Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-01-20
Caucus Legislation.

Daring the war the Radical Congressman held
secret caucuscs upon all tho movements that wer'
Intended to override the Constitution and set the
rights, and frequently the laws. OF the States al
defiance In these bodies the violent Radical
lea iers had an open field in which to display thei'
oraory and behind the secret rules of party usage
securely threaten every with all the teror0 OF
political and personal ostraesm or excommunics-
ton who did NOT agree TO the decision of the eau
Gus. From these secret chambers such men as
Ben Butler, Thad Stevens, Cbas Sumner, q. i
Morton and others, after long and angry discus
slons would issue forth cooked and PINNED with
measures already prepared TO vote into laws under
which some of the worst acts of tyranny Were
committed. A few hours were given to the Dem
ocratic members in Congress III which to discu' S
these measures, and then came the previous ques-
ton, and the drilled and over-awed OF their ow n
party voted with the majority; the deed was COM
mtled aud liberty for the time passed from our
Heretofore free land. lIere was ali example,
Here was party legislation passed into laws fire.
quenty against the will of the majority. Ii was
tie 8loaaS opt3a,iG of the war. which was initia-
ted BY u minority and continued by a minority
ti.iough the help of force and fraud and the great
debt and taxation We now suffer is the conse-
quence For instance. il In the party caucus the
suspension ul lie writ of ha6ras corpus was voted
upon, and bare majority sustained the affirma-
tive. that moiety OF tho Representatives of the
people, although perhaps only one-third of the
members OF Congress, decided the fate OF the
measure when placed before the House; whereas
had the party caucus and the party lash not been
rssorted 10 and the measure acted upon in open
Congress as the people intended. two-thirds OF
the members OF the Lower House would have
been found against it.
Nor is this as strong case as may be drawn
for often in those times of terror the Senate eau
Gus alone determined great questions irausht
with danger to liberty and law. and the members
c! the House voted jus. as the Senate, under some
such fanatcal leader as Summer or Morton, dicta-
ted
We say this was Characteristic of the war and
excitement of the times when men were threat
eued with sword and pistol and forts and dun
ceons who dared to utter sentiment against such
acts of tyranny as were committed. There was
no security; surveilence spread all over the Land,
and no man was safe,-to add more terror TO their
hcts the midnight hour was made the time at
which men were dragged from their beds and the
presence OF their wives, and hurried off to folts
and dungeons without being permitted to utter a
word Of defence. lhen, the W ar was conducted
by a minority of the people. ALI the South and
more than half of the people Of the North were
opposed 10 it-even the negroes had they been
permitted. would have voted against it, Bnt the
-piit of violence ruled the times and the millions
OF dollars that SHE'D forth to enable theleaders
TO food the land with blood and carry lamentaton
and woe to almost every family circle; nor did
the war cease until it became apparent that TO &C
much further would have brought ruin to the men
who proht.ed by the bloody strife through the
utter annhilatlon of their wealth OF bonds and
notes. How many such schemes as the Credit
Aobier were hatched and carried forward dur.
ing all those years of insane violence and devas.
tatIon will never be known. Party leaders look
ed not to what was done by their tools in Con
giess II they only secured their votes on sucl
measures as they hatched up TO hold them selye,
In place and power from which they feared to bt
driven. In consequence every mans land ant
houss is taxed and mortgaged to the rich bond
holder, whether In London or Amsterdam, il
matters not, the laborer has to pay it.