Year: 1877

From the ~. i. Times oi MOfhioy.


The Southerners in Congress preserve 8
discreet sileace. They watch and wait
The report which attributes to them ar
unwillingness to sanction any action II
the House that would entail embarrass
ment upon the administration has about
it an air of probability. A contest thai
should compel the administration to de
fine its position, and to state precisely
what its Southern policy amounts to
would precipltate complications which
the South is too shrewd voluntarily to en-
counter. If the result were o halt in the
proceedings of the President, and con
fession that, having gone too fast and toe
far, he must now adapt his measures &c
the principles ef the Republican party as
Republicans interpret them, the loss to
the South would be- immediate and tan
gible. The flow of patronage which is
enrichingi and Strengthening 1t beyond
expectations which eight months ago
would have been considered sanguine,
would suddenly cease, or, rather, would
be directed into channels not liked by
the Southern Democracy. On the other
hand, if the President, still hugging the
delusion that parties no longer represent
the people and that the South win re-
spond to his efforts, now allow things to
run their course, 1t is evident that he





and decisive check. In that case the
South will be constrained either to dispel
the delusion which keeps the Executive
policy in motion or to prove faithless to
the Democratic party. The South, wise
in its generation, prefers postponement
of these considerations. 1t IL, meanwhile,
the winning side, and to continue such
it is willing to forego discussions and de-
olarations in which, under other circum-
stances, it would have gladly partici-
pated.


The duration of this reserve depends
upon the chapter of accidents. 1t has
been supposed that the cordial under
standing between Southern leaders and
the President would be maintained until
the time came for aiding or rejecting the
demand for subsidies, loans, and other
drafts upon the Treasury. Every one
has seen that when that point is reached
the President must break with the South
or with the Republican party. The lat
ter cannot consent to buy Southern good
will by making wasteful and corrupt eX-
penditures of the pHblic money, while
the South as positively protests that
these expenditures are part of the price
to be paid for fraternity and peace.
Here, then, would occur the difficulty
that would have to be met, and which
the President could meet only ia one way
without incurring the determined oppo-
sition of his own party. But the ctitical
period may be less remote. The South
ern Democracy have already reaped a
substantial harvest, and the question will
arise, Shall they be allowed to keep what
the President has given them? The Re
publicans in the Senate will have to
answer this question. If they confirm
the appointments that have been made
they share the responsibility of the poll
cy which the President has inaugurated
If they repndiate the plan under which a
Democrat has been chosen to fill the most
important Federal Office in Georgia, or
ifthey spurn the bargaining which led to
the selection of John Il. King for the
Collectorshlp of New Orleans, and which
reappears IN the appointment of Nor
tErop to the District Attorneyshlp of
South Carolina, they strike fatal blow
at any conceivable compact which men,
bers of the administration may have en-
tered into with any PARTON of the Demo-
cratic South. Should the blow be struck,
the South will not wait long before
throwing off the mask which it now
wears. The President must then choose
between the South and the Republican
Darty