Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-02-04
RADIGALIsM AYR THE SOUTH.
from The London standard. Japuarys1


some new illustration of the miserable condi-
/, ton of the Southern States under the rnleio
the party which has. acquired another four
years lease of power. Three facts, concerns
ing three of the noblest States of the Union,
are noted in a single paper. Louisiana has
fallen into such utter anarchy that two sew
eral sets of State officers and two separate
Legislatures have claimed the obedience of
the citizens; of which it would seem that
neither party even decentiy respectable,
and the quarrel was altogether so disreputable
that, though the interests of the dominant
faction at Washington were involved, Gen.
Grant shrcnk at first from interference. FL
nally, he decided to interpose in behalf of his
friends. and, supported by decree of the Su
preme Court of the Union (Which seems to
7 have about as much to do with the matter,
under ancient constitutional rules, as the
Court of QUEEN Bench). he has ordered the
Federal troops to uphold the authority of the
party represented by the negro Lieutenant
Governor, Pinchback-the party more odious
of the two to the respectable people of Lou.
isaoa. The Legislature of South Carolina,
from which the South Carolinians are exclu-
ded. and which is composed of emancipated
negroes and Northern adventures, has elected
as United States Senator member of the lat
ter class, who has secured his election by
wholesale purchases of the votes of negro
Legislators. A dispute arose thereupon, and
one of the supporters of the beaten (neyro)
candidate expressed his disgust in such very
explicit language as led in American par-
lance, to'"a free fight" around the Speakers
chair. Finally, the State of Alabama, once
among the most solvent and best trusted in
the Union, has purchased and sold railway;
and. having neither paid the money for the
first purchase nor received that for the second.
is exposed to the humiliation Of seeing the
property held and sold under an order in bank.
ruptcy. 1t ia needless to say that no such
things could have happened under the old
regime. Men like Warmoth and Pinchback
would never have been elected to govern the
citizens of Louisiana while the Southern
whites elected their own rulers A Patterson
would never have dreamp of Offering himself
candidate for the seat once filled by John
c. Calhoun and if he had, his election would
have been as impossible as the receipt of bribes
by the chivalry Of the Palmetto State. And
in the old days Alabamas credit was as good
as that of Canada and her citizens we're as
justly proud md jealous of her financial hon
or as ILnglishmen of the fiscal credit aud good
faith Of England. These wretched scenes
are part and parcel Of the system of recon-
s'ructlon pursued by Radical Congress. and
applauded by English Liberals The first OBJ
Ject OF that system was revengc-the pun,
lshment and and degradation of the Southern
''rches. i he second was the establishment
of Radical ascendancy in the South. Tho
Radicals knew that at the time of Lncrln's
election they were minority in the North:
and after the war, which had given then, the
nscendancy there, was over. they might be-
come a minority again. But if thsy could
appropriate the franchises of the Southern
States to their creatures. aud thus secure a
number of ''rotten boronghs," whose repre-.
sentatives would be nominated by themselves.
without regard to the wishes OF the people.
they might conrive, though in popular
minority everywhere. to maufaiu themselves
III possession of the presidency, the electoral
college. a1d majority in bnth branches of
Congress. Tn order to effect these ends. it
was necessary to disiranclise the real peonle
of the South. and create 'sbogus" people in
their stead. The frs. done by mems of
the penal acts so lavishIy passed hv Congress.
America brides herself npnn having shed no
blood on the scahnd. It is true that she did
not as other couqnerine Governments have
done. take the lives of the chiefs of the van
pushed p''ty. But it is equally true that she
has inflicted upon the conquered people, as a
whole. heavier punishment. than has ever been
imposed hy modern conquercrs upon large
portion Of their subjects Wholesale aistrnn-
chisement. Subsection to the rule of epfran
chisra slaves and System of government: di>
rected to fleece the conquered country for the
benefit ut its conqucrors have for seven or eight
years perpetuated the distress and exasperated
the bitter feelings lett by war carried on
with unusual ferocity. In half the Srat"s of
the S"uth negro constituency organ zcd un>
der the leadership of Adventures from the
North has monopo!iZcd political power; has
excluded tho Snnthcrners from all rar,icipa>
ton in the control IF their own affairs: has
taxed them without allowing them rerrcsen-
tation. and msspent the produce Of those taxes
IN such a manner RS to add the kcenest sense
OF humiliation to the bitterest Consciousness
Of injury. The honor of States MS honorable
as Great Britain has been dragged in the dust:
their debts have been left unpaid while their
people have been heeced their rulers have
filled their own peck Is With the produce of
unlawful bonds issued at an enormous discount:
anu while the negroes. who pay no taxes hav.
been kept in good humor by liberal arprnpri-
atoms, none Of the real needs of the conntrv
have been attended TO- The forces of the
Federal Government have been ut the dispo-
sitinn of the peculators and i"bbers from the
North who explni, the negroes for their own
benefit. All remonstrancc has been vain
1t was as easy as it was useless to expose the
injustice, to foreshow the effects. of such n
policy. The Radical majority in Congress
cared neither for the injustice nor the con,
sequences, so long they profited BY the one
aud the Southerners suffered bv the other
They maintained and aggravated tariff which
compcls the Southern planter or farmer to nav
twice the value Of everything he huvs-taxes
him, that is, tn the full extent of his proner
outlay on implements. clothing, everything
necessary to his cultivation not for the benefit
OF the Union, but for the personal advantage
ut Northern traders and manufacturers -
Show them that this is to ruin the South and
they are all the better pleased for hostility