Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-07-17
THE DEMOCRATIC HEADLIGHTS.

this year.
THE DEMOCRATIC HEADLIGHTS.
At the celebration at Tamany Hall, on
the Fourth, Senator Hill, of. Georgia, deliv'
cred the leading speech. He did not depre'
cate the extra session as waste of time, but
claimed that it marked the second epoch in
the history of the struggle for constitutional
liberty. The great question was whether the
States of the American Union are capable Of
holding their own elections. The Democratic
party insists that the people Of the States are
capable of governing themselves. The Re-
publicans declare that the people are not ca
pable of selfgovernment. and especially that
the people of New York are not capable oi
holding elections unless under the supervision
of Lord Davenport. On that issue the par
ties Joined. The result is now we'll known
The testoath act has been repealed. The
Federal army cannot be used to break down
the liberties Of the people under the pretense
of keeping peace at the polls.
A letter from Ex-Governor Tilden was read
explaining that his absence from the city pre-
vented him from attending Tamany's cele'
bration. He closed by declaring chat he re-
garded this anniversary "as an occasion oi
exceptional interest to every patriotic citi
zen."
Ex-Governor Gilbert G. Walker wrote
"The issue is clear y made up and sharply
defined. The Democrats are for free sbal'
lot; the Republicans are against it. On this
issue we will 60 to the country
At the Democratic celebration of the
Fourth at Newark, N. j., letter was also
read from Mr. Tilden in which he said:
There never was an occasion when it seemed
more necessary to revive the spirit and princi'
pies of the fathers of the Republic, the sacred
principles of the government of the people, fol
the people, by the people, of popular elections.
guarded alike against the corrupting influences
of official patronage and the intimidations OF
military force of the sanctity of the ballot,
as well in the counting as in the casting of it,
and without which the ballot-box is sham.
and Republican government a delusion.",
Mr.. Thurman has been recently interviewed
in the course of which the following questions
elected the answers annexed:
What have you to say about the result of the
recent extra session Of Congress? Mr.. Thur.
man-All have to say is, am satisfied with
the result. The Democrats gained all they
expected, except the United States Marshals
bill, and there are no elections to come off eX-
cept in California and one or two other States
IL in,
you to say about the Attorney Generals letter
to Marshal Matthews, Of Michigan? Mr..
Thurman--As 1 said, Maryland and few 9TH
er States will have no election before the next
meeting of Congress at which marshals could
be appointed, and by that time Congress may
be able to accomplish something. What dc
you think of the prospects in Ohio? Mr..
Thurman-I can only say that am very hope.
full of Ohio. Ihaveno time to give my reasons
for being so, but am very hopeful, as am OF
the Democratic out look all over the country.
Mr.. Thurman, as if he were disposed to speak
freely, said he had great hopes of the success
of the Democracy from every point OF view,
and thought all good Democrats ought to be
greatly encouraged. The extra session OF
Congress had been productive of the most sat.
isfactory results and he felt sure that the party
was upon better footing with the country
than ever before. The Democrats, he said,
would 90 before the country with a record in
favor of a free ballot-box, while the Republi-
cans had by their speeches and votes in Con-
gress committed themselves against it. He
thought appearances and facts were decidedly
on the side of the Democracy.
Senator Pendleton has also recently been
interviewed, in the course of which he said :
"The agony is over and both sides in the
struggle of the extra session have gone to the
jury of the country on the records made in
voting and debating, and l, as Democrat,
have no reason to be ashamed of the part
that my colleagues. and I took, nor any
reason to doubt in the least favorable verdict
from the people on our course. The action
of President Hayes has been to illustrate
and intensity the very broad issue between
the parties" AS to the general results of the
extra session he said
sFirst-While the Democrats have not been
able to defend all the popular rights which
were involved by their measures they have
vet limited the use of the army at the polls
to such an extent that, as Senator Carpenter
said during the extra session when concurring
Will MI, ooiuiSio couAo NV
be used in any etfectual way at the polls.
SecOndly-The jurors test oatl-bom of Eng
lands tyramical days-has been abolished.
This Jurors oath forbade every one who had
in any way, ever by thought OF intent, aided
Il Confederate soldier or Confederate politi-
clan, to sit upon any jury. 1t applied chiefly
to the Southern States, where we know every
intelligent man was either himself, OF by some
of his relatives, either engaged in or sympathiz-
ed with the Confederate military service.
Different Judges gave to the jurors test-oath
different constructions. Some were almost as
extreme in their views as the old Judge OF
the time of Henry VIII, who convicted a
forester of treason for wishing stag's horns af-
fixed in Kings chest. A noted Confederate
General-and as many Republican papers
termed him-a very enterprising man, John
Morgan, passed through the southern tier or
portion of Indiana and Ohio, over several hun
dred miles, in the Spring of 1863 or 1864, and
his force was finally dispersed near Marietta.
This jurors test oath statute would have
made every man who had given one OF those
dispersed and flying Confederate soldiers a
morsel of food or 4 glass of water incompe-
tent to sit on a jury in the State Of Ohio, This
extraordinary law, passed by fanatics, and IN
aid of the colored vote, has been repealed, and
a system of selecting juries in the Federal
Courts has been adopted which secures abso-
lutte fairness and returns our scheme OF Ma
tional Justice to that Of the early fathers OF
the RpDuDlic'