The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-03-19
The Nat onal Contest:


The Nat onal Contest:
.The contest viii CHI Is expected to come oH
very soon between the President ana oou-
rress nay well lie termed a nationai one
The ioun4ation principles Of iae 1ose.n
suent established by our fathers ne 2. ~
soxtoza 81 this contest. It Is 10 ne" sosu
she SWINE old question as to wne'ne1 .'uas
sareanroent was designed to DC conson-
.ss,e., central despotisn, far removed ITO"
MA raople. not sympath'zins with !oe~'
xsulless and cold, or a Government .. "ai.
Nod MOWERS derived from the consent Oh tue
voyerned; government ATTENDING 10 us
own business and leaving to the se'era'
states all matters that nearly concern tps
neop,e In their business and then homes
II ,s a fiyht between imperialism ana hoh'c
rule: between free gove1auaent anu
;despotism. g. u..,an,
II NAV be conceded that The Presiosn'
,socs NOT look upon this disagreement De-
tween his party and Congress 10 the esh'
:, which It presents itself to the statesmen
=, the Democratic party. He is'a fanatlc
ON the negro question, and we might aaa'
in view OF his veto OF the anti-Chinese DILL
IN the race question. He Is, too, a HepnD-
l,can OF Republicans; an upboider OF anu
narticipant in the late var upon tie r'gnIs
q, the States. He caauot tolerate the idea
that the States have rights which cannot DC
taken away from them by the General GOV
ernment. HIS State is as notbtng 10 MIN
when it stands side by side with the fede-
raj Government. He doubtless, therefore,
considers that he is about to engsge in a new
battle for the preservation OF "the oes.
Government which the world ever saw,
and that "the life of the natson " IS once
more in peril.
The President represents large number
OF northern people il he holds those views.
We can easily gather from our northern ex-
changes that even the editors OF that De-
nishted region have not yet learned that
there is anything wrong in the corruptlng,
oppressive, dangerous, and outrageous
laws which the Democrats propose to re-
Deal. What can be fairer, they ask, than
law which permits each party 10 have SUI
peryisor OF its own selection ut each voting
place on the day Of election? So Wetl-ln-
formed q journal as the Nation has not yet
learned that one Of the doomed laws en-
cludes every southern soldier, statesman,
and sympathizer from the iury-boX in the
Federal courts; that another OF them allows
partisan marshals to appoint an unlimited
number OF deputy marshals to overa"e
the voters, and permits other voters to be
bribed BY promises of large daily pay
to work and vote for the Republican ticket
the money to he paid out OF the National
Treasury; that even the supervisors Sc
lected as Democrats may be enemies IN dls-
guise of the party for which they profess
to net; and that the fourth law proposed to
be repealed allows the President to SEND
soldiers to supervise elections i'll the several
States. These are the laws which the Demo
Gratis propose to eXpunge from the statute
book. The one providing for supervisors
has an appearance OF fairness which re-
deems it in some measure from the stern
condemnation which ought to be melted out
to the others. The Democrats might be
excused il they failed to insist upon its re-
peal. But the repeal Of the other three
ought to be made condition Of the passage OF
any appropriation bill. II the people OF the
country will not justify them in demanding
the repeal OF such laws, then the sooner we
call General GRANT to the presidency for
life, the better for US all.
We have said, however, that the northern
people do not seem to know what the con-
test before us means. They do not as rule
concern themselves about such questions.
We suppose that very large majority OF
them would deem it neither wrong nor I'M
constitutional for Congress to pass law
providing for supervisors to oversee the
elections OF United States senators by The
Legislatures of the several States. Indeed, no
man who comedies the power Of Congress to
pass a law providing for supervisors to con-
duct elections OF members OF the lower House
can deny its power to provide for super
yisors to stand in our legislative halls and
see that United States senators are fairly %
elected. The section from which Congress
pretends to derive its power to provide for
supervisors Of elections for the House refers
in terms to elections for both houses, and
must therefore either confer upon Congress
the power to provide for supervisors of the
elections Of United States senators, or else
does not confer upon Congress the power to
pass law providing for supervisors OF the
elections Of members of the House of Rep
resentatives. 1t reads: 80.
"The times, places, and manner OF hold
ing elections for senators and representa-
fives shall be prescribed in the State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may
at any time by law make or alter such regu-
.lations, except as to the place OF choosing
senator's" ...rrE .--..
Mr.. EDMUNDs, and wesuppose all the law
yers on his side, claim to find the power we
are questioning in that paragraph, which,
as we have said, by its very terms gives as
much power in regard to elections for the
Senate as in regard to elections for the
House Except as to the places.
The contest In Washington must arouse
the people of the North to the importance
of the questions involved. 1t will compel
discussion. 1t will enlisbten the voters OF
that section. It will at least enable them
10 vote undelstandingly. They may vote
wrong; but they will not vote, as they now
write and speak, in ignorance. We welcome
such canvass. 1t is time that something
besides blind hatred OF the South had deter
mined the result Of one. election north OF