National Republican., 1878-10-05
NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTH.


ridicule. IN
NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTH.
New England and New England ideas
practically held sway in this country from
the day of President LrHcoLN's first inaugu-
ration down to the Liberal bolt at Cincin-
natl in 1s72 The Western men who, dur
ing that great period Of our history, joined
with the Republicans of New England in
the control of affairs, were inspired at all
times with the pure philanthrophy and in
trcpid patriotism of the old Abolition party
OF that section. But the Liberal bolt was
also an Ofshoot of New England, and the
Gush of the Centennial period, when Sec
tionalism was supposed to be buried at
Bunker Hill, at the sacrifice of principle,
however, was another New England demon
stration. Thus it appears that the war,
the Constitutional amendments, and the
reconstruction acts, rs well as the subse-
queut subsistence of all consistent effort to
maintain the integrity of the results of civil
strife, are features of our history, the credit
and dscredit for which New England must
largely assume. And if II were not for the
discrcdit which attaches TO the subsistence
of that effort II would be the plcasureable
duty of every honest man to yield to
that section generous recognition Of mer-
tied leadership. As it is, the question is
now on the tongues end of the average
Southern and Western Republican: "Wby
did New England abandon its Southern
reconstruction policy" The only answer
yet given TO this is the somewhat evasve
charge that the carpct-bag governments of
the Southern States, officered rs they were
to a great extent by New England carpet
baggers, proved to be so corrupt and inetli-
cient that the sO-called Yankees became
disgusted with them and were forced to
abandon them TO the tender mercies of their
political opponents. In other words, the
agents for the execution of the plan having
proved to be dishonest or incapable, the
plan itself has been dropped, and these de-
scendants of stalwart Abolitionism turned
their backs upon a principle Of their own
founding and system of their own crea-
ton. They did not do this when in the
earlier struggles for that principle some
agent-a treasurer or cOllector-proved
to be defaulter and decamped
with the funds of any of their numerous
Abolition associations, or one Of their lead
ers turned traitor, for they were then de-
voted to principle, and were persistent
enough to continue their struggles in its be-
half despite every Encouragement and in
the face of disaster But in the particular
demonstration to which we refer, they have
done exactly the worst thing they could do
because in abandoning their Southern expert
ment, as it has been called, they have given
into the hands Ofstheir lifelong enemies an
added power with which to assert the most
obnoxious governmental heresies. The
thirty y-odd additional Representatives II
Congress and in the Electoral College
gained by the South through the enfran
chisement of the blacks, were intended BY
them rs new element Of strength in tn,
future maintenance of their lifelong politi.
cal faith. And now this added representa-.
ton serves contrary purpose. 1t is {
counter-balance in the hands Of the South
ern Bourbons to outweigh the entir,
strength of New England IL
the national councils. In plaine
terms the increased representation
in the South, due as it is to New England
inspiration, is being used to destroy New
Englandism. This result cannot fail, W
think, to arouse anew the political senti
ment of the entire country to the impera
tive necessity of a return to the method
and inspirations Of reconstruction days
and New England must again take tn
lead. She has been wounded by her ow
act, and although the entire North suffer
with her, she cannot wait for the leadersbi
of others in the attempt which must
made now or never to rescue from the hand
of misrule the agencies she erected for he
own advancement. She is overshadowe
now, and practically shut out from the ben
eiits of her own labors. Her statesmen ar
no longer powerful as the dictators of pub
lie policies, and If she fails to do some
} thing, and quickly, to re-establish her supr'
macy in political affairs the deserved pC
sition of political impotcncy awaits her.