The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-09-07

"a lie address before a New York a :I
G ence that he had 10 power tO ST., a
Is the appointment Of even the humble
{, clerk in the civil service OF Gr,a
o Britain. 1t will be proud day eel
II our country when leading memb,-r
e of Congress can say the same thn
e for themselves ia regard 10 our cav
n service.
Q ! reckon il among the chief glOrie
{ Of the republican party that they hay
J begun the work Of reform. A n0bl
= effort was recently made in this direc
r ton by distinguished citizen Of yOu
3 own city, and its beneficial result
g will not be forgotten either. Nor
I recently still, congress has laid tn
2 foundation OF a general reform, ami
4 the president has appointed a commit
e tee Of earnest and able men to devils,
. some plan for restoring the service {,
{ honor and 10 duty. This Is good be
= ginning, but l warn the people tina
J there can he no worthy success with
] out the determined and active sup
, port of public opinion. No single de
partment, not even congress and the
administration combined, can success
fully resist the force OF depraved
custom until public opinion shall make
, a demand so Imperative that even the
selfish interests Of politicians are en-
listed on the right side. 1t is easy for
the democratic party to favor reform
when il costs them no sacrifice. Let
US hope they will remember their late
declarations should they again get
power.
THE TREATY WITH ENGLAND.
There appears to be nothing else on
which the two parties agree, not even
on the recent treaty with Britain, the
making OF which has hOnOred human
nature, and has placed two great and
kindred nations in the front rank of
civilized diplomacy. Our last war
with England and the negotiations
which, after many years, resulted
/ from it, added, as a new chapter to
| international law, the American doc
! trine of the right OF search. But now,
without war, not only have difficult
/ ties been settled far graver than those
which led to the war of 1872, and the
recognition of the American doctrines
of the rights and duties of neutral ma
tions in time Of war has added a far
more important chapter to the laws OF
nations. But though this great treaty
was hailed with rejOicings by the
good people OF both nations, we are
told that the vote of the democratic
senators was almost unanimous
against it. 1t is difficult to imagine
any other reason for this vote than
the fact that the treaty was the work
of a republican administration.
While this treaty has settled the
most serious Of our foreign troubles
growing out of the late war, there un-
fortunately remain at home results of
the conflict even more difficult to ad-
just.
DEMOCRATIC REsIsTANCETOTH THE CON-
sTITUTION AND LAWS.
IL has been the constant aim of the
republican party to heal the wounds
of the war, and bury in the oblivion
of generous amnesty the passions it
engendered. 1t has demanded, as the
condition of restoration, equal Justice
to all, and the future secured by ire
versible guarantees TO liberty placed
in the national constitution, above
the reach of party fickleness and sec !
tiOnal hate.
But the rage of defeated rebels, aid |
ed by the sympathy of the demOcra-
cy, has brought ON condition of af- |
fairs in the sOlth whereby life and |
property are endangered. 1t will !
hardly be denied that formidable at |
tempt has been made to prevent the |
enforcement of the recent amend |
ments to the constitution, and to de- /
pTive a large class of our citizens of /
the equal protection of the laws. / |
shall leave to Others, who ha ye re-
oesatI5- s..--e-ties~sfS.I flla s,-i.j0'sC, IiIo l
fuller discussion of the character and 1
object of these Outrages. | will only 1
say, concerning the recent act of con-
@ress, known as the ku-kluX law, that, 4
though a severe and stringent meas
ure, and drawn up close to the line |
which separates the national from the /
state Jurisdiction, yet it had for its |
sole object the enforcement of the |
new amendments and the guaranty /
to all citizens of the just and equal /
protection of the laws. Neither the |
provisions of that act as it finally |
passed, nor the constitutional amend /
ments which it enfOrces, were design |
ed 10 take away from the states their /
rights of local government moi to dis |
turb the admirable balance of our dual \
system of national and local govern |
ments. The penalties of the act are |
leveled against those who wilfully at |
tempt to deprive some citizens of the |
rights and privileges guaranteed to
them by the constitution. 4
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT THE BEST
TEST OF A GOVERNMENT.
In entering upon the discussion of
our financial situation / ask the at
tentiOn of the audience to a few gener- !
al reflections. There is no suTer test
of the character and spirit ofa govern
ment than its management of fiscal
affairs. All kinds of public misman-
agement and rascality are sure to APP
pear sooner or later in the form of
drafts on the treasury, increasingdebts
or increasing taxes. Bankruptcy was
the fast stage of the disease which
killed the old French monarchy in 1892. |
reckless wars waged with neigh
boring nations, the prOfiigacy of the
king and his court, the extravaganza
and prOdigality that everywhere per-
Vaded the government, assumed i'm
their last analysis the form of deficits !
that could not be concealed, debts that |
could not be paid, and taxes that could
not be endured. Just on the eve of |
the great revolution of 1892 Necker !
abandoned the treasury in despair, as
surfing the king that the accumulated |
were an abyss whose depths |
could 10 longer be sounded. "In that |
abyss" says the historian Martin, !
"the monarchy was finally engulf-
ed"
The French empire which has just !
fallen in ruins affords still stronger |
of this truth. The man
who stole France in 1852, appeared for
many years to have sanetified his
theft by the success and brilliancy of
his reign, and the world was begin
ming to admit his claims to the title of
Second Augustus, who found Paris |
brick and would leave It marble. But
the prestige of the name he bOre-the !
brilliancy of his reign, the devotion of
his army and the support of a sub
sidized nobility and subservient legis- |
lature were all pOwerless against the !
significance Of q few columns |
of figures prepared by thoughtful |
student Offinance, and published three |
years ago in modest pamphlet entit- |
led "The balance sheet of the empire"
1t might have been called the death |
warrant of the empire. 1t exposed the |
iugglery 10y which enormous deficits |
had been kept ont of sight. II dis
closed a public debt, increasing in a
ratio whose inevitable last term must
be bankruptcy and ruin Mt no distant
day. II showed the fact that during
the fifteen years of the empire its army
and navy had swallowed more than
ten thousand million francs of the pub
lie money. It exhibited the immense
sums expended in endOwments, enroll
ments and gifts to officials, and to
powerful politicians, as n means of
them to NapOleOnism. It
stated the cost of eXtraYagant public |
works undertaken for the sake of in
creasing artificially the wages of work !
men, and making them look upon the |
emperor as their special providence. |
1t named the sums annually expended !
on public galleries and theaters to
amuse the people and make them for
get their lost liberties. 1t pointed to
the fact that but twenty-three millions
a year-less than twelve cents |
a head-had been expended i'm educa-
ting the children of France, and that
in her cities hardly half the population
could write their names. And finally,
in mastery analysis of the imperial
system Of taxation, it showed that
twenty-five per cent, of the annual net
earnings of the French people We're