Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-06-03
Democratic DesperatioHs In New
Ham DsIRfre.

1lhk1ESSAkAACs
Avowed rascality is always less dangerous
! than hypocrisy, and the Democratic party is
Just now illustrating this truth in various parts
of the land. Until recently nothing could be
more specious than its prating about liberty,
equal rights to all, and so on through the cat
alogue of cheap professions of virtue. The
mask has been thrown off at last. In the
West. the Democrats are the allies of the Pa
pal conspirators against American freedom,
while in the East they are trying to defeat the
popular will by the most shameless rascality.
In New Hampshire, where Gen. Nat. Head,
man well known throughout the State, and
who has held high Office, was the Republican
candidate for State Senator in the Second Dis
trict, there was no choice by the people. If,
however, the Legislature was suffered to as
semble, Gen. Head would have been elected on
joint ballot. This must be prevented So,
all at once, it is discovered that lie was called
Nathaniel when boy, and the name by
which he has gone for years is said not to be
his own. The votes cast for him are rejected,
and his Democratic competitor, John Priest,
is declared by the Democratic Governor and
Council to be elected. The only excuse for this
conduct is that the law provides that candi-
dates first name must be printed in full on
ballots. To this it may be replied, first, that
the long usage of Matt may be considered to
have established it as Gen. Heads name; sec
ond, that admitting the mistake to be fatal,
the ballots should not have been rejected but
regarded as scattering, in which case rhe
Democratic candidates minority of votes
would have done him no good; and third, the
validity of Gen. Heads election was not for the
Governor and Counsel to consider. They had
no right to go behind the official returns, the
Senate after organization being sole judge of
the credentials of its members. Such was the
case in the Second Senatorial District. In the
Fourth, Democrat had a plurality of the
votes cast A Prohibitionist named Deering
was declared to be ineligible for want Of suf-
ficiently long residence in the State. The
votes cast for him were therefore thrown
Bside, thus giving the Democratic candidate,
John Proctor, the actual majority required in
New Hampshire. The illegality of this deci-
sion is as obvious as that of the procedure in
regard to Gen. Head. But such rascality was
necessary to insure Democratic majority in
the Senate.
As we have mentioned on former occasions,
this is not all the villainy that is apprehended.
The Republicans have elected nine more menu
bers to the House than the Democrats. The
latter have announced their intention of con
testing quite number of the seats, and it is
reported that the Clerk of the last House,
Democrat, will leave out all the disputed
names in making up the rolls. The Democra-
cy, thus being in the majority in both branch
es, will elect Governor and fill all other va
cancies to suit themselves, there having been
no election of State officers by popular vote
last March. The Clerk has no more authori-
ty to go behind the returns than have the
Governor and Council.
The Republicans are naturally indignant, and
have intrusted the case to a committee made
up of nine of the most prominent lawyers in
the State. They want to enforce their rights
and legally, yet they will not suffer
themselves TO be trodden under foot. The
Legislature will meet on the I'd of June, and
already the excitement is becoming intense.
A Concord letter to the New York! Times says:
"What can we do?" is the question over
which the Republican leaders are now con-
sulting. They are agreed that they must act
coolly, and after due deliberation, and in such
manner that they shall be backed by the
whole party of the State. 1t is generally un-
derstood that when the Legislature meets the
Republicans shall quietly ignore the action al
ready taken, and elect two Senators, just at if
vacancies had been declared; that these men
shall present themselves for admission to the
Senate; that the opinion of the court shall be
asked by the House as to whether or not they
have rights to seats; and that, backed by the
opinion of the court, the Senators elect shall
displace, if they can, Messrs. Priest and Proc
tor, who hold the certificates from the Cover
nor and Council This is as far as l can go
with the programme OF course the Demo-
Gratis will not give a straw for any opinion of
the court, and it is by no means likely that
they will give up their control OF the Senate.
If the Republicans want the Senate, they must
take it. They mean to take tin one way or
another. This is the general feeling Of the
lican press. ''We have been robbed" they
say, ''and it is our duty to recover what has
been stolen from us, we mean to recover it,
and if we are obliged to, we will fight" The
situation is alarming, and if this Legislature
meets and organizes, and this trouble is settled
without violence, the event will be far happi-
er than the prospect gives ground to hope for
When party manifests such desperation
and unscrupulousness as the Democracy of
New Hampshire, and when such conduct has
the unblushing approval of its newspaper or
gans throughout the country, it is time that
the honest men of whatever political antece-
dents should take the alarm. Ours is a free
country, but liberty can only be maintained
by obedience to law and due respect to others
rights. If the Democrats go on as they have
been doing for the past few months, the Uni
ted States will sink to the level of the social
ed republics of South America. Priestly ty-
ranny and constant political revolution will be
the bane of our land. An ounce of prevention
is worth pound of cure, and the safest and
quickest way to check the progress downward
is to crush Democratic treason at the polls.
-Cincinnati Gazette.
The Life to Come.
What does man take with him when from
the extreme verge of life he launches in what
lies beyond? 1t looks rs if he took nothing.
Death seems to pass 8 sponge over all that
gone, has before. Be it the end, or be it