Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-12-27
THE SOUTH.
STATE OF AFFAIRS.
Causes OF Trouble.
SOUTHERN AFFAIRS THROUGH
NORTHERN ETES.
From the New York TriLunel

the army into Georgia and the Carolinas,
who emptied the Southern treasures few
years ago and ruined Southern credit. So
it is the \ Orthern political freebooter to-day
who fastenes him self upod these plundered
communities, and robs them Of their last
remaining possession-a free republican
government. The South is not responsible
for Warmoth, nor Kellogg, nor Casey, nor
Packard nor Spencer, nor Patterson. nor
WOr;hingtOn. The crea .llres who buy and
sell legi latures, and judges, and election
officers, and supervisors, and the rulers
whom we have imposed upon our con
quered provinces.
If Louisiana has been prevented from |
casting her vote for PRECEDENT. and is dis |
tracted by two Legislatures and two sets |
of administrative officers if Alabama |
has two Legislatures and rival Senators at
| Washington ; if Arkansas is threatened
| with similar divisions, and III South Caro-
| lima the Senatorship has been bought in
open market, and the purchaser is now
! trying to buy the Supreme Court also-it
! is n; the South who must be held directly
! accountable for such out1ages. She is the
sufferer, but the disgrace is ours.
In all these States the origin of the trou-
bic lies in the assumption Of the dominant
| party a. Washington that it can govern the
South better than the South can govern
! herself. The party undertook to declare
that the most experienced, educated. and
respectable citizens of The lately rebellious
communities should neither vote nor hold
office, and the mai uIal result was the inn
migration of horl Of carpet-baggers, who
came to steal the taxes and to tOiSt them
selves into power. When disabilities had
been mainly removed, the fallacy was still
Rugged that the Administration ought to
sustain these Northern rOgues, in order to
prevent tie South from falling under
, | Democratic cOn.rOl; in other words, it was
The duty of the President and his friends in
Congress to ta!.e care of the local elections
, in New Orleans, and Charleston aud
, Montgomery. Thus we see in Louisiana
; combination CT The principal Federal Off
. cials to set up Legislature, and Cover
! nor, and courts, and other machinery Of
administration i'll Alabama we see Leg
islature organized in defiance Of law for
2 the purpose Of electinS the Federal candi-
: date for the Senate; and in all the distract
ed States we SIC one party or the other run
, ming to Washington for aid and comfort,
, asking for troops, begging for the Presi-
! dents intervention
] In some instances lately the President
f has refused his aid. This is wise and pro-
: per but the wisdom comes late, If so
much aid had not been given heretofore, if
! Congress had not iuterfered SO busily in
8 the thankless task Of protecting the South
: against herself, these scandals could never
= have arisen. Paternal government Gocs
not agree with the American CONSTITUTE ion.
Let us have no more OF it. Whoever may
be elected to the Senate, whoever may get
- the gOvernship, " hoover may sit in the
! Legislature, let it be understood that Ala
bama, and Arkansas, and Louisiana, aud
South Carolina must settle these Quarrels
d themselves, in the courts, or 10y whatever
y local tribunals the lJW provides, and that
al,
d keep alOof.
S From the Chicago Thribunel
!. The New York World is disposed tC
S tolerate, or at least to wink at, Federal
e interference in the political muddle il
n Lnuisiana, III view tt the prOfigate char
S acter of Warmoth and his government. Nc
t heaiway, it says, can be made against
such interference SO long as the person
It against whom it is directed is notorious
e scOuudrel. In order to 1e-eStablish State
:. Government i'll its integrity, there must be
it integrity for it to rest upon, which the
+ World regrets til it cannot perceive II
the opposing fiction headed by Kellogg
= and Casey. We regret, for our part thai
: the World should take so dismal View OF
: things. We have no more confidence in
: WarmOth than the World has, but We have
= an abiding confidence IN that clause of the
e constitution which tolbids the interference
of the United States in tie local affairs Of
State, except upon the application CT the
Legislature, or of the Executive when the
; | Legislature cannot be convened. This
clause Of the constitution may be ant :
quated and not III accord with the advanced
: ideas Cf the present day. That would con-
stitute good reason for repeating it but
SO long as it stands unrepeaied, 1t is tie
supreme law Of the land, binding upon
President, Congies and IL persons in
authority, and they cannot go counter to il
without violating their oatbs Of office. Tie
Chamber Of Commerce meeting in New
Orleans took the right view Of the question.
They said i'll substance to the United
States Government: Either take hands
off, or give us military government pure
and simple.
[FrOm the New York He1a!dl
, The troubles in Louisiana, as well as in
: Alabama, South Carolina and other parts
OF the South, arise primarily from the le-
construction policy of Congress, or. more
properly speaking, from the policy of the
dominant and Radical Republican patty.
In DISTINGUISHING the intelligent and lead
ing men OF the South, ard cleyating The
whole mass CT ignorant negroes to political
power, We find the cause Ct tho present
0eplOrable state of things. The object as
is we'll known, was to secure the votes of
the Southern States SO as TO Eerpetuae the
rule OF the Radical Republican party-
This might not be COZ s;dered altogether
unfair III strictly party or political sense,
and 1t may be that any other party would
have used tie same advantages for ike
purpose. Nevertheless, this feeling has
proved disastrous. The world cannot be
governed by ignorance. The attempt to
govern the South through the mass of ig-
norant blacks, who were just emancipated
from slavery and who We're not at all pre-
pared for civic duties has proved lamen-
table failure, as every statesman must have
seen 1t would. But, to make matters
worse, the dominant party, in carrying out
Its policy, Hooded the Southern States with
carpet-baggers, with men of 10 means Or
conscience and no feeling of abiding in
terest in that section { f the county,
These INSCRIPTIONS and needy ad-
venturers were placed in positions of
power and trust, while those who belong
to and have deep interest in the peace
and welfare of the South were ostracised.
The "miserable scramble" that President
Grant speaks of for the spoils of office is
among these very Adventures. Sill The
Federal Government seems to adhere to its
original policy, Notwithstanding the fright
full consequences that have resulted from
it: for We have seen one faction sustained
| in Louisiana and another in Alabama,
! which are in accordance with the party in
power at Washington, regardless of the
will OF the people, the right of local self
government, CT the forms ofState law
Perhaps it is not possible to undo much
| of the evil that has been done, for rights
and privileges that have been conceded
cannot well be Withdrawn, though thew
NAV have nToTan miScbievOyrS RI,t Gov