The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-03-15
Speech Of jeremiah S. Black,
.DEFoRE TILE
Electoral Tribunal, on Tuesday,
February 2Sth, 1877.


mr. ItptVt" uHU ptittttWtt" >
rad not, and have not now, any inten'
ion to argue this case. | never heard
nc objections, nor knew what they
we're, until they were read IN your
presence this morning. 1t would he
presumption in me to attempt an argu'
nent before q tribunal like This on such
. case as this, having had no previous
opportunity to consider it which might
)ut me in II condition better than the
Judges themselves. You have heard as
much Of this case and know as much
about 1t rs do.
Ny idea Of tie duty which a coun-
,cllor owes to a court or to any other
tribunal, judicial or quasi-judicial, is
that he should never open his mouth
for the purpose Of assisting the
judges in coming to q correct conclu-
sion. and if he is not IN u situation to
do that, he ought to keep silence.
Besides that, | am, | suppose, the
very last man in this whole nation who
be called upon to speak here
and now. Everybody haa suffered
more or less by events and proceedings
Of the recent past, some by wear and
tear Of conscience, and some by a deep
sense Of oppression, and wrong. But
perhaps |, more than most others, have
felt the consciousness that | have lost
the dignity of an American citizen. |
in common with the rest, am degraded
and Inundated. This nation has got
her great big foot in a trap. 1t is vain
to struggle for her extrlcation.
Fam so fallen from the proud estate
OF a free citizen, you have 50 AFFECTED
me that | am fit for nothing on earth
but to represent the poor, dcfrauded,
brokcn-heartcd Democracy. And be-
cause | suffer more, they think me
more good for nothing than the rest,
and conclude to send me out OF this
lorlorm hope, Judging, no doubt truly
that it matters nothing what becomes
Of nc. | ought to 90 gladly if any
thing which | Il do or say might
have the effect Of mitigating the horri-
bic calamity with which the country is
threatened q President deriving his
title from Il shameless swindle, not
merely u fraud, but Il fraud detected
and exposed. | know not how would
teel if called upon to suffer death iol
my country. am not the stuff that
martyrs are made Of, but if my life
could redeem this nation from the infa
nv with which she is clothed, | .oughI
to go to the grave as freely as | ever
went to bed. see, however, no prac-
teal good that l 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 insupcIablc,
but | cannot hope that they will weai
that appearance in other mems eyes
Perhaps the feeling which | in com
mon with millions Of others entertain
on this sntject. prevents US from seeing
this thing in its true light. But yor
are wise; you arc calm. You can loul
all through this awful business with
learned spirit; no passionate hatred o
this great fraud Il cloud your menta
vision or shake the wen balance o
your judgment. You do not think il
any wrong that a nation should b'
cheated by false election returns. Oh
the contrary, it is rather n blessing
which Heaven has sent us, in thi,
strange disguise. When The omnlpo
tent lie shall be throncd and scepterc(
and crowned, you think we ought all o
us to fall down and worship it as The
hope of our political salvation. 1ol
will teach us and perhaps we viii
learn perhaps not) that under such .
rule we are better of than If truth hao
prevailed and justice been triumphant
Give, then, your cool consideration
to these objections, and try them by
the standard Of the law. | mean tho
law as it was before the organization
of this com mission. admit that since
then a great revolution has taken place
i'm the law. 1t is not now what it used
to be. All our notions of public right
and public wrong have suffered a com
plctc endorsement.
The question submitted to you is
whether the persons who gava 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 con
stitution of South Carolina, and the au.
lhorized acts Of her Legislature-these,
taken altogether, 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 citizens of the State quail,
fled to vote at general elections. Who
are they? BY the Constitution of the
State, in order to qualify them as vo
tiers they must be registered. The
registry of a native citizen is a sine
qua non to his right of voting as much
as the naturalization 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 Legislature as well
as the Executive Department of that
Government has been in the hands Of
the most redcmptionless rogues on the
face of the earth. But whatever may
have been the motive, nobody can
doubt that the lega! effect of this omis-
sion is to make the election illegal.
This is hardly the worst Oft. The
election itself, em%ancipated from all
La ~ nnl oil nutLnritu wna M hntlorl