The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-04-14
imperialism We. Republicanis;aa.

IMPERIALISM We. Republicanisn.
What inevitable conflict between imperial
sem md republicani>m which vas fore
Swallowed in the beginning OF car Govern
roent Il In all probability TO be brought 10 .
poiut before long. We feel that we may, Is
\ calm and deliberate observer, naxara inc
nred,c,ion that the question wit ne IA a,'
I,ke,,hood decided: il In favor OF 'apes1ai-
,s,, nermauettly: II in favor 81 Tepub's-
e,nisn, Temporarily. Oor people nave oeen
MODE too fau,i!isr with the exercise d arot-
tary authority, too acc nstoased TO suomi 10
onnrcssion, TO stand xtth 6rmness and IN
,eorsty for enlightened liberty and rern OH
canssa,. 4 battle gained now Us repuo7r
canisn will give it no permanent adVan 's'sse'
1t cannot endure without the support OF a
yirtuo,ss snd homogeneous people. ana tnes
are not IN this republic nosc. Ihey s'e'e az
zsoo. and then no dictator could nave I'll
umnbea in North ADerica. But u Is 'a'
,asFepea now. Tie dictator, we lear, IS
rather expected and desired.
- Irt we shall not wait long for test
General GRANT but INDUCED the caprice
OF .aSI arbitrary men seized OF power when
he amused himself with the movements ana
Idle show Of public acts with regard 10 the
examination OF returns and counting OF
votes FOR President In 1877. The men APP
pointed to 60 through the absurd proceeu-
ing were without authority TO check or 10
right vicious and awless acts, and their du-
ties were limited 10 record OF events.
They could oppose nothing. IL was no
more than the duty to "bow 10 GssssLEKs
can" or, n, we SAID ut the time, to see the
EmDcror's ass cat oats. There has bee"
always an amount Of this species OF caprice
in the acts OF the dictator that were TO cover
the real exercise OF authority upon more
important matters.
General GRANT meant as much. lie Is
again a candidate, with the advantage OF
having compelled the people to show 10
GEssLER's cap" and with The further adj
vantage OF being urgently solicited by those
who so bowed themselves to arbitrary au-
thority to resume his position as Chief
Magistrate OF the nation.
And now what are the people going TO
do about it? We shall see. We observe
that some Republican papers have taken
ground against General GRANT. They snuff
tyranny in the breeze and are protesting.
But we say 1t. certainly not with sati>fac-
ton, but with regret, that they are few, and
not so promptly I'aradcd as they should be
in republic where everybody should De
fired with spirit of personal independence
and national liberty. We have not seen
any emphatic display ofsupport from strong
men and influential Journals. Hd'per'S
Weekly and feeble tail arc asking peril
nent questions. They wan: to know why
General GRANTS supporters should want
him to be President for third term ? Two
should he sufficient. And they logically in-
fer that il it will be necessary for the peace
OF the country to elect him in 1880, it will
be still more necessary in 1884, and so on
forever, the necessity increasing as time
passes.
PROFESSIONALLY they are right: but does
it follow because they object to General
GRANT being President permanently ma
ioriiy OF the people OF the United States
also object? That is The question:.
Does President HAYES object? Does Sec
rotary SHERMAN object? Does Mr.. ScHCRz
object? Does Mr.. EyARTS object! Do
Messrs. BLAINE and CoNKLlNG object? Does
Mr.. GARFIELD object? Gentlemen, gentle
men, II you uv vDIecr, HOao Is tho time 70
enter your objections. To postpone them
now will assuredly bind you to acqui-
escence in the national tate, which will be
submission to the exercise OF power in
manner wholly inc ompatible with republi-
cansm and liberty.
We should not forget, at this point, to say
that Hurper's Weekly, now putting in its
protest against the reelection OF General
GRANT to q third term, has been Of all Jour-
measures that tended towards the destruc-
tion OF true rcpublicanism and 10 the APP
proval OF that vicious apology for tyranny:
n false representation Of popular insubordi-
nation or resistance 10 authority. GRANTS
second term was brought on as necessary to
quell INSTRUMENTATION and the same neces-
sity is again named as still requiring the
rule OF General GRANT. No paper has done
so much as Harper's Weekly to impress
this Idea upon the popular mind, and now
1t would be logical to suppose that it could
he but weak in trying to break the force OF
its former instructions.
This happily illustrates our assertion that
the Republicans themselves have been all
the time teaching the Republicans of the
nation to submit to imperial power rs Il
means OF euslaying their adversares, while
1t taught the Democrats that their oppres-
sions would hardly lie aggravated By the
elevation Of an emperor over the land. :.
That the near future is big with the fate
OF the republic we are satisfied, and it is
time that leading men should take position.
II Mr.. HAYES and his colleagues OF repub-
licanism desire to prolong republican gov
eminent, now is the day and now the
hour for them to act. The machinery
that Congress desires to abolish is the
machinery OF despotism. 1t is not
needed for the purpose of maintaining
popular rights or giving honest expression
to public opinion, but, on the contrary, it
is positively opposed to both. Such ma