The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-06-20

'ionai legislation ls1ho longer npDlieable to
our condition ]; and yet this D. yStiiy what
senator's on the other sido woul have the
country believe. ask, in all CT s., would
such legislation as we now sask - repeal
have been conceived or defcu2 u Nv auv
statesman before the late war2 q R31ld any
President from, 1889 to le8& 3vsf have
dreamed Of sending the armys th SUnited
States to keep the peace at n po1ls or. of
appointing Federal superyisoys Ind masshals
to superintend the popular bsiIot g If not.
then the necessity for the inairtenauce Of
this legislation arises from sonB BthiDp5. new
m tba1ihlatieusiaf - aiati IS s is;;on',
WIN any senator pol1t out what that new
element isl IF any exist, what is tho diff
ference in the relations State holds to the
Union today and those of the same State
before the war ? If there is none. and 7
venture to say that none can be pointed ont
wherein consists the necessity for any such
legislation to-day which did not exist then?
This question should, think, be fairly an.
swered, because it is the point upon which
the accusations against the South rest. Ifall
that We ask is what existed for three. quar-.
ters OF century Of our existence, how can
't DC revolutionary or reasonable to make
this demand? If the Democratic doctrine
that Federal troops cannot lawfully be used
at the polls, or cannot interfere in State
matters unless specially requested to do so
by the constituted authorities of a State he
a heres:y, we have the strongest republican
authority to sustain that hersy. In his
message to the Legislature Of Penpsylya.
MIA, in January, 1871,
GOVERNOR JOHN W. GEARY
used the following language:
"The employment of troops of the United
States at elections, without the consent of
the local and State governments, has already
received considerable attention and repre.
hension. Under apv circnm-
stances, in my opinion, it is unsafe and an.
tagonistic to the principles that should gov
ern our Republican institutions. At the
last October elections, United States troops
were stationed in Philadelphia for the
avowed purpose of enforcing the election
laws. This WIS done without the consent
or even the knowledge Of the civil author.
tiles of either the city or the State, and
without any expressed desire on the part of
tho citizens, and, as far as can be ascer.
tanned, without existing necessity"
The Democratic party stands todav
where Governor Geary, q staunch Repub.
lican, stood then. Nor are we without
other and equally as high Republican au.
thorlty to sustain the position taken by our
party. Hon.
CARL CHURZ,
now distinguished member of the present
Cabinet, in his place on this floor, made
this memorable protest against the scanda.
lous aud unconstitutional use of Federal
soldiery in Louisiana
United States soldiers, with fixed bayo.
nets, decided the Case against them, and
took them out of the legislative hall by
force. cannot therefore. &c.
cape from the deliberate conviction, q con.
yiction conscientiously formed, that the deed
done on the 4th OF January, in the State
house of Louisina, by the military forces of
the Omitted States, constitutes gross and
manifest violation Of tho Constitution and
laws Of this Republic. If this
can be done in Louisiana, aud if such things
be sustained by Congress, how long will it
be before it can be done in Massachusetts
and Ohio.
He who in place like ours fails 10 stop,
or even justifes blow at the Fundamental
laws OF the land, makes himself the accom-.
plice of those who strike Mt the life of the
Republic and at the liberties of the people"
The presentable secretary of State,
AIR. EyARTs,
in his great speech on the same subject in
New York, was even more emphatic than
his colleague in the Cabinet, and his words
could well be adopted now to formulate the
creed of the Democratic party. He used
the following language:
"When men vote, and when their chosen
officers meet, and when without violence
and without demonstration of insurrection
shey undertake to conduct the affairs of
their political government, no soldiers can
interfere.
There are two very distinct firm lines of
Limitation, which observed will protect tho
machinery Of the government for the peo.
pie to-day; that is, that the sole interyen-
tion of the Federal power within State au.
thority shall be to suppress violence, and
that their Office after that shall not assume
to go further unless when invited by the
supreme authority Of the State.
What use is it to give the purse and the
sword to ths House Of Commons if the
King or the President by military power
can determine what shall be the oonstitu.
q IL n