Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-04-17

sedition laws nov as then, but the
late enforcement acts are infinitely
worse. But worst OF all were the
/ daring and audRciOu8 usurpatOns
attending the reconstruction measur6s
and their offspring, the fraudulent
amendments TO the Consultation, on
which they now chiefly base
/ their further encrOachments upon
I public liberty. = at the last
! Presidential election the usurpers
were sustained by an apparent pOpu-
lar majority throughout the country
but the disfranchised voters excluded
then from the polls by these usurpa-
| tiOns were more than enough TO have
turned the scale and cOunterbalanced
that small majority. As 1t was no
| msiOrity would then have been found
against the cause Of the Constitution
II the 6midiy o. Wadetty OF Tf4efds
had not placed the cOHteStM an dttltUde
Chich LeI as nothing aOOTth fighting
for"
The Democratic platform Of 1868
declared the construction acts "usUr-
pations, and unconstitutional, rev
dictionary and void 1t is
a notorious fact that the
Broadhead. letter secured Blair's
nomination for the Vice-Presidency,
and in that letter Blair said: "There
is but one way to restore the govern
ment and the Constitution, and that's
for the President elect to declare these
acts null and U0id, compel the army
to undo its usurpatiOns at the South,
disDerss tie carpet bag State gOUer1l-
ments, allow the 5CHite people to reOr-
ganize their own governments, and
elect Senators and Representa-
tives." And again: I'VE must
have a President who will eI-
ecute the will Of the peO-
pie By tranlpEing into the dust the uslT-
p0tiOnS Of Congress EnOt0H as tie recon
Struction acts % In his canvass for
the S~enatorship, General Blair de-
clared that he retracted nothing Of the
BrOadhead letter, but still avowed
its sentiments as his own. Now, if
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments are the fraudulent offspring"
of the reconstruction acts, which Blair
stigmatizes as "nul and void" Of
course the fraudulent offspring" is
equally and necessarily null and
void" 1.-THE amendments are fraud
ulent," they are Of course null and
void" and have no legal folce or
validity.
In the Legislature of Missouri pend
ing the election for Senator, Mr.. Blair
said in defense of his BrOadhead let
ter, the Democratic party would have
triumphed in 1868, "if the timidity Of
friends had not placed the contest in
an attitude which left US nothing
worth fighting for" We hope the
same thing will not be said after the
election in 1872, but if the Democratic
party lowers its banner, accepts" as
accomplished facts" "~UncOnstitU-
and evolutionary UsurpatiOns"
and all the Ubiquitous denominations
R~adicalism, then Frank P. Blair
will be able to eXclaim in
November, 1872, as he did in
January, 1871, mo majority
have been found against the
cause Of the Constitution, il the timid-
or in6delity Of friends had not
placed the contest in an attitude
left us nothing worth fighting
orr While the AUaJGHohs has got
It's hand in at " accepting the situa-
ion," and submitting to accom-
fact" " will it tell us whether
n not it " accepts the situation "
which the Ku-KluX bill imposes?
4 that desDicable and mOnstrOus bill
.hOUld become a law, do you propose
regard it as an accomplished
act" inviolable, un~repealable, too
acred to be disturbed? Do you pro-
pose to backyard those who war
lpOn the outrage? Answer at once, p,
or the "Bourbons" are anxious to
Know how many " situations" they ,
required to accept" and when
evolutionary usurpations and viola
ions Of the Constitution are to be no
considered as " accomplished