, 1877-12-19


mocratic majority in the Lower House Of
Congress are pushing the reduction Of the
Army to an irrational extreme is an onl-
nous sign that the Party which probably
will succeed to supreme power in the
United States at the next Presidential
Election has not yet been purged Of the
old leaven of administrative incompe-
tence and recklessnegs.
The Army Of the United States has not
to defend the country against the designs
or threats of great military Powers, bot
II these be left out OF account in planning
reductions of the rank and file, much mis-
chief may be done. In the first place
there are some troublesome neighbours TO
be watched on the Mexican frontier and
on the shores of the Gulf. FiIibustering
expeditions are not ont Of date in those
regions, and if there were no military
force at hand to repeI piratical attacks
with promptltude, the security not only OF
half-settled t~arritory like that along the Rio
Grande, but even of populous ports and
rich plantations on the seaboard, might be
imperilled. Again, the Indians Of ths
Ear West are a permanent menace. An
Indian war is now almost an annual event,
and it has been proved by repeated and
disastrous experiences that to attack To-
dams with inadequate forces is to chal-
lenge defeat. Lastly, the Army is needed
as q reserve for the suppression of domes-
tic violence on q serious scale. The local
authorities are held responsible in the first
instance for the preservation of the peace,
and are Entrusted with the ordinary police
of the community but ia grave cases they
are empowered and %enjoined to appeal to
the Federal Government for assistance.
Is 1t desirable that the Federal Govern
ment should be able to render such assis.
lance when it is sought for 2 There would
probably be nc hesitation in giving an
affirmative ansWe but for the political use
made OF this power by General Grants
Administration and The Carpet-b bag Go
vernments which We're upheld in the
South by Federal bayonets. But it is OBJ
vious that the elements which threaten
American society with danger from within
are both numerous and widely ditfused.
The Civil War bred, especially in the
South, a reckless and violent class who
have never taken kindly to a peaceful
life ; the emancipation of Negroes has re-
moved direct restraint from a large p0pu-
lation belonging to an emotional, %uncuIti-
waited race. The influx of immigration
from Europe has introduced into the heart
of American society restless masses Of men
ready to appeal to force on the slightest
provocatlon. 1t he's, moreover, brought With
these dangerous claimants of citizenship
some Of the most disturbing of European
ideas. Socialist apostles are not rare. English
Trades Unions and Irish Ribandism have
been transplanted beyond the Atlantic,
and have not been improved by the change,
Other elements of possible trouble might
be enumerated -tbe hostility subsisting
between the Irish immigrants and the
Negro freedmen, the jealousy with which
the Chinese invasion is regarded, the sullen
resistance of Mormonism. All these SUM
bering periis are likely to be awakened in
bard times, and the Railway Strike Of a
few months ago was sufficient to warn the
Americans how terrible tie awakening
even of a few of them may be. 1t was
proved at that time that the local Militia
could not be relied upon for the restora-
ton Of order, and the deficiency of the
resources commanded by the President
resulted in the destruction of an immense