The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-07-12

Whenever. as in Mississippi, malign in
huences caused him to gink from his
duty, defeat, lasting, comfte defeat, was
the RESULT"
Gov, Chamberlain conceded as follows:
A political party, fellow itizens, which
cannot bear defeat in ope political war
fare has little vitality, lite claim to pub.
lie confidence. But m! knowledge of
political history gives memo example OF
n party strong enough t long survive
either the abandonment its principles
or timid and time-servin acquiescence
in the treachery of its lelers. Such is
the attitude, in my judgnnt, of the .Ke-
publican party to-day. Whoever, has
watched the course of the}resent admin
istration has seen the Generalization
which always attends theabandonment
of principles spreading though all the
channels and activities oftkgovernment.
Look at civil-service reftm-a policy
vital, fundamental polio which means
the absolute freedom of a the servants
of the government, excep the very few
who distinctively and necessarily repre-
sent the political opinion of the party
charged with the adminstttion, from all
allegiance to, or connection with, the po-
litical fortunes Of any pay; the selec-
tion of such servants witt eyes blind to
the political opinions of tbse who are to
serve the government. his is the re-
form to which the adminItration stands
peculiarly pledged. Hast entered upon
it? Has it shown capeity or purpose
to execute it? No; thencccssities i'm
posed upon the administration in its ef-
forts to buy the support or silence the
opposition of partisan Saders to the
Southern policy has alrady defrauded
us of this reform. affirl, as PROPOSE
tion which rests on accurte observation,
that to this hour Offices hae been granted
or refused, conferred or taen away, with
as much regard to politicl ends by the
present administration Il. by President
Grant during any portion f his admins
tration; and, 1 will not orbcar to add,
with far less honorable rotives. Mark
the appreciation of the princi pies of
civil-service reform, whe you hear it
announced that eight yors of service
gives right to the Presicnt to remove
the most faithful officel Or again,
when you see the Secretar, of the Treas
ury devoting his mind t the elevated
work of removing, withu regard to
other causes, all but one ola family!
Look next at the relatins of this ad-
ministration to the presel It financial is
sues. President Hayes las heretofore
entitled himself to the confidence of hon
est men by his course onthis question.
Nothing, sir, but the necessity of gaining
support for his Southern policy could
have induced him to conttmplate an al
lance with the silver conspiracy "a con-
spiracy which regards silvlr with favor
only because it has lost al virtue as a
standard of value, and, as ! currency, is
cheaper than grcenbacks. 1t is the in
herent and unavoidable Weakness of his
present position, the effect d his wretched
Southern policy, that he must conciliate
an outraged party, so far IS possible, by
yielding now to the demand for the
"spoils," and now to the demand for
"cheap" money.
Again, the Republican party, by all
its recent platforms, is pledged to oppose
the grant of subsidies to private corpora.
tions. Yet no man, who to-day knows
anything of the currents and influences
which are gathering at Washington, is
ignorant of the fact that vast scheme
is steadily maturing, unopposed-if not
fayored-by this administration, which
aims to take from our public domain and
our public treasury untold subsidies to
build a Southern Pacific railway, rail
way for which there is no present public
need and from which private capitalists
would shrink with contempt. In the
train of this gigantic effort at public
robbery will come the revival of the de-
funct Northern Pacific, the building of
levees on the Mississippi, and kindred
schemes sufficient to again corrupt the
morals and blast the prosperity of the
whole country. And all this is the price
which must be paid for the privilege OF
oyerthrowing two lawful State govern
ments and trampling upon the principle
upon which our governments and institu-
tions rest-the rule of the majority
Sir, there are laws of moral cause and
effect as true and certain as any physical
laws. No political leader, no political
party, can forfeit honor or desert pinci.
Piles at one point and maintain them at
others. Integrity is indivisible. You
cannot be dishonest on one subject and
honest on others. The Presidents South
ern policy conceived in his own mind, a
shock and offense to his party, reckless Of
justice and constitutional duty-if unop-
posed-will more and more weaken the
moral bonds which have hitherto, III spite
of all its failings, secured to the Repub-
lican party the confidence of majority
of the most intelligent and prtriotic
Americans for more than 20 years.