everywhere, in
every State, in the large cities. in the
great hives of industry, in the work.
shops, in the fields and prairies of the
West Everywhere human nature rose
up and testified against the brutality and
low villainy of these bad men.
Seeing their almost inevitable fate, the
Radicals abandoned all their favorite
statesmen, smothered their ambitious as
pirants--the Wades, Colfaxes, Buffers
and even repudiated so great an intellect
as Judge Chase; hoping that by evoking
a drum and fife enthusiasm for General
Grant they might delude the people into
allowing power to remain in the hands
Of these leaders Their autumnal de-
feats Of 1867, in effect, nominated Gen.
Grant the Chicago Convention simply
registered the foregoing conclusion and
expedient Of leaders who saw no hope
whatever for themselves in the sober
Judgment of the people
The year 1865 has now more than half
gone, but shows no ebb in the great
popular tide-no ceasing Of the mighty
current which has occasioned these con-
spirators so much alarm All the elee-
tons held this year evincc still more
general awakening of the people,
more steadiast determination TO rescuc
the government from the hands Of the
spoilers General Grant has been for
mally nominated two months and more,
and as yet we fail to behold particle of
the needless enthusiasm which was ex-
pected TO drown all appeals to reason
and to blind the popular appreh ension
in respect to the cruel and pro tigate
band OF plunderers who bcstride the
country like curse The calculations
upon which Grant was nominated have
thus utterly failed What is this but d
proof that the causes Of discomfort are
deep widespread and universal; they
60 90 the very heart of the nation, 1t I'
not question of shows, canvass, hur'
rahs, eatchwords, or chpStrapi but
question Of bread, of human liberty, and
constitutional right--of relief from the
tyFsnt and the spoiler whose rule is IN
Supportable--a harden aud an agony un-
der which a whole nation cries out for a
change.
And this ord change is written SO
broadly and le gibly on the can VRss olihe
future that he who doubts the result Of
the coming election must be stupidity
blind What good name, has Radical
rule brought this land, that men should
desire or permit its perpemation y How