The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-11-17
WHO ARE TRAITORS AND
REBELS?


The government of this country con
sists OF the Constitution and the laws OF
the land made in accordance Herewith.
The Constitution and the laws both pro-
vide for free exercise of the elective
franchise by the people of the United
States, and declare that they shall be
protected in their rights.
To send troops to State contrary to
the provisions of the Constitution, for the
purpose of over.awing the people of that
State, or with the deliberate intent of
doing away with the will of the voters
as expressed at the ballot box, is direct,
fiat, oatspoken rebellion against the Con-
stltution itself, and is therefore rank
treason against the government.
All this has been done in the States Of
Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida.
Without the slightest pretext Of an ex-
cuse troops were, first, ordered to those
States to supervise the count of the cleo
tion returns "a thing unwarranted by the
most unconstitutional law ever passed by
the most ultra Radical Congress);
and next, if any one doubts that it
was the intention of the administration
to overawe the voters Of those States by
this action, let him recall the acts Of this
same Louisiana Returning Board in 1872
and 1874, and read the dispatch OF Il. V.
r. to the Cincinnati Commercial as pub
lished in the IntelIlgencer yesterday.
In 1872 MCENERY was counted out as
Governor, and kELLoGG counted in.
Yet even q Radical Senate positively
declared this action of KELLoGG's board
as illegal and unjust, by refusing to seat
among It's members p. B. s. PIN CHBACK'
elected by the very Legislature which
that Board declared chosen. In 1874
when the same thing was done, and the
Legislature Of the State was taken pos.
session of by US. soldiers, the most ultra
Radical Congress which has ever cursed
the country, was forced to acknowledge
from report of Mr.. WILLIAM A.
WHEELER himself, that again the Board
had acted in high banded,
iawless and most uDjustifab.e manner,
and SO great was the wave of popular
Indignation, then created, that MIR.
GRANT and his party for once, were forced
- yield to the popular will, withdraw
their soldiers and permit the legally elect
ed members OF the legislature to take
their seats.
Here then are two clearly established
cases in which even radicals acknowledge
that this Louisiana Returning Board has
deliberately attempted to cheat Ameri-
can citizens of their franchise, and de-
fraud them out of their will expressed
at the ballot.box. Yet here again
in 1876 he read, according
to Mr.. II. V. Z. (himself
Radical and Radical correspondent of a
Radical sheet) that, while Louisiana gives
about 5000 majority for TILDEN and
HENDsICKs, yet the Returning Board
has made up its mind to throw out the
vote, and not OILY this, but has actually
determined in advance to give the State
to HAYES by about LOO majority. Was
ever an outrage SO impuden:ly confessed
before?
The case stands, therefore, as we first
stated 1t. First, troops have been sent
TO invade certain states in violation OF
the Constitution, and second they have
so invaded said states in order that they
might disfranchlse free American citl-
zans and tyrannize over them contrary
to all law, thereby depriving them OF the
liberty guaranteed them by the govern.
ment.
This we denounce as arch treason and
rebellion against the constitution and the
laws, and the doors of such things are
tho only traitors and rebels. 1t is the
boast of the American people that they
will not countenance traitors and rebels.
If this rebellion is persisted in will they
permit it to succeed, or will they crush
it? That is the great question for the
people of this Union, IRRESPECTIVE OF
party, section. age, sex or previous con-
dition, to answer.