Ellsworth American., 1876-11-09
THE RULE OF THE MAJORITY.

Now, the Republican party have no prescrip-
tive right to Iule this country, no more than
any other party. They have no inheritance
that is loyal. They exist merely by the will Of
the majority. But the Republican party has
the right to rsle the country until an honest
majority OF votes, legally cast, says they shall
no longer rule 1t. lApplause.l 1t has taken
many centuries TO educate the Anglo-Saxon
race up 10 the point of submitting TO majority
| of one. You may try 1t in what are called the
Latin nations, or you may try il in Spain or
South America or Mexico or in France and the
majority of one is as potential As majority Of
million. LApplause.l But it is of the firs
and the last consequence that that majority Of
one shall be an unbought, enbribed, honest ma
jority of the men who east the votes. APP
! pause.l And the Republican party tonight
| in The United States is not so much a. even &C
cused of attempting fraud on the ballot-box-
| is not so much as even accused Of it. They say
that We want to intimidate votes in the South
by the army. Why. there is not an intelligent
man in the South, there is not an intelligent
man in the length and breadth of the United
States. who will say or pretend to say that the
presence Of few Federal troops in South Car
/ olina will prevent any man in that state from
voting for Wade Hampton if he chooses to
not one. TApplause.l And it would be gross
outrage if they did. Renewed applause But
what the army may do there is, they may pre-
vent the supporters Of Wade Hampton from
preventing other people voting for whom they
prefer lApplsuse.I And | say throughout
the length and breadth of the land tonight
| there is not well-founded accusation that the
Republican party hope or expect or desire to
profit by fraudulent or dishonest or bribed or
intimidated vote anywhere. lApplause.l And
| if the Republican party is beaten, it goes down
with an un stained banner, bearing on il all the
stars that represent the States of this Union.
| [Great applause.l
The Democrats tell you that they will carry
| the solid South tell you, in answer to that,
| that there are six States in the South tonight
as honestly and decisiyely Republican as the
state of Maine. Applause There are six
States tonight in the southern country that II
left to free vote, are Republican by majorities
/ ranging from 10000 to $1,000. Applause And
when the Democrats tell you that they intend
| to have q solid South, they proclaim their own
shame-they do not conceal their own fraud.
| fApplause. Why, they claimed that they re-
covered MISSISSIPPI from uie hePuohCaus ias.
year by what they call a peaceful election. And
| it gives us an index by which to measure and
| estimate what the Democrats call n peaceful
election. And here state. AS l have often sta
| ted elsewhere-and state it ON official data, |
state it on competent testimony, state it on
evidence that would be received in any court Of
Justice in New York-that in that election last
year ia Mississippi, in which the Democrats
claimed to have recovered the State by MAJOR
ity of some 1000 or Is. 900 in peaceful election
Z state. say, on competent testimony, that
there were more men murdered in connection
Witb that election than ever lost their lives in
in ali the election fights and disturbances that
ever occurred In all the elections, municipai
state and national. in all the free States, from