New-York tribune., 1878-11-08

and every Representative in Congress. WHAT
ever they wanted in South Carolina they have
secured. Nor is there any Congressional Com
mittee by which the Democratic methods IN
South Carolina will be investigated. But those
methods will nevertheless be examined, and
anxously, by the people of the North, where
freedom exists and the Constitution Is obeyod'
Let it be supposed. for example. that the
State of New-Jersey, having given small
but unquestioned majority for Mr. Tilden two
years ago. had given this year one hundred
thousand majority for the Republicans, elect
ing straight Republican delegation to Con-
grcss, and hardly enough Democratic mem
bers of the Legislature to be counted as scat
tering. Every one would have asked at once
whether such q result could have occurred
without fraud or crime. Even if every candi-
date had been changed, and every new candi-
date of the Democratic party had been sud
denly proved guilty of crimes as offensive as
those laid at the door Of No. 10 Gramercy
Park, the Democratic vote would not
have diminished oue-half. No conceivaDle
influence would have made as many as one
quarter Of the Democrats willing to vote Tor inc
party against which they had fought so long.
If half Of the Democrats had been reported
as voting q Republican ticket, OF II nlhe-
tenths of them had been reported as refusing
to vote, there is not q reasonable ana candlu
man in the country who would not have salu'
Either the count was false or the vote was
"nOt free"
Wade Hampton undertook, upon his honor
as n gentleman, to see that the Constitution
and laws of the United States were faith
fully enforced and fully respected in
South Carolina. We know right well
that it was a difficult task ; that Ii was hard
work fOy him to restrain the extremists and
the rabid oflce-seekers of his party. even IL
he tried his best. But he undertook tlIe task
voluntarily. The result shows that IL has not
been performed. There has been no free
election in South Carolina. The Constitution
of the United States has been openly and sys-
tematicallv defied. The laws of the United
States have been completely broken. The
meetings of one party have not been free, and
Wade Hampton knows it. Moreover, he has
made no effort whatever to protect the men,
bers Of that party in their night OF free
asSemblage. THE TRIBUNE calls upon him
by name, because he p:.~ 6ed his personal honor,
and tells him that the facts and the result
place a mark upon him which we fear he Will
not lie able to efface. They do not indicate
that he has made, so lar as can be seen,
the slightest effort in this respect to en-
force the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, as he pledged his honor
and took solemn oath that he would. He
knows the folly Of the preyaricating excuses
so often made by his partIsans. He knows
that at the North, and Mt the South as well,
all honorable men will despise him as
dishonored and forsworn if he resorts
TO those excuses, or suffers the facts
as they now appear TO pass into his
tory without explanation. 1t matters not
whether the Democratic majority proves TO
be 100, 900, or so, 900, or $4,000. as long as
it is palpably majority which, in a state like
South Carolina, does not reflect the honest and
free choice of its citizens. IL reflects the will
of a class. That class rules through Wade
Hampton. Aud tho fice choice, the Will, and
even the freedom of discussion, Of every
other class of citizens are stamped out ut
tery, with the ald and approval and for the
benefit, of the man who pledged his personal
honor to see that all citizens IN South Caro-
lima we're protected in their rights.
This II but one State ont of sixteen. 1t
offers a sample of the least offensive mode Of
defving the Constitution. in some other
States free government has been DESTROYED
by blo0dshed. and IN some Others by fraud.
With respect 20 each and oil of them the
question will rOw he asked for two years,
and will become very impOrtent question
in the next Presidential election, whether six
teen mob dcspotisnS have any business To
control the Government Of the United States.