Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-02-21

Published Regularly on TUESDAYS THURS
DAYS and SATURDAYS at Sic Dollars per
aN,.nna q II! g..
The NEW ENFORCEMENT BrL.-The en-
gress, which, upon the unfounded pretense Of
preventing illegal voting, put the polls under
military surveillance, was Justly considered as
another, step. in the gradual subjection of the
country to revolutionary policy which seeks to
set aside State authority and lead to the ab-
sorption Of all power blythe federal government.
No one denies that election frauds are likely to
be perpetrated by all parties and the political
annals of the country demonstrate that they
have been quite as great in the past as the pre-
sent Every man who knows aught Of the old
contest, State and NATIONAL between whig and
democrat, for quarter of a century, knows
that nothing was more common than tor one
party to charge election frauds upon the other,
especially in New York and other great cities.
Yet, in those days, who ever dreamed Of the
interference of the u. s., and especially Of the
federal military, to regulate. matters? 1t was
universally agreed that if frauds were to be
suppressed the State authorities were the
proper ones to take the matter in hand. The
man who In those days, would have proposed
federal interveption for such evils would have
been disowned by his own party as a lunatlc.
But that torpid spirit ofindiference and inactlon
which, in other free countries, has so often
preceded the loss Of public, liberty. seems to
have crept over our own people, until now the
most unmistakable strides to centralizatlOn
excite no sensation i g., :. f-., - - = ~
Enforcement Seems to have been substituted
of late for the constitution and right, and those
who favor it seem neither to know nor care
where it will lead We had an illustration of
it in our own State last fall, when citizens were
arrested under the enforcementlaw and dragged
before the federal authorities. In one OF these
cases, in Kent county, three citizens-one quite
aged-were reused from their beds at midnight
arrested and taken off by federal officials, and
one of those cooperating, volunteer has since
been described by affdavits Of responsible men
as an escaped convict from the Virginia. penl-,
tentiary, who afterwards became an officer OF
the United States army, and was dismissed tor
his rascalities-and the arrested parties, as Is
known, were finally discharged, there being no
ground at all on which to detain them.
The additional enforcement bill, just passed
the House, which gives the federal officials en-
tire control over all elections at which mem.
bers of Congress or electors Of President and
Vice President are to be chosen, differs IN this,
among other particulars, from the former en-.
forcement bill, that whereas that was limited
to places having more than &c, 600 inhabitants
the present bill extends its operations to every
county, provided two citizens shall apply to the
ndged of the United States Circuit Court IN
whose circuit the town or city may be located,
that they desire the law to be enforced IN that
place. It thus extends the supervisor, OF the
bayonet into every nook and Granny OF the lanu
where it will reach, the only limitation OF IL pe
ing that, as the standing army Is now organ
ized It cannot reach, to be effective, much be-
vopd the principal towns. This is new eie-
mept in American politics, and quite unknown
for centuries in the politics Of Great Britain, a
government which We are accustomed to con
sider tyrannical and despoic, beyond our own,at
least But what is modern republicanlsm II
not progressiye? AS if the army of the United
States were not adequate to the emergency, we
have the same provision for United States mar
shals and deputies, who may arrest, without any
warrant, any person who attempts, or Is sup,
posed to attempt, to commit any act plontanteu Gu
The transfer of any suit brought by an aggrleved
c;tizsnss al ainst q federal officer from q State
court to tie United States CIeIfC C6urts angsto
renaer the judgement Of a:sS5tate court IN such
case null ana void, The supplementalmeasure
;Smore stringent in it's details and" fines Gand
nenaities than the federal election law OF last
Session. Like that, it will include State, county
and CITY elections, where they occur at the
same time with the elections mentioned IN the
hin In the debate in the House on this sub
stitution of the federal bayonet for the autho-
ity of the States, Mr.. Cox, Of New York, gave
notice that his State would control ITS own elec-
tions by fixing another day than the congress
sional for the State elections Hropaply Con-
gress will have supplemental bl!l IN q que nme,
On some pretext or other, providing Tor taxing
charge of all elections, State and federal, when
ever and wherever they are held. 1t has retus-
ed to be warned by the outspoken oppositlon.to
federal military interference by republican Gov-
ernors of States, or to take note OF the opposlte
noItical results to those intended by the en-
forcement bill Of last session, as shown by the
elections which have since taken place. fer-
hans the continued and increased use, III con-
tempt ofpublic opinion, Of military lnterVentlon
in the politics of the country. will lead to an
other and more decisive recoll upon It's lnVeh-
tors-Baltmore San.
A SOCIAL PEST, the most notorious! OF the
secret divorce lawyers Of the country, has peen
arrested in New York in the person OF M
House, who has been an extensive advertiser II ~
his line. 1t appears that one Luclus D.
Randolph, of New Haven, applied to House te
procure for him a divorce from his wife, who Is
n Virginian. House paid an unknown man te
personate Randolph in the court, and on ms
periured statement divorce was granted. Fo'
this services Randolph paid House 500
Shortly afterwards Randolph married MIS-
WyckoG and two days the1eai.er Sae sHnu, MaSa,
;~aae who had granted the decree of divorce
"n ennGcstionfr from Randolph 8 first wlte, causes
the 3errse to.be annulled A warrant was issuet
fHr Randolph's S arrest on q charge OF higamYy P Y
md The GOOD work was further extended Dy IN
Subsequent sub @ arrest Of House, the Meph;ssophe ,sH
les of matrimony, for subornation OF perjury u !
the meantime House numerous ana cheap "a a
euts are what the French call desoles
There are two brothers, twins, living III . iaa<