Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-08-17
An Inquiry.

| Any good lawyer by answering, will
: much Oblige labOring citizen, as ais
hundreds, who have not time, book
lor legal ability to make himself maste
of the law in the matter of The inquiry
}, nor has he pecuniary or personal in
terest in the case to justify the risk of {
heavy lawyers fee. Perhaps some lie
gal politician may take interest enough
in the question, for the sake of common
Justice, to give through US to the pub.
lie, a satisfactory answer.
The q,testiOn-Did these CongressiOn.
al Investigating Committees of the late
Congress, in the Democratic interest
violate the Constitution and the law OF
evidence in their manner of conducting
their Investigations, especially in ia
king testimony, as in the case OF
Blaine, Robeson, &C., &C., &C.?
Those 'huggers' of the Constitution,
AS said Gen. Tuttle-with closed
doors for months, in the absence of the
accused, and the Republican members
of the committees, took an oath parole,
secondhand, hear-say testimony, with
out giving the usual privilege to cross
examine, or bring counter testimeny,o or
to object to incompetent witnesses.
The history of these Investigations is
patent to the reading, the inquiring
and intelligent part of the community.
We believe, with many liberty-loving,
and law-abiding people, that the course
was an outrage upon the constitutional
rights of American citizens, and stab
at human liberty, and is evidence clear
that the perpetrators and their politi-
cal party are unsafe guardians of Amer
ican liberty, and utterly unfit to rep
resent the people.
If there be any class of officials de-
serving impeachment it is this class of
tyrants. Are we not right? Let us
know, yea or nay. INQUIRER.
FAMILIAR as Mr.. Tilten processes to
be with the financial affairs of the Gov
ernment, it is surpr sing that in so
grave document as his letter ofaccep-
tance he should have exaggerated the
amount of taxes collected since the
peace of 1865 by the amount of $751;
900, 900. "The Federal t,xes of the
last eleven year." he says, "reach the
gigantic sum of four thousand five hum
dred Millions" They reached the ex-
act amount OF S4 .047 ,757, or upwards of
four hundred and fifty millions less
than Mr.. Tilden makes the aggregate.
His very sound advice that the Nation,
like the individual, should live with.
in his income, implies failure on the
part of the Government to do so. But
if it had not lived within its income,
how could it, in eleven years, have
paid 1853, zoe, 900 of its war debt, in adj
dition to 81, 1886, ,101, ,456 interest on the
principal? Moreover, the coin debt
has beep,reduced $4,000, 900, and the
coin interest S29, 100000. When man
not only meets the currrnt expenses of
his family and business, and reduces
his indebtedness rapidly, besides pay
ing the interest and incidental expen-
,es, he can be congratulated that he
mas lived within his income, aud it
would be misrepresentation to assert
hat he had not done so. 1t is unques- :
ionably true that greater economy ,
night have been practiced, and in so !
ar as Mr.. Tilden or any other man is :
Influential in scaling down expendi- !
ures, he deserves the thanks of the =
'eOple; but he is not justified in assu- =
ming condition of things for which :
Ie has no support in facts, for partisan :
urposcs merely, and especially If he 4
e self-exploited reformer,. as Mr.. y
'ilden is.-Cin. Commercial. >,