National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-01-14
THE LAW OF PRECEnFNTs.

There is to our mind great deal of non
sense in the law of precedents for which
many Of our statesmen are such great stick
lers. If our fathers or ancestors, to the
twentieth generation backward, did wrong,
does that wrong become right because it
is cited as a precedent? Certainly not
Again, in the citation of precedents, we are
too apt to err in tracing the analogies of our
cases and their surroundings. Really,
there can hardly be said to be precedent
for the present condition of things in this
country recorded in the history of the
world There was never before such a
country, with such institutions, such
Government, such culture, such general
diffusion of useful knowledge among a
practical people, such an adaptation to self
government But if all these things had
ever been combined in q nation before
that nation was never foolish enough to 90
to civil war. So, as we are the first great
Republic, it has been our mission rather to
make history and precedents for the Re-
publics which are to come after us to follow
than to seek out in ancient history prece
dents for our guidance. Some of our at
tempts at the establishment OF precedents
have been lamentable failures.
For instance, we tried for many years to
preach the gospel of freedom as good for
the white man and African slavery as the
very best thing for the black man. We
filled. The outside world would not be-
lieve that our Government was the best
and freest and greatest the world ever saw,
and properly based upon the great funda-
mental proposition that ''all men are
created equal, while it recognized within
its limits a system which bound a fellow
man, body and soul, to another as property.
This was one of the precedents which the
Democrats sought to establish, and failed.
1t was no wonder. 1t was too paradoxical.
But as our Democratic friends desire to
have precedents for the conduct Of Grant
and Sheridan in this Louisiana affair, we
will try and accommodate them with one
or two of Democratic parentage, which we
find in the Wilmington Commercial, a
paper which stands at the head Of political
authority in Senator Bayards State =
Thomas jefferson, father of the Demo-
"cratic party-though not of Senator
"Bayard's Democracy'-trod on the Con-
"stitution to buy Louisiana. Andrew
jackson, the ideal Democrat of later
"day, established martial law in New Or
cleans, and maintained it after peace had
"been made and the fact published, Selling
"citiZens who complained, arresting judges
"who sought to inforce the laws, and
"sending them to a court-martial, to be
tried for tmutiny = Such are the Demo-
"cratic precedents which President Grant
would find in New Orleans-disregard of
"the Constitution, defiance of the laws,
"seizure of citizens, and overthrow Of the
"courts. But he has followed a better
course. Where Jefferson and Jackson
violated the Constitution, he has main
"tained it. While they drove directly at
"their objects, over the Constitution, be
"persevered in his duty according to its
provisions, receiving blame and enduring
"abuse, but trusting to that just verdict of
"time which will assuredly vindicate his
faction. He observes his constitutional
obligations better than Thomas Jefferson
cor Andrew jackson. The 'banditti' are
1.-THE men who refuse TO obey the laws.
elf Andrew Jackson had been President
land the Bdndit6 had been ais political
"oPpOnentS-he would have hung them,
"and the Democratic party would have
j" applauded bis act as one of the highest
patriotism"
As we have said above, we are not
welded to precedents. We believe it is
right to do right regardless of precedents.