St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-07-13

is the true and lawful one? When the
president of the United States is thus
summoned to this duty, what right,
what warrant of Constitution or law, /
ask, can he have or find, for pushing
aside the proper inquiries and inquiring,
either by himself or by a commission of
five, how he may "remove the obstacles
to the acknowledgment of one Govern
ment in louisiana" or how he may SAC
complish"-in the sounding phrase of
the secretary-''the recognition of a
single legislature as the depository of
the representative will of the people of
Louisiana OF what concern was it to
bim-I speak in a constitutional sense
to know how two governments could be
reduced to one, or two legislatures
combined in one? We hear much
from the president and his advisers and
defenders, of a newborn zeal for con-
stitutional limitations. The same lips
which in recent years have been wont
to come to the consideration of cOnsti-
tutional questions with no narrower
rule of construction than '.sdlus pOpuH
supreme ler," are now tremulOus with
assurances of their "eXtreme sOlicitude,"
lest they should give seven the appear
ance of military Intervention" Sir,
hold them to their new tests. Ask the
president under what power, express
or implied, he enters Louisiana to Sc
cure one legislature or one government?
No man can answer you. 1t was bold,
arraut usurpation, without even an ex-
cuse that it was undertaken in a good
cause. He had been called upon by the
Legislature which recognized Governor
Da.ly.rJ tn nrntant tba Stnta oUaip ST
domestic violence. 1t was under this
warrant alone that he could enter Lou
isiana except us a usurper. He could
have refused aid to Governor Packard,
as Tilden would have done, because he
was not the lawful Governor. He could
have withdrawn the troops from the vi
cinity of the State House on the ground
that no domestic violence existed, and
left the controversy to settle itself. In
either course his action would have had
the merit of being an exercise of powers
undoubtedly committed to him. II
) might also have been characterized as
open and aightforward. But the
/ course which he did pursue was, first by
! his commission to undermine Governor
Packard, and then to withdraw the sup
port of the United States troops. He
dared not question Governor Packard's
r title; but he thought, in the face of al
intelligent people, to accomplish by in
/ direction the purpose to which he stood
: committed. When, by the direct infiu.
f ence of his commission and the pre-an.
nouncement of his purpose to withdraw
1 the United States troops, he had gained
} for the Nichols legislature a returning
board quorum, he proclaims his discOv'
ery that no case of domestic violence
2 exists in Louisiana warranting his in.
5 tervention, and withdraws the troops.
5 Now, fellow-citizens, | exercise the
e right of an American citizen-nO more
! when say that review of this chap.
= ter of our history leaves me in no doub
4 that the real purpose of the Louisian;
Commission and of the whole conduc
of the Louisiana case by the president
0 was to accomplish the overthrow o
= Governor Packard and his authority
= Called upon under the Constitution anC
:, laws of the country, us its chief eXecu
a tive, to discharge a grave public duty
5 Il duty essential to the maintenance o
q the life of Il great state, duty equally
: essential to the maintenance of human
t rights and the principles of the politica
= party which had elected him, the presi
: dent not only declines the duty, but h
L stabs the state that sought his aid, an,
n betrays the principles and men WHOM
Il he was bound to uphold and protect.
e Mark, too, the confession involved il
S the very effort to secure for Nichols
: Returning Board Legislature. 1t was
e confession that the foundation of tn
" title of Governor Packard was impreg
: nable that, in order to gain any sem
It blance of authority for Nichols, Gov
II Packard's legislative department mus
: be broken up-a piece of policy as shal
y low as it was disreputable. Does an
: man say or suggest in terms that tn
g state government of which GovernO
IS Packard was the head was any the les
IS the lawful state government when
V majority of the members declare
3 elected by the returning board had tax
is ken seats in the Nichols legislature
ir Whenever any member of the Packar
o legislature deserted his post he left
d vacant seat behind him. He carrie
y nothing with him. 1t was then th
l. prerogative of those who remained t
o cause the vacant seat to be filled.
rt if by the number of desertions no quo
, rum was present, the result was ten
1t porary paralysis of the legislative arm
it 1t remained for this obstacle to be II
Z moved by new elections, as provide
J. by the laws of Louisiana as of all Otht
N states. 1t is an evidence of the conf
1T sion of ideas bred by such efforts
ID circumvent political justice, that I'll
N country has been deluded into LEI
: degree of reprobation of the President
;" policy by the fact that under the influ
l. ence of the presidents commission an
d his own preannounced purpose, a IN;
,h iority of the members of the lawful lee
rs islature vacated their seats and ioine
ii the unlawful and revolutionary bod
at called together by Nichols. The leg
lie and parliamentary fact is that the a,
Iy tion of those members neither took ava
4 any lawful authority from the one bod
," nor added any lawful authority to I'll
l. other. Still less did such action chang
Ig in any respect the constitutional dut
to of the president toward the state
of Louisiana.
ic Fellow citizens, / do not intend
in overlook any plausible or prominent a
e, gument by which the presidents soutl
j. ern policy is defended, and therefor
l. propose to consider the question of I'll
lie actual existence of domestic violence
II. in Louisiana. The president, in his o
10 der removing the troops on the Doth da
,h of April last, after, as l have shown,
4 returning board quorum had been ol
e, tanned for the Nichols Legislature, de
th clared that he did not find in Louisiar
ly condition of domestic violence" SUE
,n as is contemplated by the Constitutio
er He had of course been familiar vii
n every feature of the situation there du
u ing the whole period of his delay, an