Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-03-22

The question submitted to you is wheth-
er the persons who gave these votes were
duly appointed.' Duly of course means
according to law. What law? The Consti-
tuition of the United States, the acts OF Con-
gress and the authorized acts Of her Legls-
lature-theSe taken all together constitute
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 clti-
zens of the State qualified to vote at general
elections. Who are they? By the Constl-
tuition of the State in order to qualify them
as voters they must be registered. The
registry of a native citizen Is a SINE qua non
to his right of voting as much as the natur-
alization 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 omission was
fraudulent and dishonest; for the Leglsla-
ture as well 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, nobody can doubt that the le-
gal effect OF this omission is to make the
election illegal.
That is hardly the worst OF it. The election
itself, emancipated from all law and all au-
thoritv, was no better than a riot, a mob, a
general saturnalia, in which the soldiers of
the United States army cut the principal as
we'll as the deceutest figure. We offer to
prove-the oIler will go upon record, and
there it will stand forever-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-
troiled by military force can not be republic
can in form or substance. For this | cite
the authority of Luther VS.. Borden, il per-
| nhonna tho old .fiOna 10 ur hos xof INV inHn.
ence. Do you not see the hideous depth of
National degradation into which you will
plunge us it you sanctity this mode of max
ing a President! Brush up your historical
memory aud think of it for a momenJ The
man whom you elect in this way is as purely
the creature of the military power as
Caligula or Domitian, for whom the pre-
torian guards controlled the hastings and
counttd the votes.
But then we can not get behind the re-
turns, fnrsooth! Not We! You will not
let us. We can not get behind them. No.
That is the law, of course. We may strug-
gle for justice, We may cry for mercy; we
may go down on our knees and beg and
woo for some little recognition of our
rights as American citiZens; but we might
as well put up our prayers to Jupiter, or
Mars, as bring suit in the court where
R~hadamanthus presides. There is not a
god on Olymphus that would not listen to
us with more favor than we shall be heard
by our adversaries. We are at their mer-
cy; it is only to them that we can appeal,
because you gentlemen unfortunately can
not help us. You are IL bv the new
Jaw which you have made. You are of
course addicted like other people to the
| voice of cons stency, and what is done once
must be done over again.
In the Louisiana case the people appoint
ed electors in favor of Tilden, recorded
their act, finished it, and left their work ia
such a state that nobody could misunder-
stand it. Blu other persons, who had no
power to appoint, falsified the record Of the
actual appointment, partly by plain forgery
and partly by fraud which was as corrupt In
morals and void in law as any forgery could
be. You thought right and legal and just
to say that you would not look at the re-
cord which the people had made; the for
gerry, the fraud and corruption were toe
| sacred to be interfered with; the truth
must not be allowed to come in conflict
with the imposture, lest the conclusion
might be damaging.
This precedent must be followed. 1t is
new law to be sure, but we must give it due
welcome; and the new lords that it brings
into power must be regarded as our. Every
noble and approved good masters ~ Hav-
ing decided that Electors were duly APP
pointed In Louisiana who Were now not tC
be appointed; we can not expect you to take
notice of any fact similar or kindred to it in
South Carolina.
| Then, again, the question of s'duly ap.