Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-04-10

THE ISSUE,
As Viewed from Democratic
and Republican StandpOints.
Ever since Mr.. Conkling in the
expiring hours of the last Congress
sounded the keynote of the coming
presidential campaign, Republican
orators and writer's have busted them
selves in re-echoing it. Amid the
din that has been made the ordinary
citizen should not lose sight Of the
issues raised at the same time by the
Democracy. Ought the army to in
terfere at elections? Ought citizens
to be deprived of their votes by su-
pervisors? Ought juries be free
from partisan bias?
Unfortunately, for some time in
this country, questions OF magnitude
have been considered almost exclu-
sively with regard to their bearing on
the interests Of political a~spirants., 1t
In this lamentable condition of the
public mind which has emboldened
Republican leaders to seek to induce
their following, to look ut the meas
ures insisted on by the Democracy,
as designed nor for party success
than for the restoration of personal
freedom. Having used the army,
supervisors and the jury-box to us'
tain their supremacy, these men and
those that have backed them are
scarcely any longer capable Of recog.
nizing purer motives in their oppo-
nents, but we are very much mistaken
If they will be successful in their ef-
forts to divert the present session Of
Congress from the objects for which
it was convened, by turning it into
a gymnasium, to train stalwart ath-
letes for the next presidential cam
paign.
The position assumed by them is
wholly untenable and none are better
CT it than the Republican lead
ers themselves. No one understands
better than GENERAL DE GoLYER GAR
TrELD that if the repeal of their odious
election laws had been presented in
the House as an independent meas
ure, the Republicans would have fill
bustered from its initiation and re-
sorted also to every possible dilatory
motion allowable in parliamentary
tactics, and yet that gentleman put
forward as their ablest debater in the
House, declared that it was not the
substance of the measures of the De-
mocracy that he objected to, but the
mode in which they were introduced.
There lever was q more hypocritical
-------.i~- .ar ONE more thoroughly ex-
posed.
We ask the readers Of this paper
to peruse the admirable speech of
Mr.. Blackburn, Of Kentucky, which
is printed elsewhere and carries US
back to the day when the House, en-
chained by the eloquence of Dir. Clay
from the same state, listened to the
silver tones Of q voice that rarely
failed to unmask duplicity wherever
it existed. In that speech will be
found these memorable words:
"Let one take the darkened pages
Of his country's history for the last
seventeen years and read them care
fully, and tell me whether it lies in
the mouth Of this leader of a once
great but now waning party to read
lectures to anybody, either ON the
score Of revolutionary legislationSor
extraneous introduction Of it on ap-
preparation bills. Better far In the
face Of the record that has been made
to listen to the inebriate as he dwells
on the virtues Of temperance, or TO
the queen of the demi monde As she
Celebrates on the beauties Of female
virtue, or to the devil prating Of uni
versal redemption, than to homilies
on good morals, Or lectures on v
lutionary legislation, delivered from
such q source"
Ten months ago Chief Supervisor
Davenport started cut to strike the
names Of nearly ten Thousand natural
lied citizens from the poll list OF the
city of New York, by complaints
through one Of his clerks, that their
papers had not been recorded by the
clerk Of the court, by which they had
been issued. He made hundreds of
arrests in May and juno, and In No
vember he issued on the eve Of cleo
ton warrants against more than three
thousand Of this class.
Now under the acts it is desired. TO
repeal every person refusing to aid
Davenport, or his deputies in such
arbitrary arrests is liable to instant
arrest himself and to fine and I'M
prisonment and cost Of prosecution.
Such laws are ~disgracefui. There
is not q monarchy in Europe that
would tolerate them. They are in
direct conflict with that section Of the
constitution which declares that nc
person shall be deprived Of life, lib.
erty or property without due process