The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1875-01-23
The Crisis.

with danger not only 10 STATE gov
ernments, but with great peril to the
liberties of their citizens. The idea
of a centralized form of government
ia no new one, but has alvocators Of
marked ability since the foundation
Of our Repub1ic--the ideas Of Hamil-
+on and others may he said to have
meyer been definitely settled, for in
the framing Of the Federal Constitu-
t;on it was 80 phrased, as a matter Of
compromise wo opine. as to have all
suchquestions open for discussion-we
do not propose to enquire into this
evident mistake or oversisht-cer-
tain are wo that all these matters
were discussed at the time and since,
ably and at length, but we have now
after a lapse Of nearly a hundred
years, when the questions of slavery
and the right Of secession have been
decided, this matter of Capitalization
brought to the bar of public opinion
mtrammelled with out side issues.
The President and his party have az
sumel the reins of this hobby, not
from public duty or patriotic intent,
as we're its great advocates in former
times and in the early history Of our
government, but for personal ends,
partisan purposes and party power.
As the questions of slavery and
secession were arbitrated with the
sword, we must look for the practical
solution of this in the same manner.
The conspirators number the friends
Of Grant, WHO may be enumerated
as his office holders, the dishonest
and defeated element Of the Republi-
can party with the combined assis-
lance Of the carpet-bag and scalawag
officials South. That the army, or
the majority Of its officers will obey
any mandate Of Grant, we have un-
doubted assurance and opposed to
this element are arrayed the entire
American people. There can be no
doubt of its final issue-the overthrow
Of Grant and his followers, and vic
tory for the people is an assured Sc.
qaence, but to show to what extent
mans ambition will prompt him, are
We led to thus express our views. We
append an able article from the St.
Louis Republican, the most powerful
paper in the West, upon the subject,
and We ask of our readers a careful
perusal, az the action of Grant and
his military in expelling the legally
elected members of the Louisiana
Legislature, seems the first act in tn.
grand drama or tradgedy, about t,
be enacted upon the stage Of til,
American Republic. Will it be tn,
last?
The novel situation into which The
country was no snddenl- plunged
last Monday by President Grant's
Cromwellian operations in Louisiana
has now been resolved into it's ele.
ments to such an extent that we may
begin to calculate with some accnra-
cy the purposes Of those in power and
analyze with some clearness the pro.
gramme Of which tho presidents dis.
persion Of a state Legislature Ivy fed
eral troops was tho overture. W.
have long feared that sinister designs
not alone upon the liberties of isola
ted states, but upon the very fabric
Of our government and upon all the
states were meditated by those in
power at Washington. And We have
more than once intimated our appre-
hensl0n thata set Of men whom VIC.
lence and revolution had endowed
with power would not yield it ur
again without at least more Of a strug.
gle than that involved in a simple
contest at the polls. It was quite
plain to all calm, thoughtful ohssrv.
ers that the tendency Of the admin.
istration and Of its faction in congress
Was in conflict with those fundamen
tai ideas Of popular self-governmen
which are at the bottom of our repub
lican system, and which completed,
nnderlie all honest differences of pol
itical opinion. This being the case
the only remaining question was
How long will these two opposing
forces avoid a collision 7 It was OBJ
vious that time must come, soone,
or later, when mere discussion an,
parliamentary tactics would no long
or subserve the designs Of the mel
who had determined to perpetual,
their own rule, by peaceful means i
possible and by any other means il
necessary ; for we had not SO despair
Cd OF the spirit Of American indepen
dence as to believe that our people
would drift sapinely along into the
net Of despotism and not discoye,
whittier they were tending until they
had been h0pelessly entanpled in Il,