Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-02-08
THE DEMOCRATS IN,coNaREss.

Tho American people now begin to sec what
they are doing in returning Democratic major
ity to Congress-. They were fatally reckless of
the result at the time it WAS possible to put an
other face upon national politics. In the future
the lesson now being taught may result to tho
general advantage, but Just now We must boar
with what equanmty we can summon the cf-
fects of our lack of courage in the last cam
paign. The state of things of which there arc
already significant indications in Congress has
not been reached without vigorous protest
on the part of many citizens, but it was
protest without practical avail. For the present
we arc in for it, and the only hope il that the
humiliatng lesson presently to be taught us may
boar good fruit, in other words that the action
of the Democracy when in power may convince
the country that its only chance of safety is in
relegating the charge of public affairs to the
class of men who by instinct and education are
qualified to govern. Such was the result in the
Buchanan climacterc, and it ia every way prob
able that the near future will repeat the story.
But in the meantime we are evidently to be
put to much modification. The Democrats do
not wait tho arrival of their majority at Wash
ington to give the nation taste of their quality.
In what is left-of the Republican House they
design to show that they arc masters, and if they
cannot for short time yet have their way they
can at least indicate the turn of affairs i'll the
next session and impede Legislative business in
many ways. The desperate effort to defeat tho
Civil Rights bill has boon spread before the
country. To have carried that point the Demo-
Gratis would have cloggod tho wheels of the House
until the last day of the session. thus preventing
tho passage of the appropriation bills and
throwing the credit of the government under a
fatal cloud. This unscrupulous game was hap
PLY crcumyented, but only through the passage
OF new rule regulating the course of legsla-
tive work. The willingness was there to stop
the operation of whole departments of tho gov
ernment, and to deprive thousands of depend
ont people Of their oily means OF living
Nor is this ALL But as it is it is not the worst
feature of the political situation. A lower
depth il sounded in the manifest attempt to re-
vive the ante-rebelion tactics in congress- No
comment.of an insultcd pnhlic opinion can add
to the sense OF outrage felt at tho bullying of
representative Brown of Kentucky, few dayn
since i'll the House. and his defence by southern
men, aided and abeled by northern "sympa-
thizers." The wretched recriminationA of the
days of slavery and treason arc irresistably
brought to mind in reading this debate, together
with the sad conviction that the same angry
passions and the same lack of moral control
prevail i'll the southern character now that pre-
vailed before the war. 1t is to be attempted
once more to tyrani1e over freedom Of speech,
and popular government il TO be once again
conceived as opposed to LIBERAL elevated and re-
fined ideas. If MIR. Brown has the aulacity TO
take this tack at present how will it fare with
the Republican statesman when his side Is
In the minority? Are we TO he driven as the
Shareholders used to drive us IN other daya?
The prospect is not pleasing one, but Republ-
cans must face t,for they themselves stretched
the canvass and laid on the colora