The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-11-22
THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS
SEVAmOR BAYAIeD DECLINES
TO PLAY THE PART OF ST.
PEKSISOR.
eur Rights and Victory Secure With
Tire and Patience.

Tire and Patience.
Senator Bayard, who was in New
York oRSunday, Was waited on by a
repOrter>with whom he spoke freely,
as follows ,:ab0ut the situation in Lou
isiana:
Reporter. Senator Bayard, I have
called to ask if you are going to New
Orleans to be present at the session of
the Louisiana returning Boardc
Senator Bayard. Certainly not.
Suggestions have been made from
very respectable quarters that it would
rhewell for me to form M of a select
corps of observation upon the action
of the Louisiana IeGurning board, but
las I am in the irsbit of acting upon
what 1 believe Re DC lawful warrant,
and sec no such warrant in this case,
l cannot conceive in what capacity /
could he expected to act in furtherance
of an honest gcturn of the Louisiana
vote. iWhatscatus q citizen of Della
'warcj7whethei he happened OF not to
be a member Of the Senate or the
House, or to hold any other office I'M
der his " State or the United
Statcs7 ootld occupy before q board of
LouisianaiState officials, Is more than
l can discover.
Reporter. You do not then approve,
I presume, of the Presidents action
iui1,viting certain gentlemen of other
,Et:ates to visit Louisiana for this pur-
,ptse:
president, in my Judgment, is not on
! ,Iy, as much without authority as the
Suggestions of my party friends made
, to me, but it seems to mo to be still
, more improper than those suggestions,
because, being made by the President,
it implies all official power to interfere
in matters which ought to be and are
strictly independent of him and of
his action. In my opinion it only
makes the case worse when q Federal
official. volunteers by virtue of his Of
, flee to create agents not only IN
known to the law, but in violation of
the law, because they are to assume
functions which are reposed in other
hands of the law. No matter what may
be the issue Of the returns or the con
duct of the returning board, either set
,,of such delegates wonld be totally with
=. out power to arrest the wrong In teri
or to remedy it when accomplished.
Neither the prevention nor the cure
lies with them nor with the President,
but both do exists elsewhere, ample
and well defined.
Reporter. Then, senator, you do
not recognize any value whatever in
the action of such extra-legal dele
gates, even If the President had Sc
Iected for the mission the best known
and most judicial men in the country,
and these had accepted the mission?
= Senator Bayard. The partisan or
. non-partisan character of the Presi-
dents selections does not touch the
: question of his want of authority or
theirs to make inquisition into Louisi-
ana elections, Had the persons nam
ed by the President heen, what they
are not, unbiased and: disinterested
witnesses of an important historical
event, their testimony might have
gone far to satisfy PUBLIC opinion in
regard to matters passing under their
personal observation. But the Presi-
dent by emitting to name even one of
those who have not supported his adj
ministration has put the idea Of inn
partially out Of the question.
Reporter. DO you think, senator,
that the Democratic party should take
any action as matters now stand
Senator Bayard. / hate the very
name of party in connection with
such an emergency us now apparently
cnnfronts the American people.
Whether successfully or not, I should
ask or seek nothing to-day from any
man, either as 3 Democrat or a Re-
publican, but simply try to control
him by a sense of his duty as a citizen
to the Constitution and laws of his
country. I have given my adhesion
to the Democratic party because / be-
lieve it to be the party of law and or
der, and I believe to day that its sue
cess is firmly intrenched in both,
and that it only needs that its candi-
dates and it's members should stand
by the law as it is written, in letter
and in spirit, in order to have the full
contamination of its victory in the re-
suits of tina Presidential election of
last Tuesday. Therefore it is that I
strenuously dcprecatc any resort, no
matter how well i%ntentioned, to irreg.
ular methods for controlling legal re-
suits. TO apply these remarks to the
case in point; Whether in dealing
with Loisiaua, South Carolina or
Florida. what mean to say Is
this: The election in these States
have been held the votes have been
cast, the ballots are, or ought to be, in
.existance, and they disclose, or did
disclose a majority on one side or the
other. Which way these majorities.
or any Of them, are, is Q question Of
fact, which is OF ought to be capable OF
distinct and positive proof If the laws
have not been violated. 1t is by that
fact that the American people must
stand and not by any false and coun-
.terfeit .presentment Of that fact,
whether prepared by the fraud of
an official hand or not. Never was
there an occasion more gravely call
ing for all utter absence of anything
like personal irritation or party heat ;
but, at the same time never WAS there
an occasion demanding more deliber-
ate and grave determination to insist
upon the very truth and right of this
question, under the authoity of the
law and of the law alone. Our path
will then be plainly marked out for
us, and we can and will tread 1t with
> an mfaltering step.-New York
World.