National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-02-10

ment has duty to perform to the people of
Arkansas, in guaranteeing them a republican
form of government, and in performing that
duty, it becomes important to know who was
elected Governor in 1872, they would hardly
feel estopped from finding the truth on account
of any adjudication 1t has received"
We submit that Congress should so con-
clude and should perform its duty by
adopting Mr.. Wards resolution. Brooks,
having been recognized as the lawful Gov
ernor of the State by the competent judi
cial tribunals of the State, he was Governor
from that date de jUre, and being in pos
session of the Stated house archives, sur
rounded by force strong enough to have
annihilated Baxter and his co-conspirators,
and his authority recognized by all the
State officers excepting only the Secretary
of State, he was the de facto Governor as
well, and this being admitted, and the SUBJ
sequent recognition of Baxter having been
since admitted as erroneous, there was no
validity in his proclamation converting the
Legislature; none in the action of the body
which assembled and pretended to be a
Legislature; none in the so-called conven-
ton or the pretended elections held pur-
suant to the orders of those bodies.
On pages 10 and II the committee agree
that the act of the so-called Legislature
providing for an election upon the question
of a convention was clearly unconstitu-
tional, and therefore fatally defective. Also,
that no legislative power is inherent in such
conventions, and none can be delegated to
them blythe Legislature, and if applica-
ton could have been made to proper
court, the election officers provided for by
the convention would have been enjoined,
as was done in the case of the Philadelphia
election officers by the supreme court of
Pennsylvania.
Why this could not be done in Arkansas
is shown on page 10, the bayonets and
martial law proclamations of Baxter sus-
tanning the enactments of the fraudulent
Legislature prohibiting all judges from is
suing any writ or process whatever relating
to the holding of the elections provided
for.
The extraordinary vote reported in favor
of the constitution is explained on page 10,
as follows:
cat the same time, considering that the
entire machinery of the election was in the
hands of the friends of the constitution, and
the free habit of voting which seems to have
obtained in the State, the committee do not
doubt but that great lberality was allowed in
voting, and more or less illegal votes taken"
If the committee had compared that vote,
as reported, with the Democratic vote OBJ
tanned o few weeks later on Congressman,
they would have been able to declare that
the ''free habit of voting and great lib
erality" accounted for at least 40, 900 of
the 1907 votes reported in favor of the
constitution.
On page 10 the majority report dis
covery that the reconstruction constitu-
tion contained rather surpluSGge of pro-
fessions of loyalty, and therefore that the
omission of the declaration contained in
the constitution of 1868, that 'the para
mount allegiance of every citizen is due
"to the Federal Government in the exer-
"cise of its constitutional powers" &C.,
was immaterial
The most extraordinary part of the ma
jority report is contained on page 10, and
reminds one very much of James Buchan-
AMI opposition to secession, while he could
find no ground for coercion or interference
with the affairs of State.
While the committee regard all the pro-
ceedings as defective, still being under the
pretence of legal authority and under the
forms of law, therefore the majority do not
recommend any action. To refuse to act
now, upon this experiment at revolution,
would be most disastrous and disgraceful,
and we do not believe the statesmen of the
country will for moment seriously enter
tain the idea. To do so would be to invite
general anarchy and revolution. If one
State may be revOlutionized by militia or
White League organizations, why not the
entire South? We cannot afford to set the
precedent asked for in the case now under
Mr.. Wards resolution,
as it is by the facts reported by
the entire committee, and supported by
citations from authorities and
extracts from testimony taken before the
committee, should be promptly adopted.