The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-03-15
"THE roRLORN HOPE"
Speech of Jeremiah $. Black before
the Electoral Tribunal, OH Tuesday,
Feb. %.
From the Congressional Record.


MR.. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN
had not, and have not now, any intention
to argue this case. never heard the
objections, nor knew what they were
until they were read in your presence
this morning. 1t would be presumption
in me to attempt an argument before
tribunal like this on such case as this
having had no previous opportunity tc
consider it which might put me in con.
dition better than the judges themselves
You have heard as much of this case and
know as much about it as / do.
My idea of the duty which counsel
lor owes to court or to any other tribu.
nal, judicial or quasi-judicial, is that he
should never open his mouth except fol
the purpose of assisting the judges in
coming to a correct conclusion; and if
he is not in a situation to do that, he
ought TO keep silence.
Besides that, am, suppose, the very
last man in this whole nation who should
be called upon to speak here and now.
Everybody has suffered more or less by
events and proceedings of the recent past,
some by wear and tear of conscience and
some by deep sense of oppression and
wrong. But perhaps l, more than most
others, have felt the consciousness that l
have lost the dignity of an American cit
izen. I, in common with the rest, am
degraded and humiliated. This nation
has got her great big foot in trap. Its
vain to struggle for her extrication.
l am so fallen from the proud estate of
free citizen, you have SO abb bjected me
that l am fit for nothing on earth but to
represent the poor, defrauded, broken
hearted Democracy. And because l
suffer more, they think me more good for
nothing than the rest, and conclude to
send me out on this forlorn hope, Judging,
no doubt truly, that it matters nothing
what becomes of me. ought to 60
gladly if anything which can do or say
might have the effect of mitigating the
horrible calamity with which the coun-
try is threatened: President deriving
his title from a shameless swindle, not
merely fraud, but fraud detected and
exposed. l know not how I would feel if
called upon to suffer death for my coun-
try, 1 am not the stuff that martyrs are
made of, but if my life could redeem this
nation from the intamy with which she is
clothed, I ought to 60 to the grave as
freely as ever went to bed. l see, how.
ever, no practical good that can do, and
it is mere weakness to complain.
We have certain objections to the
counting of this Hayes vote from South
Carolina which look to me insuperable,
but 1 cannot hope that they will wear
that appearance in other mems eyes.
Perhaps the feeling which l in common
with millions of others entertain on this
subject, prevents us from seeing this
thing in its true light. But you are wise |;
you are calm. You can look all through
this awful business with Il learned spirit |;
no passionate hatred of this great fraud
can cloud your mental vision or shake
the even balance of your judgment. You
do not think it any wrong that nation
should be cheated by false election re-
turns. On the contrary, it is rather a
blessing which heaven has sent us in this
strange disguise. When the omnipotent
lie shall be throned and sceptered and
crowned, you think we ought all Of us to
fall down and worship it as the hope of
our political salvation. You will teach
us and perhaps we will learn (perhaps
not) that under such q rule we are better
off than if truth had prevailed and justice
been triumphant.
Give, then, your cool consideration to
these objections, and try them by the
standard of the law. I mean the law as
it was before the organization of this
commission. 1 admit that since then a
great revolution has taken place in the
law. 1t is not now what it used to be.
All our notions of public right and pub
lie wrong have suffered complete bouls-
rcrSenent.
The question submitted to you is
whether the persons who gave these votes
were "duly appointed" Duly, of course,
means according to law. What law {?
The Constitution of the United States,
the acts of Congress passed in pursuance
thereof, the Constitution of South Caro-
lima. and the authorized acts of her Leg
islature.-these taken altogether, consti-
tutc the law of the case before you.
By these laws the right, duty and
power of appointing electors is given to
the people Of South Carolina; that is to
say, the citizens of the State qualified to
vote at general elections. Who are
they? BY the Constitution of the State
in order to qualify them as voters they
must be registered The registry of a
native citizen is q sine qua non to his
right of voting as much as the naturaliza-
ton of a foreigner.
Now, the Legislature never passed any
law for the registration of voters, and no
registration of them was ever made. No
doubt has been or can be entertained
that the object and purpose of this omis-
sion was fraudulent and dishonest; for
the Legislature as we'll as the Executive
Department of that Government has been
in the hands of the most redemptionless
rogues on the face of the earth. But
whatever may have been the motive, no.
body can doubt that the legal effect OF
this omission is to make the election ille-
gal.
. That is hardly the worst of it. The
election itself, emancipatcd from all law
and all authority, was no better than a
riot, mob, a general saturnalia, in
which the soldiers of the United States
army cut the principal as we'll as the de-
centest figure. We offer to prove-the
offer will 60 upon record, and there ii
will stand forevcr-that every poll in
Charleston county, where they rushed
into the ballot box 1000 majority, was
in possession of the soldiers.
A Government whose elections are con-
trolled by military force cannot be re-
publican in form or substance. For this
1 cite the authority Of Luther VS.. Borden
if perchance the old-time law has YET
any influence Do you not see the hide
Gus depth of national degradation into
which you will plunge us if you sanctify
this mode of making President? Brush
up your historical memory and think oI
it for moment The man whom you
elect in this way is as purely the creature
of the military power as Caligula o.
Domitian, for whom the pretorian guard:
ooptro1lod tho h,,stinuS and counted tht