The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-04-13
a,ech stephens skins tho Critics
ILeuer In the Atlanta News.l

ara;n YOU say in effect, (and must have
meant to be understood as SO sa!ins ~
terms if Won meant auytiring,) that my We e,
1. in the last hours Of Congress- to take up
,,,a report OF the Committee on LoulsIana
sfrairs enabled the Radical majority oil the
House to endorse the Kellogg usurpat1on.
Allow me to say to you, as befsfe, that tnls
statement. if YOU intended it, Is supposed
Won did. is utterly erroneous. My vote dld
moi enaf1e the Rldicsi majority OF the House
"a do suy such thing. nor did that majority
do any such thing. There was no endorse
ment of the Legality of Rehos"'s eiec'
| ton nor of single act Of bis aoin'nistris-
| t;on Rnt nv vote did enable majority OF
the sYouse to put their explicit connenua,
ton upon the huge iniquity oil the haa,ci II
Ret,,rning Board of Louisiana, by when
rho democracy Of that State had been oe-
! frauded of the majority in the house OF hep-
resentatiyes of the Legislature. 10 "h'cn
thew were rightfully entitled. by my VOC,
which turned the scale, and dec'oeu Tue
question Of taking up that report tn's
condemnation was secired--a cohoe,n-
| nation the more signal from lug
fact that it was unaDimous-eYery haolea'
az we'll as every Democrat IN tue house
voting for it. This grand result, Wnich
never would have been attained without my
cote hovever YOU and Others may look upon
| if. I regard as the greatest triumph 10 tne
rindication of popular rights and State rights
achieved on the floor of Congress Tor the
sixteen preceding years. 1t opened the way
too for another like vindication on the
Arkansas question, which soon followed.
But In voting, as did, to take up the re-
port Of the committee I was found Young
with Radicals and "against the parllamenta'
ry tactics of the Democrats whose o'Jec',
YOU say, was "to prevent the endorsement
of the Kellogg usurpatiop.' Ihat Is tue
tactics" did not yield to it seems were
planned with view to prevent "hat no one
even proposed to do. Wise and s4yaclous
leaders of the democracy OF the Onion,
think YOU, were those who planned sucn
parliamentary tactics?" Heaven torbld
that I shall ever be found following sucn
leaders when public liberty is at stake; ana
Heaven forbid that the cause OF The true
Democracy of The United States Shall ever be
committed for guidance and control 10 the
hands of the authors Of such "tacilcs."
NV great offence, then. consists in giving
vote by which no change was effecteda as 10
the status Of Kellogg, bnt by which the
crimes OF the Returning Board against the
rights Of the people and of the State OF Lou
isiana were unanimously condemned By the
House of Representatives in Congress, ana
by which. through the peaceful instrument
tali;ics of the Constitution, that state has
been relieved from the terrible scourge OF
military interference, and the whole country
relieved, temporarily at least, from the IN.
guish of one Of those virulent cankers upon
the body polite growing out of the recon-
struction uSurpations of Congress, against
which | have ever Warred and ever shall
war.
This. forsoob, is my blunder, my crime
my worse than archangcl fall. 1t is for this
" Phiokris" exclaims: "HoW have We
found our dol-clayw In this consists my
deserton from the principles taught i'll the
Unconstitutional View of the War between
the rlateS.' EX.use me. Mr.. Editor, for
saving that all who thus really think, ii any
such there be, have my sincercSt pity and
profoundrst commiSseration. BE aS>ur-
ed. however, that maiority OF my con-
stitucntS, and majority, l trust, Of
the Democracy of the Union, are not in that
class. Your assertion in this particular Is, |
wcen, as gratuitous rs in Others. You and
"Pnlukri )" would do well also to remem
Der that it vas not Moses who fell, but those
whe "departed" from the true faith, aud
erected in its stead molten calf is their
idol" before which they bowed down and
wosshipped. Hence their troubles and SUI
ieriDgs.
Very respectfully.
ALEXANDER II. STEPHENS.