National Republican., 1877-02-28
TaE REPUBLICAN rARTY AND THE
DUAL GOVERNMENTS.

lno bOurCe VI Hsc BoNorument Is tne
people; and when government of the peo.
| pie, in form. ceases to be such In fact, II
has no longer rlghtful sway. and rules, If
at all. as a despotism. 1t is not the princi.
pic, but the practice. of government that
constitutes oppression, and the best govern.
ment on earth, erected and operated over
the heads of an unwilling people, is, in
practice, the veriest tyranny. What can
be more at variance with the principle Of re.
publican government than system Of taxa.
ton and police regulation sustained by men
who neither own the property to be taxed
nor constitute the society to be affected by
the laws enacted and enforced, Aud what
imaginable creation can be more repug.
nant to proud people than government
maintained by persons foreign TO their soil
ard strangers TO them. Let any citizen Of
free state answer. ireland, Hungary,
and Poland are familiar instances of such
governments, and their peoples have the
sympathy Of the world. Aud yet these
governments arc rendered tolerable to the
philosophic mind, by being the creatures
of conquerors, whose powers are rightful
by common consent. In such instances
Of oppression men bear their necks to the
yoke M dispensstion OF fate,
without even asserting the right to ques.
tion its justice. But where q people are
nominally free, inhabiting q State controlled
by their fathers for generations, and be-
longing to confederation Of States known
and recognized as the freest among men,
but who are nevertheless governed by
aliens supported by servile race In their
midst, what shall be said of them? Let
those enjoying true liberty, reply.
And yet this is the character of govern.
ment existing in number of the States of
the South, and seen in their true light by
the whole people of the United States
They proceed from sort OF military de.
posit LEFT in those States at the close OF the
war, which, as nucleus OF strength, for
time drew to 1t native element recsntly
released from bondage, and, therefore, sup.
posing itself the natural enemy of
its former owner. For more than
decade this fusion has con.
,rolled the destinies of the states 1t
dominates. and until now has been able
to hold out against every effort on the part
ofthe original Inhabitants 10 obtain release
from its thraldom. But fortunately for
them, learning wisdom by sad experience,
the property. holders of the South have
discovered way out Of the tolls I, is no
other than to enlist the sympathy oftho
former slave in their behalf, thus liking
the freedman the instrumentality OF
their own liberation. Forming
an alliance Of this sort, the
united natives now appear to be In
strong array against the authors Of
the hated governments, and, 1t Is be.
lieved. but for the aid of the General Gov.
ernment, they must give way. And the
question is, shall they have such aid,
or shall they be LEFT to themselves
to be sustained or starved, as the people
affected by them shall elects There can
be no doubt but that the great majority of
the party which will administer the Gov.
ernment for the coming four years Is con-
vinced that whatever reasons have hereto.
fore existed for sustaining these govern.
ments, they exist no longer and that the
people Of those States should hereafter be
accorded the privilege Of uutrammeled
self-government The progress of re. union
among the people has been confessedly re,
tarded by these creatures of contention, and
the prevailing sentiment Is that they
shall stand ip the way of reconciliation no
longer. But there is no thought of vic.
lence in the suggestion. On the contrary,
the feeling is that peace should be main.
tained between the contending parties,
leaving the strongest to win by its hold
upon the people. Nor will there be in
this any abandonment Of party friends by
tie Administration, which is not demanded
by every interest of the country, and by
the spirit Of the laws; for cor.
tainly no one will contend that
any possible good can result from
further eIssperating the Southern people
by forcing them to submit to these govern.
ments, or that it is constitutionslly within
the Federal power to uphold State gov.
eminent against the will of its people.
Nor will such q course involve the incon.
sistency on the part Of the Administration
OF claiming It's own choice In the States hav.
ing dual governments while 1t seemingly ad.
mits the defeat Of the State tickets therein.
Such question is not involved IN any
iorm. supposing those governments had
been erected by the action Of all the people
in those States, would that fact justify the
President in interfering to prevent the
people, by peaceable means, from com.
polling them to abdicste? Certainly not.
1t is a matter wholly within the province