National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-08-10

plrty, and boldly aggressive in pushing
their consideration upon the earnest atten.
ton Of the people, Mr.. Keogh succeeded
from the outset in placing his antagonists
on the defensive, or compelling them 10
resort to appta's 10 prejudices in reply to
the force ofunanswerable argument. Aided,
as he was, by competent speakers and
writers for the press, ex Gov, Holden being
included among the latter. he did mot fail to
arouse the people to . full appreciation Of
the danger of placing the constitution
again in the hands of the men who in 1861
carried the State out, of the Union in viola
ton of all their pledges to their constitu-
ents, and entailed upon them the dire
distress of civil war. This was the
strongest point Of attack made by
The Republicans during the campaign,
except perhaps the provoking of we'll
founded fears that the Democrats would
undo much that the Republicans had done
in the way Of homestead enactments for
the preservation of the rights, privileges
and comforts of the masses of the people.
1t was hardly necessary to do anything to
arouse the blacks to the importance of the
impending issues. The short-sighted policy
Of the Democrats in forcing the "color line"
as leading question, in declaring their
antipathy to equal suffrage, and in denounc-
ing the blacks as incompetent to exercise
the rights of citizenship, was sufficient to
enlist their most earnest efforts, and it was
only required that they should be effect
lively and completely organized.
1t will be seen from this that the North
Carolina campaign was won blythe Repub-
icans on the pure merits of the questions
at stake. No roundabout issues were ad-
mitted to consideration and discussion; but
the principles of the contending parties
were put forward to be analysed and dis.
sected. The most extraordinary efforts
were made to furnish the people with au-
tboritative information, and the plain, un-
vanished truth was always relied upon by
the Republicans as the basis of their appeal
for support. That the leaders of the party
in doing this developed their possession of
extraordinary qualities as managers, was
a fortunate circumstance, and one that
will rebound forever in the history
of the State TO their credit. But the State
is not alone indebted to them for this graft
flying result. The country at large owes
them debt of gratitude, as it does to the
people, who followed them to victory, for
rescuing one IF the foremost Common
wealths of the Onion from threatened de-
struction. We can find no other word than
destruction to define the catastrophe which
would have followed Democratic victory,
for we firmly believe that such an event
would have resulted in the restoration of
the principles Of the Southern Confederacy
as part and parcel of the Constitution and
the utter humiliation of any recognition in
it of the superior authority of the General
Government. The sacred achievements of
the war, and the solemn pledges of the ex-
rebels to maintain inviolable the constitu-
tional amendments, would have been swept
away, and the last vestige of the Republican
party as the party OF the Union, the party
Of freedom and of equal rights, in the State,
would have been destroyed.