National Republican., 1883-01-22
"1bc r,r., pu,,cs or the Nation."


party, which assembled Mt Chicago in June,
1850, and nominated GARFIELD and ARTHUR,
presented an Indictment Of the democratic
party from which the following is an extract;
We charge upon the democratic party the
hobitual sacrifice Of patriotism and Justice to a
supreme and Unsuitable lust for Office and patron
age; that TO obtain possession of the national
government and control Of the place, they nave
obstructcd all efforts to promote the purity anu
to conserve the freedom Of suffrage, aud have
devised fraudulent ballots and invented fraudu'
lent ccrtifcatons of rcturnsi have labored to
unscnt lawfully elected members OF congress, 10
secure Mt all hazards tho vote of majority OF the
states in the house Of representatives
Tho same convention announced the pur-
poses of the republican party and solemnly
pledged its faith in the following language:
The cquol steady and complete enforcement of
laws, and the protection of all our citizens III the
enjoyment of ull privileges and immunity guar
antced by the constitution, are the fret duties Of mc
nation. The dangers Of solid south can only be
avertcd by faithful performance Of every prom
sc which the nation has made to the citizen, The
execution Of tho laws, and the punishment oil MI
those who violate them, are the only safe methods
by which an enduring peace can be secured ana
genuine prosperity established throughout the
nation must perform. A nation ca nnot safely
relegatc this duty TO the states.
The soiid yOuh must be diUidCd bB The pcdcefW dgen-
cics oftEc bu4o aud all honest opinions must there
find free expression. 10 this end the honest voter
must be protected against terrorism, violence, or
fraud. And we affirm It to be the duty and the
purpose Of the republican party to use all lcgiu-
mate means to restore all the states of this union
to the most perfect harmony that may be possible
nd ,t.pg In tlO ppDDlp
these United States say whether It would not be
dangerous to the dearest interests Of our country
at this time 10 surrender the administration of the
national government to party which seeks TO
overthrow the existing policy under which we are
30 prosperous, and thus bring dstrust and confu.
sion where there is now order, confidence, and
hope.
These wcrc the unanimous declarations of
the convention, composed Of 756 delegates,
representing the republicans Of every state in
! the union, and of every element in the party.
| These were the mon whoin 1872 had, with the
democracy, supported HORACE GREELEY.
These were the men who in 1875, under the lead
ofMr. BLAINE, had opposed the force bill, y the
| last of the rcprcssivo measures proposed for
the execution of the laws in the ox.confed.
crate states. These were the sup
portcrs of President HAYEs's peace policy.
And finally, these were the civil-scrvice re-
form specialists-al of which simply shows
that THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN, is but fol-
| lowing the platform of the party when it lays
stress upCn the dangers Of n solid south, >
and treats as "thc first duties of the nation" "
"thc enforcement of laws and the protection OF
all our citizens" in all their constitutional
privileges, including especially the right to
vote rs they please and to have their votes
counted as cast. These first duties of the
nation cannot safely be shirked or cvaded,
| Tho republican party would have no right to
the allegiance of any member if it were to
prove rccreant to any Of the declarations
above quotcG. There is no proposition to
send armies into the south to compel obe-
dicncc TO tho laws which aim to protect the
right of suffrage. The trial Of offenders be-
fore jurics of their own sort leads
to no punishment of those who vic.
late those laws. What then? Is the
nation helpless? Were the sounding words OF
tile republican party mere platitudcs, instead
of new call to long-ncglected duties? If not
then the party is pledged to use all legitimate
means for the protection of honest voters, to
the end that the solid south may be "divded
by the peaceful agencies of the ballot" Upon
what question must the solid south be dividedi
Upon the question of whether a lawful ma
jority shall rule, whichever party may be the
, gamer thereby, or whether the votaries of the
lost cause shall rulo by " terrorism, violence
or fraud" without regard TO its numerical
mfcriority. Since sunset of election day il
November, 1850, there has been suspicion,
silence concerning those ." first duties of The
nation"
There came to the aid of n republican mi
nority in the senate in March, 1851, a patri
otic senator from the state of Virginia, elected
to that body mainly on the platform of " n frc,
ballet and fair count" lie came withou
pledge or demand. lie subjected himself I,
the flcrccst prescription and the most venom
ous dcnunciation ever encountered by an,
American senator. IIc bound himsel
to no caucus but simply chose t
oppose the bourbon programme. His cntranc
into the senate and his conduct there wer
proofs that "by the peaceful agencies Of tn
ballot" the solid south had been divided
while the inilamcd manner of senators iron
other southern states gave proof of tho fca
with which the Virginia revolution inspiret
them. No republican is cXcusable for bclicv
ing the sNndcrs Of the boupbons against tn
followers Of MAHONE ON the debt question
for the record will show any honest inquire
that there is no taint of reputation in tn
settlement under their legislation. No repul
licau who stands by the republican platform
MS above quoted, can counsel in favor of nal;
ing the south again solid by Withholding sur
, port from those who agree with MAHoNE an
with the republican party that it "must b
5 diSdcd by the peaceful agencies of the ballot.
+ Whoever will aid in making the lawful mc
3 iority the supreme power in each state mus
3 be sustained by all true republicans, and who
{ ever opposes the union of all who are thu
+ inclined Is as hopeless bourbon as any on
D who lives in the south.
Beware or False Guides,
r There IS a class, considerable in number
I which thinks that it thinks, when really il