The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1880-08-04

'"foa", anu LneY carefully gnarde
the rights Of the States rs the OIL
security we conld have for a just ad
ministration Of our domestic affairs
This was universally assented to a
right and true. No counter tbeor,
was Sc. up. Difference Of construc
lion there might be, hnt ell admit
ted that when the line of power wa
accurately drawn between the Fede
raj government and State sovereign
~, the rights IN one side were a
sacred as those on the other. Bu
within two or three years last pas
the low demagog,es Of your part,
have got to putting in their plat
forms the assertion that this is T,
nation and not confederation -
What do they 'nean9 What do yo,
mean %nen you indorse and repro
duce, il? Do you deny that the
States were sovereign before the,
united? Do you affirm that tllcil
sovereignty WIS wholly merged in
The federal government when they
rsscnted to the constitution? Is the
tenth amendment 4 mere delusion!
DO you mean to assert that the
States have not now, and never had,
any rights at all except what are
conceded TO them at the mercy of the
''naiionT No doubt this new arli
Gle was inserted in the creed of the
Abolit,onists because they supposed
it wonld give sort of plau>ibili:y
to their violent Intervention with the
internal affairs of the States. But il
is so false, so shallow, and so desti-
tute Of all respectable authority that
it imposes upon nobody.
There is one conclusive proof of
your enmity to The Union, ana that
is your unwavering opposition to the
constitution which held the States
together. You know MS wei as do
how absurd it is to suppose that any
man or party can support the Union,
and at the same time trample on the
constitutions; and you certainly are
not ignorant that you and your pre-
decessors, from the earliest times,
have been anti constitutional in all
your proclivities. Contemptuous
disregard of constitutional obliga
tions is not now the mere germ Of
u doctrine; it is part of your settled
creed. Before the war and since you
have tro'iden under foot every pro-
vision contained in the great charter
of our liberties. do not speak at
random. challenge you to desig-
nate a single constitutional right of
the States, or Of individuals, which
you have not at some time or in
some way deliberately violated.
THE CORRUPTION OF THE pHAR1sEE.
The ofIeuses which you are now
engaged in committing upon the pub,
lie treasury are the natural sequence
Of your crimes against popular liber-
ty. Universal experience proves
That power usurped will always be
dishonesty used. Seeing that the
Abolitionists were led by men whom
no oath could hold to the constitu-
tion, and whom no pledge could bind
TO aa observance Of its principles, We
had no rigut to expect a decent re
gard for justice in their administra
tion of the national finances. do
not mean that the masses of your
party were, Or are now, destitute Of
common integrity. But that was
overruled by the political doctrines
Of their leaders. Having once set
aside the established law of the land
they had no standard by which they
could measure the moral conduct Of
themselves or others, and they he
came Incapable of seeing the differ
ence between right and wrong in
public affairs. The "higher law"
threw the reins loose on the neck of
all evil passions. 1t not only abro-
gated the constitution, but the deca-
logne as we'll, and the eighth CON-
mandment was nullified with the
rest.
You have consequently made ours
The cor,uptest government on this
side OF Constantinople. Perhaps you
will say this is mere general aSser-
ton. But | am ready TO maintain
the truth of IL against all opposcrs.
You may take the roltenest monar
cIy in Europe, go over its history
for a hundred years, and produce the
worst act you can find of fraudulent
spoIiation upon its people, and if ]
Ito not show something worse com
mi ted here under the auspices OF
The party now in power | will give up
The case.
am speaking Of the government,
of Officials who rule us for their plea
sure and plnnder us for their perso-
nal profit-and it is no answer to
quote Mr.. LORDS speech before the
Senate on the trial of Belknap. His
eulogy was on, the virtue and inteIli
gence of the people, and he argued
rom that the duty of their servants
to behave with integrity. He Ger
LaiDly did not mea2 10 whilewash
the administration. 1.-The had meant
TO do SO he could not have succeed
ed, for there was not wash enough
in his bucket TO 60 over the twenty
lhonsandth part of the job.
While you were hunting for certif
icates of character among the speech
es of the impeachment managers,
why did yan overlook lhat Of Ar