New-York tribune., 1879-03-17
ACROSS THE Potomac.

A ncwspaper published somewhere in Mis-
sisSipp is almost frantic with delight because
Washington journal remarks that the Con-
"federacy has at last captured the Capitol"
Yes. thank God !" exclaims the pious fire
eater, 1--WE have captured the Capitol, and In
1850 our man will walk up the White House
"stcpS and take his seat in the Presidential
"char. Then will our glorious triumph be
"completc. Then will we proceed to tear your
"amcndments from the Constitution and
"tramplc them in the mire. Then will we
break the shackles you have forged for the
" fee. sovereign and Independent common
"wealths of the Union. Then will we rccog-
"nize the right of secessiOn-a right that IL not
dead, but sleeping. Then will we decorate
:" the Capitol with the pictures of Davis, and
" Lee, and Stuart, and all the glorious leaders
" of a cause that is not lost, but living still.
eyes. thank God, we have captured the Cap
"itol. and from that cOigne of vantage we pro-
"pose to nlle the Republic in way that will
"makc your Radical laws and your Radical
"leaders forever odious in America" This
sounds rather wild; and the gentleman who is
screaming is probably a person of no indivi-
dual consequence, as his paper is certainly not
most extravagant Outcries of the Southern
press aIe not without their significance. The
literary swashbuckler who fills himself with
gunpoWdcr and new whiskey and lays a raw
hide Oh the table before him when he begins
to demolish the Radical party and defend the
sacred rights of the South, is not an awe
inspiring figure but he does very often express
the sentiments of his neighbOrhOOd, and fore
cast the policy of his party.
There is not much doubt at any rate that
the ruling passion of the South at present is to
tramplc the Constitutional Amendments in the
mire-which, indeed, has already been done
in most of the reconstructed Statcs-and to
sweep away all the Radical laws by which
the Republican party attempted to secure the
results of the war when the rebel States were
allowed to return to their old places in the
Union. Equal rights, free suffrage, fair vote,
an honest count, protection for the weak and
ignorant. were the only demands which we
made of the defeated party at the end of the
contest, and 1t was to guarantee these things
that the Amendments and the " Radical laws"
were enacted. While the Republican party
held an undisputed majority in the country,
we were assured that the South accepted every
thing i'll good faith. The Lost Cause was lost
forever. The doctrine of equality was 10 more
to be denied either III practice or III theory.
The Amendments were recognized without
dcmur The laws passed in accordance with
them were not TO be disturbed. Nothing could
have been more satisfactory than the beha-
vior of the COnfcdcTateS 50 long as they were
out of power, with no immediate prospect of
getting III. They were so prOiuse in promises
and protestations that they almost seemed to
be more deeply attached to the Union than the
soldiers who fought for it.
With the first sign of a possible return of
the Democratic party to power all these pleas
ant pretences are suddenly abandoned. The
spirit of secession, notification and rebellion
flames up as hot as it was in 1860. The Lost
Cause is again a cause TO be fought for. The
Northern Radical is an enemy to be cursed
with great sounding Oaths. The Southern
white Radical is an incendlary" to be driven
out of the country. The niger is to be taught
his place. And Radical laws and Radical
amendments to the Constitution, with all other
devices of OPPRESSION" are to be promptly
trodden in the mire There is nothing like
sudden prosperity to test a mans character
A CLEAN of good fortune works an instantaneous
change i'll our recOnclled brother. Last year
he was the most cordial and genteel of human
beings to-day he is as truculent as if he still
owned niggers.
But this is not the first time that the Con-
federates have bOasted of the conquest of the
Capitol before taking it. They may remember
previous occasions on which they crossed the
Potomac we have no doubt that they also
remember the circumstances under which they
went back again. Before their "elOrious tri-
"umph is complete" they will have to reckon
with the same party which met them at Antle-
tam and Gettysburg.
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