The Republican journal., 1874-07-23

willingly assist aid i'll writing, printing, :
uttering or publishing any false, scandalous
and malicious writings against the Government {
of the United States, or either House of the +
Congress OF the United States. or the President
of the nited States with intent TO detame the
said Government, or either House OF the SAID {
Congress, or the said President, or TO bring
them, or either of them, into contempt
or di~rcrute; or to excite against them.
either or any of them, the hatred of the good
people Of the United States, OF TO stir up Sc
dition within the United States, OF TO excite any
unlawful combinations therein, ior opposing or
resisting any law Of the United States. or any
act OF the President of the United States, done
in pursuance OF any such law, or OF the powers
in him vested by the Constitution of the United
States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such
law or act or 10 aid. encourage or abet any
hostile des gns Of any foreign nation against the
United States, their people or Government,
then such persons, being thereof convicted be-
fore any court of the United States having juriS
diction thereof. shall be punished by fine not
exceeding two thousand dollars, and BY lmprS-
onment not exceeding two years"
This was quite as cunningly contriyed |
a$ the present Fress Gag Law Of Congress
ANY pithily or torcbly written or spoken
review OF the measures of the govern |
npnt might have been and were made to
incur these penalties. The redcralists
NtittiI St't lIItli ltttIllt III HltllOll
Lyon, an Irishman born, and 4 member of
Congress from Vermont, was one OF the
earliest victims He was indicted for hay
ing written letter in which the President
| was accused of ''ridiculous pomp, foolish
adulaton and selfish avaricc." lie was
tried, found guilty, and sentenced TO four
months imprisonment and fine of $1,000.
His friends paid the fine, and while in
prison he was elected to another term in
Congress. That was the popular verdict
on the Sedition Law
Another victim was Judge Jared Peck,
a senator in the New York legislature He
drew up petition for the repeal OF the
Alien and Sedition Laws, in which they |
were severely handled. This he asked his |
neighber7 to sign He was indicted, tried, |
and we think convicted, fined and i'm
prisoncd A historian Of New York says
A hundred missionaries, stationed between
New York and Cooperstown, could not have |
done so much for the Republican cause as the |
Journey Of Judge Peck, as n prisoner IRON !
Otsego to the capital Of the State: II was moth
ing martyr for the freedom OF speech and the |
press, and the right of petitioning, 10 the View
of the citizens of the various places through |
which the marshal travelled with his prisoner" |
Charles Holt, publisher of paper at
New London was imprisoned three months |
and fined 5000 "tor defaming the Presi
dent" There were numerous victims, of
greater or less degree The law was
really party machine, and used as such |
Ii Wa simply an otfshoot of the old |
monarchical maxim that "tha king can |
do no wrong"
b. these and other party inea ruGea The !
e,leralists dug their political graves In
1900 Jefferson, the great Republican lead
er, was elected President, and Federalism
commenced 10 decline. Opposition TO the
war Of 1912, and the calling OF the Hart
ford Convention completed its destruc
ton. In 1920 the party wa so complete
II disbandcd that Monroe received every
electoral vote except one
The present party in power may read
lis fate i'll this record Let but one editor
be indicted tor speaking Of the conduct Of
any otiicial, and dragged to Washington
for trial and the country will be ablaze
with indignation II the administration
Haman be not hanged upon hi own gal
lows, then the spirit ot former day ha7
utterly died oui
The Republican Congressional Commit
tee has issued an address to the people Of
this country 1t makes tonr on five closely
printed columns, and is devoted to an
abuse of the democratic party and It's
record The following is an extract
1t is now thirteen years since the Republi an
party was first called to the administration of
the National Government. For more than thirty
years previously the Government had been al
most uninterruptedy under Democratic con-
troll. OF that control there is hardly memory
left at which the nation should not blush. Seem
ingly, it was inspired by but one ambition--the
bad ambition to make our foreign policy as ig-
noble as our home policy was shameless. Our
intercourse with powers weaker than ourselves
was spirited enough. We bullied Austria out
OF g Hungarian refugee We despoiled Mex
co of portion of her territory. We demolish-
Ell Greytown We jingled millions in the ears
OF Spain as u lure for Cuba and the bribc was
spurned.
1t is hard to say whether the author of
the above extract is q fool or a hnave.
During the Years of Democratic rnle the
country prospered beyond all precedent.
We had peace and plenty at home--pow
cr and respect abroad, Prosperity attend
ed Us on sea and land We had a war
with England, and forced her at the can
mons mouth to respect our flag. We had
war with Mexico, and added TO our do
main the magnificent territory of New
Mexico and California with her golden
treasure. And in all this time there was
not shed one drop of the blood of an
American citizen in civil strife. There
was disaf1'cction and revolt in the South,
but Democratic craftsmanship pacfied
and settled it. The rights of citizens
We're respected at home and protected
abroad. No dungeons opened to receive
the victims of arbitrary arrest
The republican party had not been in
power thirty days when, by the mos! in
conceivable tanatisism and folly, that
secuted all concession, accommodation or
settlement and that amazed the world by
its lack of wisdom, the country was
plunged into a most disastrous and
bloody civil war God only can know
what this people endured The awful
strife, the CORY battle fields, the suierngs
OF the dead and dying, the anguish Of the
monrners Millions of young men, the
flower Of the nation, went to their graves.
Thousands of millions of treasure were
wasted. Dungeons were filled with citi-
Gems arrested without Just cause and ac-
cused Of no crime. At length. after four
wears Of this work, the country, bleeding