The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-12-10
Presidents Message.

day of last week, and shortly afterward
the President sent in his message, from
which we make extracts as follows:
He commences his message by refer
ing to the satisfactory condition of our
relations with other countries, and the
improved state of the national credit.
He give considerable space to remarks
concerning the yellow fever, and the
manner in which it spread, and sug-
gests that more vigorous quaranteen
regulations are necessary for the safety
of the country.
The southern policy, and the condi-
ton of political affairs in that section
is given much prominence in his mes
sage. After referring to the constitution
al amendments which were passed to
protect the freedom and equality of the
colored race the President says:
''The people of the slaveholding
States accepted these results and gave in
every practicable form assurances that
the thirteenth, fourteen and fifteenth
amendments, and laws passed in pur-
suance thereof, should in good faith be
enforced, rigidly and impartially in
letter and in spirit, to the end that the
humblest citizens, without distinction
of race or color, should under them re-
ceive full and equal protection in person
and property and political rights and
privileges. By these constitutional
amendments the southern section of the
Union obtained large increase of polti-
cal power in Congress and in the Elec-
toral College, and the country justly ex-
pected that elections would proceed, as
to the enfranchised race, upon the same
circumstances of legal and constitution
al freedom and protection which OBJ
tanned in all the other States of the
Union. The friends of law and order
looked forward to the conduct of these
elections, as offering to the general judg-
ment of the country an important op-
portunity to measure the degree in
which the right of suffrage could be
exercised by the colored people, and
would be respected by their fellow citi-
zens; but more general enjoyment of
freedom of suffrage by the colored peo-
pie, and a more just and generous pro-
lection of that freedom by the communi-
ties of which they form a part, were
generally anticipated than the record
of the elections dscloses. In some of
those States in which the colored people
have been unable to make their opinions
felt in the elections the result is mainly
due to influences not easily measured or
remedied by legal protection; but in the
States of Louisiana and South Carolina
at large, and in some particular Con-
gressional districts outside of those
States, the records of the elections seem
to compel the conclusion that the rights
of the colored voters have been over
ridden, and their participation in the
elections not permitted to be either gen.
eral or free.
1t will be for the Congress for which
these elections were held to make such
examination into their conduct as may
be appropriate to determine the validity
of the claims of members to their seats.
In the meantime it becomes the duty of
the Executive and Judicial Departments
of the government, each in its province,
to inquire into and punish violations of
the laws of the United States which
have occurred. can but repeat what
said in this connection in my last
message, that whatever authority rests
with me to this end shall not hesitate
to put forth, and am unwilling to fore
go renewed appeal to the legislatures,
the courts, the executive authorities, and
the people of the States where these
wrongs have been perpetrated, to give
their assistance toward bringing to jus
tice the offenders and preventing a
repetition of the crimes. No means
within my power will be spared to OBJ
tain full and fair investigation of the
alleged crimes, and to secure the con-
viction and just punishment of the
guilty.
The President deprecates any change
in the currency of the country, thinks
that there is no trouble in the way of