Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-01-29
RESULT or DEMOCRATIC RULE.

RESULT OF DEMOCRATIC RULE.
In his recent speech in the Senate upon
the amnesty bill, Senator Morton predict
ed what would be the result 10 the country
should the democratic party obtain con-
troll. The Washington Chronicle SAYS 'he
showed that the new amendments to The
Constitution would be ignored. rs was al
ready the case in relation to the fourteenth
amendment in the Southern States that
the construction which the democrats
would give to those amendments would.
of itself, deprive them of vital force: that
the House of Representatives would re-
fuse pensions and bounties to Federal sol
diers unless coupled with pensions aud
bonnties to Confederate soldiers, aud that
/ the national debt would be in peril ie the
Confederate debt was not recognized will,
| it.
The Chronicle gives the following out
line of his REM rks upon one or two points.
1t Is not SO material what the Constitu-
ton is as the construction put upon IT,
Any politician might safely say. MAKE
your Constitution, if you will only let me
construe it," What might be regarded as
doubtful would be decided against the
Government and the States. Personal
liberty and even life and property, wonld
| be left exclusively to the States. for when
the Constitution says a State or States shall
not do certain things, the States might alb
stain from those things, and holding that.
in so doing, they had performed their du-
ty, they might leave life, liberty, and prop
erty at the mercy of masked bandit, and
violent men: When the democrats speak
| OF their fayorite doctrine of strict conStruc-
ton they mean, OH the one hand. as little
power as possible for the people of the
United States acting through common
national government, and on the other
hand, all the power that can be obtained
for and welded by the States on the basis
of their preserved rights" They would
reverse the whole national system by
Strengthening the States and Weakening
the government of the Union. 1t was this
theory that led to secession. The demo
Gratis did not pretend that secession was |
constitutional right, but the reserved right |
OF sovereign States. There has been no |
material change in that party on this SUBJ
ject since, by acts of commission and
omission, it involved the country In re-
bellion. The fact that it is the same old
party in its principles, its sympathies, and |
its tendencies, crops out nearly every dav
in the debates in Congress.
Perhaps the most candid announcement
OF the feelings and purposes of the demo
cratic party was that made by General
Blair in his Broadhead letter. This gen
tleman, occupying an exalted position in
that party, gravely proposed, in 1863, that
the whole series of reconstruction acts
should be treated by the President as a
nullity, and that the people of the South
ern States should be turned over. first. to
anarchy, and then to civil war That was
the meaning of his proposition. The deni-
ocrats all voted for him, well knowing that
these were his views on this vital subject |
They have never, in any way, rcpndiated
these views, and he is to-day, in the SEN
ate, one of their trusted leaders.
1t is idle in the democratic leaders to
deny that they sympathizc with the Ku-
kluX, large body of men in all the
Southern States, whe have solemnly sworn
that they prefer the old Constitution to the
present amended Instrument, and who are
therefore, on oath opposed to the existing
National Government. 1t is equally idle
for these leaders to attempt to producelhe
impression that they are in favor of the
reconstruction acts and the recent amend |
ments to the constitution for on no oeca- !
sion have they, as party, protcssed more
than sullen acquiescence in them. We
feel sure, and we believe all Intelligent
persons in the country are of the opinion. |
that nothing would give these democratic
leaders more pleasure than to rip up these !
acts and these amendments, root and
branch.
This party, thus tainted with secession,
thus III sympathy with masked murderers |
mus hostile to the basis of justice and equal |
NY ON which the insurrectionary States
nave been reconstructed; thus tied to |
'heofy OF construction which would render
.he oh'on rope Of sand thus deliberate. !
~ Ignoring the Constitution as it is. and
ciamorihg Tor the old Constitution, which
sanctioned human slavery and caste dis
tinctions, is about to make its last effort
for power. If it should succeed, all the
battles to suppress the rebellion will have