The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-17
abetted, bu eyerv means In, their p0,gey the per-
petratfon OF the Great Fraud" used too strong

Their case Is too serious to be dealt with
| lightly. So far as depends. on me. will moi
advocacy. But they have hurt enselses very
| much By declaring insincerely and untruly that
they went to Louisiana only to ,ottness the count
| Nobody believes that they woul id drop their af-
fairs at home, start immediately after the cleo
ton, travel all the way to Louisiana. and stay
there at great expense for month. merely that
they might be present as Spectators. when Wells
Anderson and the two mulattoes would cipher
he En No ey mes sq p aWsss
suspected Of that which covers itself under
sham Another preonse Of theirs so fails to
advise an honest count or reprobate a false one
Without fear OF ofense to the, returning, officers
This extreme dellcacy is all simulated Moth,
| the committee was restrained by politeness
from interfering to stop thefraud, If they want
cd it stopped They hey cgnld have crushed It with
| count must be made of all the legal votes &C.
tually cast. and that no man should. with their
| for classifying or fraudulently altering returns
| the conspiracy would have dissolved that in
| slant. Their refusal to do this or something
Democratic committee, needs to be vindicated
by some better reason than any that has yet
been given.
They not only did not prevent the great fraud
when they might have done it 50 easily but
they encouraged 1t, Intentionally or, unnten-
oqafy by telling the eonspffat tor hat
constitutionally be exercised by the Returning
Board and to give this glqusbility they cited
Court which had never been made. BY reason
ing wholly unsound they made the conspiratorB
belleve that II they put their fraud into the
Moreover, after the fraudulent alteration of
the vote had been made, they pronounced it q
righteous thing, How far they were eonscien-
tIous in this L do not pretend to say. But If q
man approves Of consummated crime. it does
not require much faith in human weakness to
believe {. that ne might have helped it along
Again. the chairman of that visiting com
mlttee has since become socretary. of the Treas
of Custom House officers at New Orleans, as
we'll as elsewhere. Wells is Surveyor of the
port and Anderson is Deputy Collector. Are
part. Of their corrupt service in the Returning
Board? What other claims to those lucrative
ana ddEhtg VI Offices could be pre-
Ihough these facts make an impression very
unfayyorable to the committee, they are but
%ers dct The 9gbe Is rot yet IN
either OF them to have actually participated In
concocting periured atfldavits. bargafned for
ased p or made speqh promises Of
men OF good general reputation: most of them
stand SO high that charge against them OF
wllltul dishonesty, unless supported by over
whelming proof. must be rejected as Incredible
Some. perhaps, were tied to the tail of the
committee who had not knowledge enough of
what they said or did. You yourself are in no
danger II you get proper credit for your mental
imbecility: at least think it can be easily
shown that great allowance ought to be made
for you on that score.
THE BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION.
come now to your abuse Of the Buchanan
hsdmlniistralion. L Is as difficult to analyze as
reckless and half crazy. circumlocution i am
able 70 extract the following charges:
l. That the President and other members of
sion movement, and desired its success
2. That to make it successful they and par
ttcularly the President himself, behaved treach-
erously and unfaithfully to the Federal Govern
ment.
3. That the President combined with seces-
s1onlsts IN the reasonable plot to break UP the
union, establish an independent Southern Con-
federaey. and cause 1t 10 be recognized as q
separate ret, nation 3t by foreign governments.
II r tha 81 IN pursuance Of this plot and to carry
denied the right of the government to preserve
itself or to matntai its authority or to execute
It's laws or to put down resistance by force.
3, mat as consequence of these and other
evil deeds. the Buchanan Administration be-
came aceursed as the. cause of the civil war
with oil its loss of blood and treasure
will not now write an essay on the history OF
that period, or go into general explanation of
the events which took place Oh the eve Of the
present duty Is merely to state certain facts
already well known, and which show that your
charges are false and groundless.
Br. Buchanans regular message of Decem-
Der, 1860, addressed to Congress In which all
the Northern and Southern States were repre-
s Sc is an unanswerabe argument against
the right OF separation, and the most powerful |
appeal for union and harmonious obedience to
law that ever was made to the American people,
dress and Jackson's Proclamation No one can |
read it now. without feeling that If his wise |
eoqnsels had been heeded. the unity Of the Re-
Of a lasting peace
Only those who know. of their own knowl-
edge, what relations actually existed between
the Administration and the leading advocates
81 separation can see how preposterous is the
charge OF conspiracy between them. For many
had @ warm affection which it was not easy to
ear from his heart; and their attachment to
MIN had I'D been long and faithful But. the mo
lon to their movement, they fell away from
a m! In body, and became his unanimous enc
heir respect for his acknowledged personal
zirtues Even the Southern members of his |
1.a6lnet could not reconcile it with their prin-
oon to be filled with blood and fire, was al
eady opened. The Administration was on one
1d q 1t and al secessopists on the other
)OeS that look like combination to effect |
Common purpose by concert of action?
A ISLANDER REFUTED.
Not less absurdly false is the charge that the
Administration denied the power of the Federal
overnment to maintain its just supremacy by
We held not only that no right of separation
xisted. and. as logical consequence, that ali
tate ordinances of secession were mere multi
les, but we claimed for the government OF the |
Jnion the right to save it's perfect integrity BY
ne use OF all the physical force which might be |
)und necessary This power was given by the |
constitution itself, according to our exposition
I it, thus:
To take or retake and keep possession of all
)rts arseDals dockyards. custom houses most
ffces, land, and other public property Of the
nited States; to collect the Duties i'm costs,
nd taxes wherever DUE to execute the laws by
nforcing the judgments of the Federal courts |
nd the legal orders Of all Federal officers, and
DO this by military power wherever the civil :
uthority is not strong enough; these are the :
perceive powers bestowed on the general gov :
rnment for its own preservation, and these.
lstead OF being abandoned by. the Buchanan !
ADMINISTRATION. were most distinctly asserted
What we did deny was. the right of the United
tates to make war upon State as O State de-
are all the inhabitants beyond the protection !
law ia ana 81 put them all to the sword as public
few of them in the form of void ordinances, :
q thought as Washington, Madison and jack ;