Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-07-19

speak Tor freedom. i shall speak
with freedom. | have no private
gricfs to present. So far as personal
interests are concerned, recent events
have but relieved me of a burden
heavy almost beyond endurance. ]
speak to you to-day from a profound
sense of duty. Gladly would | close
forever that chapter of history to
which | have referred. But | dare
not do it.
81 see hand you cannot see,
hear a voice you cannot hear"
the hand of the helpless and DESERT
ed Southern patriot. the voice of the
widow whose husband, of the child
whose father has fallen by the blow
of the political assassin. | speak, too,
because others do not. My ambitions
are few and limited, bat it shall not
be written of me when life closes:
Gle loved ease or freedom from de-
traction and calumny, or the favor of
the great and powerful, so well that
he failed, in crisis in which he was
involved, to utter his sincere opinions
without fear or reserve"
There passed away recently in for
eign lands one of the noblest spirits
of our age; an eminent American,
whose brilliant services to literature,
whose sensitive honor, whose rare
courage, have won new respect for
the American name. read the lofty
and Astounding eulogies which COW
cred his grave, but | read no word
moro faithful and honorable to his
memory than this: "Whoever writes
of Mr.. Motley now ought by no means
to forget to record that he was one of
the few who devoured no dirt, kissed
not the feet of the President or his
Secretary, and had no words of vocif-
erous admiration for MY Policy"
WHAT THE POLICY is.
But, fellow-citizens, what is the
Presidents Southern policy? In
point of physical or external fact, it
consists in Withdrawing the military
forces of the United States from the
points in South Carolina and Louisi-
ana where they had been previously
stationed for the protection and sup
port of the lawful governments of
those States. In point of immediate,
foreseen and intended consequence, it
consists in the overthrow and destruc-
ton of those State governments, and
the substitution in their stead of cer-
tain other organizations called State
governments.
In point OF actual present results, it
consists in the abandonment of South
ern Republicans, and especially the
colored race, to the control and rule
not only of the Democratic party, Iii
of that class at the South which re.
garded slavery as Divine institution,
which waged four years of destruc-
tive war for its perpetuation, which
steadily opposed citizenship and SUIT
frage for the negro-in word, a
class whose traditions, principles and
history are opposed to every step and
feature of what Republicans call our
national progress since 1860.
THE PRESIDENTS REAL PURPOSE.
Now, felow-citizens, / exercise the
| off right an American citizen-no more
when | say that review ofthis chap
ter of our history leaves me in no
doubt that the real purpose of the
Louisiana Commission and Of the
whole conduct of the Louisiana case
by the President was to accomplish
the overthrow of Governor Packard
and his authority. Called upon I'M
der the Constitution and laws of the
country, as its chief executive, to dis
charge a grave public duty, a duty
essential to the maintenance of human
rights and the principles of The politi-
cal party which had elected him, the
President not only declines the duty,
but he stabs the State that sought his
aid and betrays the principles and
men whom he was bound to uphold
and protect.
Fellow citizens, | do not intend to
overlook any plausible or prominent
argument by which the Presidents
Southern policy is defended, and /,
therefore, propose to consider the
question of the actual existence of
domestic violence"in Louisiana. The
President, IN his order removing the
troops en- the goth day of April last,
after, as | have shown, Returning
Board quorum had been obtained for
the Nichols Legislature, declared that
he did not find in Louisiana a condi-
ton of domestic violence" such as is
contemplated by the Constitution. He
had of course been familiar with
every feature of the situation there
during the whole period of his delay,
and he had not waited till April 20 to
satisfy himself whether domestic vio-
lence existed or not. But such is the
ground on which he places his remov-
al of the troops Let us ask what is
domestic violence" and did "domes-
tic violence exist, in the constitu-
tional sense, in Louisiana, when the
President was called upon to deter
mine his action?
But when we look further and in.
quire what other defense of this pol
icy are offered, we are lost in maze
of subterfuges, contradictions, false
hoods, fallacies and inanities. Con-
spicuous in this list is the claim made
by the President himself and echoed
by his defenders that this Presidential
policy is in accord with the platform
OF the Republican party, with the
Presidents letter of acceptance and
with his known views at the time OF
his nomination and during the can
vass. / call this the chief of subter-
fuges, if not of falsehoods. | confess
Il cannot understand or measure the