Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1876-12-06

proceeding IN ooutn Carolina, there
can no longer be any doubt as &c
Grants intention. When Federal
troops. transferred by hi. orders to
the command Of q partisan can
didste for State Office, bar the doors
Of the capitol and prevent the Leg
islatnre Of the State from assemb-
ling, there can be bnt one explana-
ton Of his cource and that is that,
right or wrong, he proposes to use
all the force Of his command TO
furthur the schemes Of his fellow
partisans. We have hoped that
the case might be otherwise, small
as was the ground for hope when
we recalled the infamous interior
ence with the Louisiana Legislature
two years ago. We have fsncied
at times that with his term drawing
to a close, the man who has so per-
sistently prostituted the Presiden-
tial Office for the past eight years
to personal and partisan ends might
be seized with something like re-
morse for the evil he has done, and
endeavor, before retiring, to estab-
lish some claim to a renewal Of the
forfeited gratitude Of the people by
securing, so far as he could, an
honest record Of the peoples will
In the election of his successor
the hope and the fancy have passed.
In the light Of this last fragrant
outrage from popular right, this
browning act Of usurpation, this
deliberate infraction Of the Consti-
tution he has sworn to uphold, it
is easy to see that Grant means to
shrink from no Illegally or irfamy
which may be necessary to give the
nominal control OF the three con-
tested Southern States to his parti-
Sans and the Presidential succession
TO Hayes.
II is well-nigh impossible to fitly
characterize this latest act Of Grants
without infringing upon the rule
we have heretofore laid down for
ourselves in respect to saying any
thing calculated 10 increase the
popular excitement unnecessarily.
The act is Of such a character that
the bare recital OF the facts is
enough to make the blood of every
free American citizen boil in his
veins. For while il is only in South
Carolina that the outrage is con-
snmmated and while tho people OF
that State are alone called upon
now to suffer from it, il is impossi-
BILE for the citizens Of Michigan
and Of every other State not to feel
that the preparation OF such acts in
South Carolina establishes a pre-
cedent and makes there repetition
elsewhere a mere question Of time.
Under q request from Governor
Chamberlain, made some time prior
to the election, President Grant
ordered certain number of troops
toSouth Carolina. The request was
based upon the Governors affected
belief, in support of which he fur
nished no facts, that there was dan
ger Of domestic violence. 1t was
conceded both by the Governor and
the President that the former could
only make such request as would
constitutionally require or permit
compliance on the part of the Pres
ident upon some showing that the
Legislature could not be convened,
the constitution vesting the power
to call for federal aid in the Lcgis-
lature in the first instance, and only
in the Governor when the Legisla-
ture cannot be convened. The
showing upon this point was ex-
ceedingly slight. Indeed it has
been alleged upon passably good
authority that the only reason Civ
en- by the Governor was that the
State was too poor to pay for a
legislative session. Whatever the
reason given, 1t was accepted as
sufficient, as any reason would have
been, and the troops were sent
To their presence, spite of the de.
mand, the people Of South Carolina
took no exception; but the only
noticeable result Of their presence
up to the recent movement, is found
in the Republican charge Of Dem.
ocratic intimidationin every county
where they were stationed.
The election over, a new demand
comes from Governor Chamberlain
and this time there is no pretence
49, A. Tor-s.1ot.ro ..u-~k L. -