The New York herald., 1877-03-16
why Does the Southern Question
Drag,

cious declarations of the inaugural address
have been responded to by the country,
almost without distinction of party, with
such unequivocal tokens of warm approval
that we are puzzled at the Presidents hesi-
tation to do with reasonable promptitude
what the country understood him to
promise. President Hayes offered in his in-
augural what seemed a sufficiently explicit
pledge to sustain local self-government in
the Southern States. Unless he intended
this cheering pledge to apply to Louisiana
and South Carolina it could have had no
meaning at all, because the other fourteen
Southern States are in secure possession of
all the rights of self-government. OF course
the declarations in the inaugural had no
reference to the other fourteen, and there
fore, of course. they looked merely to the
two States afflicted with dual govern
ments, unless they were utterly idle and
irrelevant. But what possible meaning
could the inaugural declarations in favor
of local self-government had rs relating to
these two afflicted and distracted States if
it was then doubtful question in the Presi-
dents mind whether he would not, after all,
recognize Packard and Chamberlain as law
full Governors? All the world knows that
these two worthless cannot maintain even the
semblance of authority without the support
of federal troops. If the soldiers were with
drawn and things left to take their course
Packard and Cham berlain would not make
even pretence of gubernatorial authority
for forty-eight hours. There would be
no disturbance of the peace there would
be no necessity for the real State govern
ments to make display of force Packard
and Chamberlain, as soon as the federal
troops were withdrawn, would fold their
tents like the Arabs and silently steal
away" No intelligent man who is politi-
cally sane and has watched the situation
in the South can have any sort
of doubt that the Packard and Cham
berlain governments would dissolve like the
baseless fabric of vision and vanish into
thin air as soon as the federal authority
should declare that it would no longer pro-
tect them. This being so evident we cannot
understand the hesitation of President
Hayes in making good the noble assurances
of his inaugural address.
It is O trife more difficult to account for
the hesitation of the President in the
South Carolina case than in the Lou
isana case. The authentic testimony
taken by the committee OF the House
established the fact that the Hampton ticket
ran far ahead of the Tilden ticket. This
committee, of which q majority were demo-
Gratis, unanimously conceded that Hayes
was fairly entitled to the electoral votes of
South Carolina, although Hampton was
elected Governor. The President, therefore,
could not compromise his own title
by recognizing Hampton, and We
cannot see why he should deliberate
on so plain question. But, in spite of his
unexpected coyness and delay, we believe
the President will make good the pledges
and declarations of his inaugural address.
The news from Washington which we print
this morning encourages this hope and
justiies US in hoping that the troops will
soon be Withdrawn both from Louisiana and
South Carolina. When this decisive step is
taken self-government and local tranquility
will be insured throughout the length and
breadth of our glorious Republic.