National Republican., 1881-02-01
Y reason OF some underhand Trade OF
ick, we are not therefore obliged to sub
lit to the insult of being told that such
navery is the only virtue extant, nor to
main silent when political heretics de-
ounce us for passing the contributions
)x in our political church.
A Demand Upon Congress.
The early demise of the Forty-sixth
lngress is confidently predicted. It has
A Demand Upon Congress.

A Demand" Upon Congress.
The early demise of the Forty-sixth
Congress is confidently predicted. 1t has
| not been great Congress, having failed
in some minor particulars, say that of
being ofthe leastuse to anybody, to come
up to the liberal expectations the DEM
ocratic party anticipated for it in the early
springtime of its life. But for the sake of
argument let us admit that it has been a
Congress Forty-sixth Congress. Now,
as a Congress, it was commonly under
stood by the Democratic mind that it was
selected III their interests to make their
laws, to receive their abuse, and to pre-
pare the way for their own elections to the
succeeding session of the body of which
they are members.
We believe we state the case correctly
Now the Forty-sixth Congress has failed
in these purposes. 1t is true they have
received some mild admonition from the
Democratic press; but, compared to what
they might and should have received, it
is as Sunday-school lecture to the i'm
pasSioned harangue of such an orator as
Representative Sparks. And again, in the
latter instance, they have made some sub
stantial efforts to carry their deestricks
| for renewal of power; and although some
of them, by the invention and proper dis
semination of novel thing in the way of
tissue ballots, have shown themselves the
equal Of their predecessors in point of in
genuity, yet as whole they have sig
nally failed to carry out the purposes for
which the great Democracy elected them.
They have in this particular simply dis
g1sted the party which intrusted this
great purpose to them. But there re-
mains the consideration as to the passage
of laws in the interests of the great Demo-
cratic party-the last and greatest consid-
Grafton. What have they done in this par
ticular? will be the stern and emphatic
question ofthe party. Well, it is bad case
for them, and yet not altogether hopeless.
1t is true, the record shows the passage of
no law worth mentioning up to the
present time. But there remains five
weeks of the session, and one great sub
iect has been left untouched, perhaps
even unthought of; and yet it is one of
overshadowing Importance, and one in
which more may be done to placate the
Just anger of the mass of the Demo
cratic party at their failure than
any which, in our opinion, can be sug-
gested. We allude to what should long
ago have engaged the attention of the
Democratic Representatives-the passage
ola law for the proper vindication of the
personal honor Of Democrats. The code has
gone out of existence. 1t is utterly use
less TO deny it. Public opinion supports
the citizen who treats challenge with
contempt, and even goes so far as to believe
that the sender thereof knew it would be
so treated when he sent it. And what re-
course remains then for the outraged feel
ings of a Southern or Northern-born aris-
tOcrat? None. Take an instance in
point 4 distinguished Southern major,
during the late campaign, was acandidate
for an office in a Southern city A news
paper had been established in the said
city by a Northern recreant who opposed
the election of the eminent Southerner.
But he was elected nevertheless, and what
was his astonishment, his utter amaze
ment, to read the day following in the
paper of the opposition the statement
that now that Major Blank has been
elected by the citizens of Blank
to represent them in the honor
able office of blank, blank, it
it is currently reported that he proposes
to put on clean shirt" This indignity,
this untruth, was not to be borne; an
apology or satisfaction was Of course de-
manded. 1t was readily accorded, with
apparent sincerity, and in the next issue
of the paper the editor said that, having
learned that he was in error, he (the edi-
tori took pleasure in saying that Major
Blank would not, as formerly reported,
put on clean shirt upon his accession to
Office. But this miserable duplicity and
prevarication was understood.
A challenge was sentand, greatly to the
Majors surprise, accepted; but the editor,
having the choice of weapons, named
scythes, and four-acre lot on the out
skirts of the town as the place for the
duel. The advantage was entirely on his
side, and he knew it, for he had been
raised as mere farmer-a laborer in
Northern wheat-felds. His motive was