The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-02-16

other, it will govern with reference only to its
| own interests-for it will recognize no COM
mon interest-and create such tyranny as
this continent has never yet witnessed Al
| ready the negroes are Influenced by prom
ises of confscation and plumber.
They are taught to regard as an enemy
every white man who has any respect for the
rights Of his own race. If this continues it
must become worse and worse, until all order
will be subverted, all industry cease, and the
fertile fields of the South grow up into will
derne SIS. OF all the dangers which our nation
has yet encountered, none are equal to those
which must result from the success of the
effort now making to Africanize the half of
our country
l would not put considerations of money in
competition with justice and right But the
expenses incident to reconstruction under
the system adopted by Congress aggravate
what l regard as the intrinsic wrong of the
measure itself. 1t has cost uncounted mil
lions already, and if persisted in will add
largely to the weight of taxation, already too
oppressive to be borne without Just complaint,
and may finally reduce the Treasury of the
nation to condition of bankruptcy.
We must not delude ourselves.
It will require strong standing army,
and probably more than two hundred millions
of dollars per annum, to maintain the SUI
premacy OF negro governments after they are
established. The sum thus thrown away
would, if properly used form a sinking fund
large enough to pay the whole national debt
in less than fifteen years 1t is vain to hope
that negroes will maintain their ascendency
themselves. Without military po.oer they are
,eholy incapable Of holding IN subsection the chite
people Of tie South.
How far the duty of the President, ''to pre-
serve, protect and defend the Constitution"
requires him to go in opposing an unconsti-
tutional act OF Congress, is very serious and
important question, on which have delber-
ated much, and felt extremely anxious to
reach proper conclusion. Where an act has
been passed according to the forms of
the Constitution by the supreme legisla-
tive authority, and is regularly enrolled
among the public statutes Of the coun-
try, Executive resistance to it, especially
in times of high party excitement, would
be likely to produce violent collision between
the respective adherents of the two branches
of the government. This would be simply
civil war; and civil war mustbe resOrted ito
only as the last remedy for the worst of evils
Whatever might tend to provoke it should be
most carefully avoided A faithful and consci-
entious Magistrate will concede very much to
honest error, and something even to perverse
malice, before he will endanger the public
peace; and he will not adopt forcible measures,
or such as might lead to force, as long as those
which are peaceable remain opon to him or to
his constituents. 1t is true that cases may
occur in which the Executive would be com.
PEELED to stand on it's rights, and maintain
them, regardless Of all consequences. II
Congress should pass an act which Is not only
in palpable conflict with the Constitution, but
will certainly, if carried out, produce imme-
date and irreparable injury to the organic
structure Of the government, and if there be
neither judicial remedy for the wrongs it in
hicts, nor power in the people to
protect themselves without the official aid of
their elected defender if, for instance, the
legislative department should pass an act,
even through all the forms of law, to abolish
coordinate department Of the Government
in such case the President must take the
high responsibilities of his Office, and save
the life of the nation at all hazards. The So
called reconstruction acts, though as plainly
unconstitutional as any that can be
imagined were not believed to be
within the class last mentioned.
The people were not wholly disarmed
OF the power of selt-defense In all the
Northern States they still held in their hands
the sacred right Of the ballot, and it was safe
to believe that in due time they would come
to the rescue of their own institutions. 1t
gives me pleasure to add that the appeal tc
our common constituents was not taken in
vain, aud that my confidence in their wisdom
and virtue seems not to have been misplaced.