The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-23

/ Federal supervisors and deputy marshals;
abolish the test oath for jurors In criminal
cases In the Federal courts, and forbid the
presence of the military at the polls OF their
interference with elections.
| These three measures have been attached
as conditions to the appropriation bills SIM
| ply because the laws they are directed
against were Infamous, were being used for
| partisan purposes of fraud and intimidation,
| were In fragrant violation of the constitution.
and their repeal could not be otherwise as
sured Ii presented to the fraudulent Pres-
dent as separate measures, they would GER
tainly be vetoed, and the Democrats have not
the requisite two-thirds majority necessary
to secure their passage over the veto
These measures will certainly be insisted
upon. II Hayes vetoes them, Congress has
nothing to do but to adjourn, or, what ia bet
ter, TO take a recess till the regular time Of
meeting In November. This would probably
be the very best turn that matters could take
from purely party standpoint, for In that
event these questions would become the con-
picuous and overwhelming issues Of the popti-
lar campaign Of 1880. This would be the most
advantageous ground upon which the Demo
days of Hampden has party had such q
|coign Of vantage before o free and liberty
loving people, The Democratic leaders In the
last Congress displayed great ssgacity In
Forcing the Issue upon these momentous uues-
'tions and in arraying themselves In defense
'of them while they compelled the alignment
Of the Repnhli cans ia hostility to them en
purely partisan grounds. Suppose Hayes
should abuse the executive prerogatlye
by vetoing them. His action would |
be without precedent. as a
mere technical procedure, in American his |
tory. No President ever has ventured TO veto
an act Of Congress repeating an existing law. |
However, the greatest things that have hap |
pened In the world have owed their import |
ance mainly 10 the fact that they had no pre- |
cedents. Magma Charta, for example, had |
none. But we humbly submit that nothing |
of this sort can be evolved out of this diem- |
ma. at least for the Republicans.
Hayes, even Hayes, branded and veneered |
over with fraud as he ID, would scarcely |
venture to veto bill which had passed both |
houses of Congress, without justifying bis ae |
ton upon some sound constitutional grounds. |
lit s simply impossible for human ingenuity to |
suggest even plausible sophism In support |
of such veto. Hayes will have no recourse |
but to urge purely party reasons for his |
extraordinary course, and upon these |
neither he nor the Republican party |
will consent to tempt popular
|displeasure In tho next campaign. Hayest
|and his party both thoroughly understand
pill this, and. in spite OF their bravado and pre-
tentious dismay at what they term the VIC
ence of the Democratic Congress, they are
not going TO allow the campaign OF 1880 to be
(naugurated with the Democrats solldly ar
rayed In defense Of the three grandest princi-
pies of constitutional liberty and themselves
as solidly arrayed against them on purely
partisan grounds. For these most excellent
reasons it may be taken for assured that the
appropriation bills will not be vetoed
These disposed OF Congress will find itself
confronted with an immense labor. First for
consideration will be the extension of our
foreign trade and the finding OF markets for
the immense superfluuus production which
protection has developed, through long
series Of years, in this wonderfully feound
land. This question will alone give Con-
gress all the work 1t can do for two
long sessions, involving as 1t does the
radical reconstruction of the tariff and navi-
cation laws The necessity for relief In this
direction is pressing and importunate, and
] he sooner the Democrats inaugurate the poll
ties and set on foot the theories upon which
they have based their unequivocal and I'M
qualified promises to the people the better 1t
will be for the country. II is not necessary
to go into detail upon this subject, or to
specify the many other measures before the
last Congress which the welfare Of the coun-
try requires should besummarily disposed Of.
It is enough to say that there is much to
undo and AS much to do outright, and that
the best thing the Democrats can do is to
avail themselves OF the opportunity at hand
and make a record upon which they can go
before the people in the next campaign and
challenge the criticism of their opponents.