Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-03-06

sixty years Russia has been gradu-
ally taking the place of France as
the antagonist of England in Euro
ropean affairs, and friendships and
even occasional alliances have been
between England and
France, and, just as this state of
things has developed, transfer of
American friendship from France
to Russia has resulted. We had
something to say last week about
NapoleOnism and we may shortly
say a little about our Russian predi-
lections, but, for the present, confine
ourselves to the suggestion that we
are now old enough as a people and
as a Government to adopt some
more rational principle for guild
anee in our foreign relations than
this brainless Anglo-phobia. Be
cause a nation is hostile to England
is hardly tenable reason for SEEK
ing an alliance with that nation
and making it our beau ideal Of
national perfection. So long as our
one idea of antagonism to England
continues to be the sole moving
cause of our national affinities, our
policy becomes in a measure de-
pendent upon that of England, and
that nation has in some degree the
power of directing our foreign policy
by the method of the irish pig
driver who induced his herd to take
the desired direction by pulling
their tails the other way.
But all these causes which have
led us to look with an increasing
complacency on imperial methods
in politics have been infinitely in
tensified by the results of our recent
civil war. Ever since the term
ination of that war there has been
large number of people in the North
who think that the victory they
obtained ought to have been made
in some way conducive to their
advantage by confscations, fines,
ETC., levied upon the property of the
conquered people. The healthier
sentiment of the people would not
admit of this, but there was always
powerful minority which clam
ored for it, and the Republican
party conciliated their support by
giving them Indirectly what honest
shame would not allow openly;
hence instead of cOnfiscatiOn was
established the reign Of the carpet
baggers, who indirectly confiscated
from the already exhausted South
untold millions by means of their
corrupt administration. The partial
reinstatement of the South in their
political rights checked this process,
and the carpet-baggers returned
North with their spoils. They have
ever since considered themselves
cruelty aggrieved, and are now the
most vehement clamorers for a
strong Government which shall re-
place them in the stations where
their rich fields of plumber can be
reOpened to them. They and their
political leaders to this day look
upon it as a crying grievance that
the people of the once conquered
States should have been measurably
replaced in political status at least
nOminally equal with that of the
conquering States of the North.
Without describing it in so many
words, they want the position of
the Southern States to be as that of
Ireland in the British Empire a
- y-~>.s-0- otSO, Vi VI IIdu5ssIJ
in Austria, or of Poland in Russia.
They will never drop their warcries
until this cOnsummatiOn of their
desires isaccomplished-ord espaired
of. For its accomplishment they
are now clamoring for the abolition
Of State rights and a strengthening
of the executive, which would be
practically equivalent to empire,
whatever it might be called.
But strange to say, there are men
in the South who, despairing of the
look with no disappearing
glances towards the establishment
of the empire. The number of these
has been absurdly exaggerated, but
they are there, and it is well to as
certain, if possible, what is in their
These are men who are
profoundly discouraged by the sue
cess of the high-handed usurpation
by which Republican not elected
was inaugurated to the exclusion of
a Democrat who was elected. This
has convinced them
that the attainment of equal rights
is unattainable under the Constitu-
ton, and they are acting under an
indistinct and inarticulate cOnvic-
ton that despOtism which presses
equally upon all would be prefera-
BILE to the nominal equality of
rights which has again and again
been practically set aside by the
of Republican Execu-
tive.
We are not with them. We have
not yet despaired of the republic,
but expect at least till next Novem-
Der to keep up as best we may the
against those who desire to
set it aside. After that we shall |
perhaps see our way more clearly. |
we are well aware that |
forces are arrayed |
against US, and shall so take our
position as knowing that we cannot |
afford to lose an inch Of ground. |
Dur watchword is the Constitution
against the Empire.
THE BANNER HOISTED.