The daily gazette., 1875-01-18
Recerdy johnson Condemns
Grant.

4 '3 OcT"rNh toHUtHfHS
Grant
| BALTIMORE, Md. Jan. 15.-Ata mass
meeting called by prominent citizens,
irrespective of party, held tonight, TO
| express public opinion in relation TO
| the invasion OF the rights of the people
| of Louisiana, ReYerdy johnson
strongly condemned the President
action, and said that what has been
done there, and is being done, is not
only an outrage upon the rights of her
citizens, but dangerous to the rights of
all the States and of all the people.
No rejecting and honest citizen who
knows our free institutions and desires
to maintain them in their purity, and
| who knows how vital it is to indiyid-
ual and political liberty that military
power should be strictly held in subor.
dination TO civil power, can fail to sec
In what has happened and is still con-
tinulng IN Louisiana a gross and un-
exampled outrage upon the rights of
the State, and an outrage which if not
sternly rebuked may, and probably
will, be committed upon other States
and upon Congress itself" Referring
to Sheridan's dispatches the speaker
| said "Since civilization has favorably
progressed under the influence of our
Christian faith, no words ever fell
from the lips OF any man, civilian or
Soldier, which more outrage every OBJ
legation Of humanity or exhibit more
fiendish thirst for human blood Not
satisfied with denouncing the people of
three States, he suggests, as YOU have
seen, that If the President will iss11e a
proclamation declaring the parties he
refers to 'banditti, no further action
need De taken except that which
would devolve upon him. He pro.
posed to arrest and try the ringleaders
OF what he calls the armed white
leagues'-to try them by military
commission. Execution then would
instantly follow sentence. and the
cities and villages of three States
would be the scenes a carnage the hor-
rors OF which the Imagination cannot
adequately depict. The people of the
United States will hold the President
and his General TO a strict responsi.
bllity for trampling upon the principles
upon which our free constitutions are
founded. "
IMMORTALITY on INFAAY.
Mr.. johnson said that ''if the sug.
gestion of General Sheridan, that the
persons to whom he refers should be
declared "banditti" by proclamation
OF the President should be adopted by
the latter, and its execution left to
Sheridan, he would soon achieve for
himself an immortality of infamy, and
be without rival in the history of the
world, unless one is to be found In the
career of the Duke of Alva in his inva-
sion OF the Netherlands, where, his
torians tell us, he executed more men
In cold blood upon the scaffold than he
had killed in war, and who, at the ter
mlnatlon OF his campaign, himself
boasted that he had executed eighteen
thousand. 1t is due, however. to
conviction which | canRot help feel.
ing,t to add that the President, although
he is made to approve of the sugges-
tion by the Secretary's despatch Of the
9TH instant, will never be induced to
carry it out, and from my knowledge
OF the characters of the Secretaries Of
state and Treasury | am satisfied that
tthey never gave it their sanction, and,
indeed, it is said they never saw it un-
I'll 1t was published in the papers of the
day.
Mr.. Wallis, who is the acknow-
iedged orator of his State, made
ferVid appeal to the people to stand
hrm and undlsmayed for constitutional
liberty, and put down the slightest at
tempt TO make the civil subordinate to |
the military authority.
Speeches were also made bv
Thomas Donaldson, Ex-Governor.
William Pinkuey White and ]. "
l., Findley, after which the some |
resolutions were unanimously adopted.
Mr johnson remarking, "Not one vote
against them"
The meeting then, at II O'Clock.
adjourned, up to which hour the yast
audience had remained in the hall
hundreds standing throughout the en-
tire proceedings.