New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-20


istration majority. The sordid fear OF losing
their district patronage ia stronger upon the
members than their sympathy with that uni
versal and generous anger felt all over the
Union, at the unjust, arbitrary and illegal be-
havior of the Administration
The President has waited just long enough
| to be sure Of his adherents. The manner In
which they have received the report OF the
Congressional Committee appointed to inyes-
| tigate the state Of things in Louisiana seems,
| naturally enough, to have convinced him that
he may rely upon their support to any e1-
tremity of violence and illegality This Com
mittee a majority Of them being Republ icans,
| have made a report which candid person
can c0ntrovert, showing that the CONSERVATIVE
Legislature broken up by Grant and Kellogg
was fairly and legally elected. III there were
cnouob regard for law or honesty or far
dealing left among the Administration MA
jority at Washington to resist the imperious
and sullcn demands Of the President, this re-
port would be accepted as hnal a no concur
sive. The men who make it are among the
most able and high-mindcd in public life. Two
of them are Administration Republicans and
one is O Democrat, but the facts we're so plain
and their intentions were 40 honest, that they
were able to present full and unanimous
report. There is no decent pretext for not
accepting it. But the Administration majority,
unable to free themselves from the fatal in
fluence of the President, have resolved to send
partisan Committee to Louisiana to collect
facts and rumOrs enough to break down the
report of Mcssrs. Foster, Phelps. and Potter
How can you expect the President TO retain
any respect for law when he sees the law
makers the craven instruments OF his VIII
He has not hestated to show just how much
he cares for it, and how determined he Is to
have his own way in every Southern state
He has seen his party approving or dumb
| while he organized Legislature with the
bavonet, and he has therefore been encOur-
| aged to use the same weapon on the courts
| of Justice On Monday, Gen. Sheridan, acting
under orders from Washington. sent MAYOR
| Head with squad Of soldiers, with hxed
bayonets, into the Sheri1s office at Vicksburg,
and forcibly elected the actlng Sheriff, a. ).
| Flanagan There is q question as to the va
| lidity of his election, which took place some
three weeks ego, the act allowing a special
election in certain cases having been repealed
at the late called session OF the Legislature.
cided by law, and not by the bayonet. The
Supervisor had accepted Flanngan's bond, ana
| issued TO him q certificate OF his election. Inc
army came in, simply as partisan OF the
| negro Crosby, who has never yet filed suhi-
| Gent bond and whose failure to do so brought
on the recent riots. 1t is probable, indeed,
that Crosby's resignation, made on the 9Th OF
| December. has been considered valid, for whoa
Flanagan was elected, not Crosby, but one of
his deputies named McGhee, was appointed by
Chancellor Hill, whose court was then in
| session.
OF course, the fact that Judge Hin c0un-
| tenanced and participated in this outrage does
| not in the least alter its character. We have
| grown too familiar with the manner in which
Southern Judges accept the degrading assist
ance of the military in Illegal acts to feel any
surprise at it. The arbitrary character of the
present performance is only made more man
ifest by the fact that the Judge seemed ready
| for anything which the Administration
might ask him to do Yet no legal measures
had been taken to ascertain the right of
Flanagan to his Office. The same vicious
circle of iegality which we saw at New
Orleans repeats itself at Eicksburg. Amcs,
who has no authority in the matter, tele-
graphs to Grant, who has none. to order
Sheridan, who has none, to put Flanagan out,
and it is done.
We suppose there is n point somewhere at
which the patience even of the Presidents
beasts of burden at Washington will give
way. We do not greatly fear the effect OF
these repeated oUtrases upon the public char
acter of Americans. The response from the
country is sufficiently quick and emphatic.
The result will be the utter ruin of the po-
hical party which sanctions these stupid
crimes We should be glad to see, however,
some symptoms of ordinary common sense
among the leading men of the Administration
party, which might induce them to persuade
the President that he has already done
enough to kill the party, and that he need
not go on disfguring the corpse.