Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-01-15
]1ort q obQrro Gimes
P RI TOBA CCO:
Friday Morning, January, 15,........187
The Louisiana Usurpation.

AS we have frequently had occasion to
observe, the American people are patient
and submissive beyond almost any other
people. Butin proportion to their patience
is their wrath when they are pressed to
that point where patience ceases to be a
virtue. The present outburst of indigna-
ton at the Federal usurpation in Louis
lana, which comes up from every part Of
the land, shows conclusively that that
point has been reached by the men now
In power when the people have felt it ne
cessary to call to them in unmistakable
tones to halt. The question has passed
beyond one of partisanship and has assum-
ed proportions of such magnitude as to
arouse the patriotism of every man who
can sink the love of party in the love of
country and its republican institutions
Such unanimity has rarely been witnessed
as is now seen in the universal condemna-
ton of the high-handed outrage of mill
tary interference with the organization of
the Legislature of Louisiana and the for
chile election of five members of that body
by the United States soldiery at the re-
quest of Kellogg, the usurping Governor.
The great body of the press without dis
tinction of political predictions are with
the people in their earnest protests in this
matter. There is of course the President,
who still justifes his action in the pre-
misses, for he ever prides himself in fight
ing it out on the same line, whether it is
wise or not. And there are some of his adj
herents, like Conkling, Morton and Others
of that stripe, who cannot look-at the
question from any other peiuso1 view than
that of party a"e' and see only in this
matter as in every other, contest between
the Republican and Democratic parties
success or defeat to themselves. There
are few papers, of limited influence hap
PLY, such for instance as the President
organ, the Washington Republican, the
New York Commercial and the Boston
Advertiser, which are unable to rise above
partisanship, and say the Democrats alone
are to blame for everything that has been
done. This latter paper is approvingly
quoted by our neighbor, the Independent.
Without stopping to inquire now into
the particulars, we insist upon it that the
Republican party. or rather its leaders, are
to blame for this unhappy condition Of
affairs primarily, because ever since the
war they have had entire possession OF
every branch of government, executive and
legislative, both State and National, and
it is due only to their miserable recon-
struction policy, by which they sought,
throughout the South, to subvert the laws
of God and make the negro the ruler Of
the white man. People may be 50 indie
pendent as to think that even this is
right, but we do not.
Z Pot as we said before, this recent action
of the military by the connivance of the
President, has now risen above mere
party question. 1t has now become one
Of republican liberty or military despot-
ism and the fate of the nation is trembling
in the balance. All good men, who love
country above their party and its spoils,
are rallying to the support of the Consti
tuition with such determined front and
outspoken sentiments, as would make any
man, less inscnsate then the stolid soldier
who now sits in the Presidential chair,
pause before their anger.
What though all the pretended facts
spread broadcast throughout the land by
his snutrage" mills are true, does that jus
t1fy the using the army of the United
States to organize Legislatures Is the
army to act as a Committee on Constested
Elections Where is the warrant in the
Constitution for any such act2 If the
President at the call of any Governor is to
cause the army to exercise this power and
say who were elected members of the diff
ferent Legislatures, we had better at once
abolish the election laws and have our
lawmakers designated by the military at
the beck OF some power behind the
throne greater than the throne itself =
Where is the exercise of this power to
stop2 Why cannot the President by the
military as we'll organize the two houses
of Congress as the State Legislatures 3
Why can he not unseat Gov. Tilden Of
New York and the Democratic Legisla-
ture now in session at Albany? All that
is necessary is for Gov. Dix, the defeated
Republican candidate, to claim that he
was duly elected-that the tens of thou
sands of Republicans who voted for his
opponent were "intimidated' and that
therefore his own election was defeated by
fraud: the President would then decide as
he did in the case of Kellogg, that he rec
ognized him as the true Governor. Dix
would only have then to furnish the Pres
ident with a roll of the Legislature which
he wished seated. No sooner said than
done. Sheridan would eject the present
body and install the other.
Surely this is no more than has been
done in Louisiana! Why may it not be
repeated in this State-in New York or
elsewhere, and in the National Congress {?
When the votes for the different State
Electoral Colleges come to be counted.
why may not Grants 'recognized" Cover
nors inform him that the true returns were
/, favor of Others and call On him to unseat