Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-10-19
THE NEW CONSPIRACY.
What is Meant by the Restor.
alton of the Confederate
Democracy to Power.
The Vital Issues of 1870 Considered.

closed the war and yielded the do
minlon of the Confederacy to the un
disputed authority of the Nationa
Government; but ia the transfer o
the conflict from the field to the for
um the nation was confronted will
consequences of the struggle as gray,
and momentous as the war itself
Eleven States were found in social anC
political chaos and all form of civil
government therein destroyed. The
highest considerations of statesman
ship and sound policy dictated tina
they should be speedily reconstructed
and restored to their constitutional
relations in the Union; bnt how wa,
this to be accomplished? Four mil
lions of emancipated slaves and five
millions of disloyal citizens may be
said to have comprised the entire
population out of which the proposed
| governments were to be formed. In
the nature of things the conduct of the
late Confederate in this new and
wholly changed relation of citizen.
ship become subject of anxious in.
| quiry. He had surrendered the sword
of rebellion at home and the arts of
diplomacy abroad, and sworn to re-
new his allegiance; but could be be
trusted to found free and loyal gov
ernments on the basis Cf a complete
and veritable freedom for all, and to
aid in securing within those States the
results of the nation's victory?
FALSE TEACHINGS.
Unfortunately there was little in
his antecedents to inspire cofdence
The education that made secession
and rebellion easy had imbued his
mind with the most pernicious here
sizes. The disciple of Calhoun, or the
devotee of Davis, Slidell and Yancey,
he was indoctrnated with a measure
of political poison which the fire of
battle intensified and consecrated
rather than destroyed. These teach
ings constituted his very best concep-
ton Of the nature of the Government
and his rights and duties as citizen.
The impracticability of maintaining
them by rebellion was settled, but the
deep-seated convictions which promp-
ted that effort remained unchanged.
Yet, notwithstanding these embrar-
easements which attended the exper-
iment of reconstruction and mad e
":~~ ~ r-~A-- 80" fofor in the
adoption of policy, the sworn enc
my, who had ust surrendered his
treason with a broken heart and had
given no evidence that he could be
trusted as worthy citizen, was promp-
thy restored to all the rights and priv
ieges he had forfeited, and the States
he was destined to control were read
mitted to the Union with largely in
creased political power.
THE VITAL ISSUE.
But there were national c0nsidera-
tons quite as vital as those peculiarly
local to the South. In 1861 the Rep
resentatives in Congress from the
slave States numbered IA against 159
from the States then free, while under
the present apportionment they have
1O6 to ls5 from the North. Thus, a
solid Southern vote, which the De-
mocracy have determined to secure
in the election next November at all
hazards, with only 40 Representatives
from the North, will give the South
undisputed control Of that body, while
it will require only 10 votes from the
North to also give it control of the
Senate. According to this basis it
will be seen furthermore that with
the addition of only AZ electoral votes
to the 1873 belonging to the South
that section will be enabled to elect a
President and Vice President and
enter upon absolute control of the
| Government. 1t was this alarming
possibility, which now presents itself
in a practical and threatening form,
that made men doubt the wisdom OF
any system of Southern restoration
which might ever enable the rebel cit
izen TO gain the ascendency and take
possession of the Republic. A briei
experience of ten years has demon,
strated that the fears and misgivings
OF those times were indeed well found
ed. Not content with the usurpation
of authority in half the States of the
South by means that trample under
foot every essential principle of re-
construction and hold the laws of God
and man in utter defiance, they pro-
pose now, by the same nefarious sys-
TEN, to usurp the authority of the
nation.
This being the manifest spirit Of
the combined master element of the
South, which to-day is better organic
ed and more thoroughly united and
determined than at any time since il
surrendered on the field, it is peril
nent TO inquire with what temper il
approaches the National Capital.
SLAVERY VERSUS FREEDOM.
1t is we'll known that two distinct
sets of ideas have long divided the
North and the South. The Nortf
has ever been jealous of her institu
tons of freedom and protected all hel
citizens alike in their enjoyment
Freedom of speech, freedom o
thought and action under the wldes
latitude, and a patriotic. paramount
J loyalty to the nation have been held
as cardinal tenets among her people
The South has ever been exclusive
intolerant, illiberaI, domineering, anC
sectional. Her inheritance of free
. dom was subordinated to the more
sacred" inheritance of slavery, by
! which every principle of Government
: every right and duty of the citizen
+ and every sentiment of loyalty anc
patriotism was determined. The ma
tional Government was regarded only
as an instrument to be manipulated
: for the protection and extension o
the divine" institution, and when a
last an indignant and outraged PEG
pie protested against this high abuse
the Government was declared fail
ure and It's dissolution demanded.