Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-04-14

Let the evidence be forwarded to the
United States Senate, that the a. God and
Morality party may see what manner o.
man Radical reconstruction las given then
as p er and an equal
SENATOR SUMNER has one law for Domi
Mica and another for the South. Iu the
course of his recent able and learned
speech against annexation, the following
passage occurs
The example of Spain is REINFORCED by an
English precedent, where may be seen in the
light OF analogy the true rule of oond act. By a
statute OF the last century al soldiers quartered
ut the place OF an election tor Members of Par.
lament were removed at least one day before the
election to the distance Of two miios more, and
though the statute has been modified Iatterly,
the principle has been preserved. Nc soldier
within two miles OF place of eec,iO is above d
to go ont of the barracks or quarters III which he
is stationed, unless to mount guard or to vote.
This safeguard Of cleo iona is Vlndlcated by the
great commentator, Sir William BiackstODe
when he says, sit is essential to the very being
of Parliament that elections should be absolute
ly free. therefore al undue Influences upon The
electors are illegal and strongly prohibited -
Blackstone, Comm, Vol. l., p. l73; Stephens,
OoIRm., vol. ii p. 40l.l In accordance with :hle
principle, as early 1893, \ committee Of the
other House OF Congress reported aiast the
seat OF Representative on the grOurd that Unl-
ted States troops We. e quartered near the place
the Oourt House (OoLtt sted Elections, p. 10
case of MIR. restOJ.) And now that eo'iOn
is to occur in st. Domingo. where National IL
| dependence Is the qu stlou, thing II cearer
than that it should be, III the language of Blhcs-
stone. absolute fl ee." al &c ihl= end I'll naval
| forcs should be Withdrawn at least unit, tbs
election is determined. Lord Coke the gteAr
English authority, tells US that election is ''~hen
a is left to his own free will. t tr Ike or do
one thing another which he peases," Cooke
Lift, 144.) But the Dopinican people muet be
| left to their own free will.
ALI this is true and forcible. But it IS
pity, for consistency's sake. at least,
that the same ideas did not obtain with
SUMNER, when he was assisting to force
carpet-bag rulers and governments upon
the people of the South at the point Of the
bayonet. Within few feet of him, when
he uttered the foregoing. there sat a man
who had written, as it were with the sword
| itself, his own credentials as United
| States Senator We mean Ames, of Mis-
sissippi, who literally bayonetted the
Legislature of that State into his election.
And yet Mr.. SUMNER voted for the ad-
mission of Ames and has sanctioned the
whole system of military violence and in
timidation that had marked ''Reconstruc-
ton !"
Alleged Southern Disor,lers-TheIr FoIiti-
cal and Material < meet
We are glad that our immediate Repre-
sentative in Congress, As we'll as the entire
Conservative-Democr delegation from
the South, have not only not Stunned any
effort to have the alleged Southern lisor-
ders investigated, but have demanded that
they ehouid be. The people of North
Carolina and of the other Southern States
court a thorough investigation into their
conduct since the war. If q Committee of
onorable, truthful mon, who would come
Ia tie interests of right and justice, and
not as the mere tools of II party cancus,
should be seLt into the Southern States,
they would be welcomed. and every facih-
ty extended them to further their in
vestigations This we can hardly hope
for. But, conscious of the integrity and
law-abiding character of our people, we
would be- glad to have the investigation
anyhow.
So far rs North Carolina is concerned |
we do not care silver for the political |
effect of these SANDERS and vituperationg |
nor the Ku-Klux legislation of Congress.
Indeed, if we looked upon it merely in q
political aspect. We would be glad. Radi-
calism is dead in this State, ard these ne
farious efforts to reinstate it will only
serve to unite US. Whatever form these
prosecutions assume they only bind our
people more closely together. The legis-
lation of Congress, the high crimes Of
Holden. the thefts of +ittleield, the per-
Judge Russell, the Loyal Leagues, the ig-
norance and corruption of the Judiciary, /
pay, even the licensed infrmity" of Chief
Justice Pearson, and the unlicensed IN
trinity of Judge Jones, all viewed in a po-
litical aspect merely, form capital plauks
in the Conservative platform. Whenever
the Northern masses sicken and grow tired
Of the horrid tales OF Southern outrage
and lawlessness, concOcted for political
purposes, they will cease, for Holden,
Boyd, Russell, Tourgee, TRAY, Blanche
Ind Sweetheart" appreciate full we'll that
their political efficacy is lost in the South.
Even Pool, with all his brazen effrontery &
md cowardly abuse of North Carolina
oathsome reservoir for the reception and :
listiIlation of the foulest ISLANDERS of his
people and State-knows that he must {
ook elsewhere to receive further pay for
lis treachery.
The time has gone by when our people It
'sn be either frightened or caioled into IL