Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-12-10


were in instruction by command of
their lawful sovereigns, the several
States. Personally, according to the
Democratic doctrine, these men were
never in rebellion against the United
States; they were but obeying their
sovereign, the State Government. -
The general and universal law is, that,
III tune of war, all persons residing
within the territory of the opposing
authority are enemies, and as such
have no legal or equitable claim for
any compensation Tor any loss or dam
age they may sustain, and this in
cludes aliens, as well as the native or
citizen inhabitants. This rule is as
absolute and as universal in cases OF
civil war, rebellion and usurpation, as
in cases of war with foreign countries.
According to the Democratic doctrine,
this law cannot be applied to the PEG.
Pile of the South, because they could
not be in rebellion against the mere
agent OF the States when commanded
to bear arms by the States themselves;
and therefore the Southern people, as
whole and individually, stand like
the people of the North, entitled TO
benefI OF that part of the Constitution
OF the United States which provides
that private property should be taken
or used without just compensation
In any Democratic ADMINISTRATION, the
Southern States must OF necessity fur
nish a majority OF the party represen-
tation in Both Houses of Congress; it
will in like manner be dominant in the
Cabinet, and in all courts, as it always
was before the rebellion.
Nor is this ALL 1t is claimed that
the Republican party, while admins
tering the national government, uncon
stitutionally and arbitrarily passed
certain acts by which certain State
governments were forced upon those
States; that these fraudulent State
governments have contracted debts o
enormous amounts without the con-
sent of the people; that these alleged
usurpatIons were, IN fact, usurpations
by the general government, and these
debts were contracted by the national
government, and not by the States,
and should be paid by the general
government. Each of these States,
moreover, during the war, contracted
large debts for the protection OF its
people from the unlawful invasion by
the United States, and p ayment of
these debts has been prohibited by
the Republicans, under their usurped
authority to dictate to sovereign States;
the Republicans having deprived the
States of the means with which TO pay
these (rebel war; debts, the debts
themselves become a proper charge
upon the United States, according to
the Democratic theory Of the rights of
the States.
All these claims and demands are
founded upon the sole distinguishing
principle of the Democratic party,
that the States are sovereignties, and
the General Government no more
than their appointed agent, acting I'M
der limited written powers delegated
to it by the States. From the pay
ment of all these claims there is no es-
cape, if the Democratic theory of the
Government be correct; and their va
lidity cannot be justly disputed or de
MED, except upon the fundamental
principle held by the Republicans,
that the United States are a nation
with all the inherent attributes of SOW
erignty, free of any responsibility OF
dependence upon the States in any
form or manner.
But without going further into de-
tail, we contend that we have suffi-
GENTLY shown that the return OF the
Democratic party to the control of
the Government will necessarily in
volve the pecuniary recognition of the
ltebelion, and the complete compen
sation of the people of these States
for all their losses and damages caused
by the Union armies; the assumption
of the Rebel State debts, and such a
general accumulation of debt as will
double the taxes and mortgage the
United States for the next two CEN
tGrles.