The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1870-01-05
Georgia. Republican Protest

0oUIS ia a hcpuUlACau ff0eaek
The Presidents signature ha.
been appended to the iufamou.
bill passed on the 21st. The Dem.
ocratic vote was unit against the
and to the honor of men
like Bingham aud Farnswolth-.
among the ablest Republicans Of
the House they. too. protected
and voted No We put Mr.. Bling.
hams protest on record, for tia
Of fair-minded Rs.
publicans:
PROTEST.
The bill, he said, was in conflic. vits
every letter of the past legislation ~
Congress on the subject Of reconstrue.
ton; with the express order Of IL
President when he was General Of the
army, acting under the law of recon-
in 1868 in relati0n to Geor.
gia; with the utterances of the Attor.
ney General Of the United States in -.
ference to Virginia, under the opera.
ton Of all our reconstruction acts. and
with all the past legislation of Congress-.
and Of the Interpretation Of the Con.
We are asked to decide 4
question By passion, which ought to be
decided in the light of the calm TEN.
per of reason and under the obligations
Of nm oath. This bill affords NO add.
tional protection to any man, white OF
black. 1t is gratuit0us to attempt 10
bring to the support Of this measure
the recommendation of the President.
The speaker happened to know that
there was single line in the Presi-
dents Message which lie never intend.
cd to he there, aud which he does not
stand by to-day; tho line which refers
to the imposition Of the oath cpjoined
by the Reconstruction acts ON members
of the Legislature. The whole context
Of the message shows that whit 10
meant was tho imposition Of the oath
required by the third section of tho
Fourteenth Amendment. The Recon-
struction act of the I'd of March, 1867,
which underlies the entire legislation.
enjoins also the oath of qualification
required by the third section Of tho
Fourteenth Amendment. Commenting
on the section which allows the army
and navy to be placed in the control 1t
the Governor, Mr.. Bingham said: Tho
law is not worthy Of moments cop-
siherati0D, and for one, no matter Whist
party dictation NAV say, l stand hero
to say that ! shall record my vote
against it. 1t does not become tho
representatives Of the people TO be dra-
gO0ncd in any such manner into lcgis-
lation, touching not merely the rights
of the people Of Georgia, but the rights
Of all the people of the Republic. I
deny the right of Congress to lay tho
executive power of a national law at
the feet Of State Executive, to be OK.
ercised at his discretion. Congress il
bound to execute its own laws through
its own officials.
Mr.. Farnsworth also made a
most solemn protest against the
bill but the deed was done under
the lead of Butler, and Gov. Bull
lock is delighted to be saved from
the impeachment for misconduct
from which the law has saved him.
The people, with all their indif.
ference to free government, have
not demanded this wrong, and ~
soon as they awake to any decent
sense of the outrage, will rebuke It
The action Of Congress, giving or
ders to a State. elected Governor in
regard to q State Legislature. il
one step in advance of all previous
despotisms, and the case is all the
worse from the fact that this Gov
ernor is publicly accused by his
own party Of corruption in office
Every way and everywhere this
man is degraded. By his Official
conduct ut home, by his betrayal Of
his constituents before Congress
and it's Committees, he has forfeit
ed the respect of even those who
may profit by his basencss. Then.
when we remember what General
Grant did and promised, and what
his chief in Georgia, Gen. Meade.
declared in his kilograms to tho
President in July, 1866, showing
that Georgia had complied with
the reconstruction laws to the let.
ter, and consider that the President
could have prevented this legisls-
tion-who is there who can now
sincerely respect the President.
~~~..>0~.s-~-~~~
How TO KEEP GATE FROM Sac
ena.-A correspondent Of an Eas'
tern paper suggests the following
plan, which he has tried with good
results: ''Set the hanging post thrse
and half feet in the ground, stamp
well ut the bottom, on the side oppo.
site the gate; then dig q trench ~
inches deep from one post to the 9TH
er; in this put three by four scant.
ling, or a pole of white OAK. black
mulberry, or some other lasting tim
Der, seeing that it Just fills the space
between the two gate posts and cover
with earth, and the gate will stand 81
you hang it until the posts rot Oh.