The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-12-17
Moral Responsibility.

Returning Board set aside our recent eiec
ton and made one of their own. 1t will be
! impossible for these gentlemen, whether
Democratic or Republican, to resist the
conclusion, and the longer the examination
the stronger that conclusion will be, that
the election in this State was as perfectly
fair and uninfluenced by fear as elections
usually are anywhere, at least so far as
concerned Republican votes.
They will find themselves confronted by
an ocean of lying, that is, general lying
They will find that, as usual, these general
liars avoid details, such as names, places,
dates and circumstances. They will freely
swear, as did Mr.. Glover, that there was
vast intimidation, but the vaster the charge
the more suspiciously small will appear
the array of individual facts established by
these witnesses. Each one will have heard
vague reports from some one else, with the
general result Of an impossibility to trace
them to any one in particular. We'haVe
examined somewhat carefully into this
thing and we don't believe that single
case will be found in the State where
Republican negro refraiDed from voting
through reasonable bodily fear.
We do not say that thousands of affida-
Wits may not be uDearthed, manufactured
in the Custom House, purportiDg to be
signed by people who cannot be identified
and charging intimidation, but we mean to
predict that if the maker of one of these
affidavits can be caught and brought before
the Committee, the members of that body
will be satisfied after brief examination
that the witness csn give no details that
could possibly be verified or disproved by
others. If any witness can be found bold
enough to make specific charge of intimi,
dation with some particularly of details,
no doubt his utter mendacity will be es-
tablished beyond controversy. The Com
| mittee is not star chamber court like the
Returning Board, where one eide only has
a chance to make proof, and we hope that
the er parte evidence taken before the lat
ter body will now be thoroughly gifted and
it's mem bers set right before the country
and the world as to their connivance in
fraudulent proof.
Again these gentlemen of the Commit
tee will find that the army of Republican
lmartyrs-men murdered for principles
\ Isake-will vanish before their in vestigation'
They will not be able to get the names OF
the men killed. Iti easy for Grant and Other
poets to singi in Washington about deeds o.
violence in Louisiana, but it is most singu
lar that the murdered men had no names
There have, indeed, been murders in Lou
isiaua, but in those which were politics
the victims will be found to have been De
: mocrats.
, The Committee will also tind it strang'
, that the q. S. troops were in full and un
, disputed mastery of those very parishe
where intimidation was so public and 81
Wholesale that the entire vote becam
vitiated and had to be thrown out. The
; will find it particularly strange that in thes
:. parishes there was q sufficient number {
" Democratic 'colored votes to insure De
a mocratic majority, whereby it became yer
convenient that the Republican negrot
should abstain from voting in order to forl
B. q pretext for ruling out the legitimate ID
10 mocratic mejorities, and they will find
~ strangest of all that the result of the rulir
- out should work a Repu blican victory, whe
q if every negro who abstained from Votlr
had actually voted, and voted twice, the
would still have been, unless we are great
s. mistaken, a handsome Democratic maj
st. rity.
J. If, then, the Republican members of Il
k' Committee should become convinced
''' these facts, may we not indulge the ehoI
- that they will rise superior to party feelir
and announce the truth publiclyf Sut
be conduct might be the means of preventsl
a bitter and sanguinary civil war, and
= any rate it would relieve them of NOR
ry- responsibility in csse such a war shou
ter burst forth in spite of their efforts.
'nS 1t is reported by telegraph from Was
'ed ington that Republican leaders have d
gas termined to sustain Grant in any court
w ,oi no matter how lRwless, that will be nece
Ilo- nnrr tn knnn Mr Tildan nnt nf The Pre-