Year: 1874

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From the New York Times, May p.


THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE SOUTH


Mr.. Eaton, the newly.elected Senator O.
Connecticut recently delivered an address tc
his fellow citizens, in which he referred in {
general way to his political opinions. These
opinions are tolerably we'll known to every
body who has followed the course Of politics
with any attention, and it does not seem very
probable that Mr. Eaton will make any change
in them. He declared that he is now, "and
always has been, and always would be, a State
Rights Democrat of the old Jeffersonar
school," He said, also, "First, irst first the
State of Connecticut, and then the Federal
Union," which, of course, is essentially the
position formerly taken by men like Gen. Lee
IL shall try" added Mr. Eaton, "to take away
the Federal bayonets from our brothers in the
South, so that every State in this land shall
have the same right Of local government, and
the same exercise of it, as our own State"


The "regulation" ~cj of answering all this
is to stick label on Mr.. Eatons back certify
ing that he is Bourbon and a copperhead
and to call attention to the fact that he was by
no means "sound" on national issues during
the war. But even after all this had been
done, there would still remain question in
the back ground which will have to be met
fairly in the face some day or other. The ex'
treme length to which State Rights theories
were pushed in 1860 and 1861, brought about
a reaction, and that reaction has led many
people to think that State Rights belong to
the dead-and-gone class ofquestions, and that
any man who talks about State Rights is suf'
fciently answered when he is called a "Bour-
bon" It is unnecessary to say to any lntelll-
gent reader that this view is miserably shall
low one, and that in reality the rights of States
to govern themselves is as dear to tho people
as ever it was. And it ought to be dear to
them, for when they abandon it they will have
utterly forsaken the system of government es-
tablished under the Federal Constitution.
They may set up something else in its place,
which may be called by any name that may
please the persons then living; and it will not
be the government designed by the founders
of the constitution. 1t may be a civil policy
based upon parliamentary rule, or it may be
a monarchy or a despotism; but it will no
longer be a constitutional republic such as we
have seen here for nearly hundred years.
We say, then, that when Mr.. Eaton talks of
the necessity Of maintaining State Rights,
and of giving the citizens of South Carolina
the same freedom which the citizens of Con-
necticut enjoy, it is not enough to allege that
he is "Copperhead," and to fling at him the
missiles which darkened the air between 1861
and 1865. If the citizens of the South are
living in state Of oppression, Mr.. Eaton is
right in calling attention to their situation If
they are suffering from injustice, the nation at
large will never tolerate its continuance, and,
therefore, the sooner the injustice is redressed
the better.


All such questions as these should be dealt
with frankly. 1t is very bad policy OH the
part of the Republican party to try to sutlf
them away in corners, and cover them with
the "battle.hag" or with any other Of the war
paraphernalia The people will not consent
to see either Poland or an Ireland created on
this SOIL 1t is not impossible to redress mis-.
takes when they are discovered but to persist
in those mistakes after discovered, and to pre-
tend that religion and morality require us to
persist in them-this is a course which we
certainly shall not take the responsibility of
recommending to the Republican or to any
other party The Southern States are not
living under a fair or free government-so
MIR. Eaton and many others allege. Well,
is the assertion true? Look at South Caro-
! lima. These facts in reference to that State
seem to be about as we'll established as any
historical facts can be, and they amount to
this-the negroes, assisted by rascally whites,
have held sort of grand orgie in the State
for several years past, have swallowed up
among them pretty nearly all the private
property in the State, have ruined what may
be called the native citizens even more thor
oughly than the war had done, have robbed
and harried like so many highwaymen, and
have reduced the State to condition which
must shock every man who sees it or reads
aboutit. The very Governor of the State is
a thief The Legislature is a gang of thieves.
Is this republican government" such as the
Constitution expressly guarantees to all the
States2


We venture to say that it is not-that on the
contrary, it is government of which the Re.
public has every reason to be ashamed. No
doubt the system introduced as "war meas
ure' into the South after the war-chiefy upon
the advice of Senator Sumner and Thaddeus
Stevens-was experimental but can we Won
der that people everywhere begin to ask how
long the exp eriment is to last? There should
at least be some 81 gns Of improvement visible
as time goes on. Nineyears have passed since
the close of the war, and is South Carolina
better governed than she was then? She
clearly is not so we'll governed as she was un-
der purely military rule. The same must
be said, mutatis mutandis, of Louisiana, Missis-
sippi, Texas and Arkansas. Now, it is folly
to suppose that the Republican party, as an
organization, will continue much longer to
look on with perfect satisfaction at this great
failure. The leaders of the present moment
may not pay any attention to thesubjec but
if they do not, other leaders will arise who aciW
see that justice is done. Last week we all wit
messed the United States Senate engaged for
about twenty-four hours at stretch in passing
| a bill for the benefit of the negro merely out
of a sentimental sort of Difference to the wishes
of a deceased Senator Respect for the dead
is incumbent on us all-but legislation should
be based on careful and wise regard for the
welfare of the living, not upon mandates, q"
real or fictitious, of the dead The negro has
had very fair amount of protection. 1t is
! important before going any further to find
out what use he has made of the freedom given
to him; in what way he has exercised the
vast political powers with which he has been
endowed what sort of a government he has
helped to set up in States where he is most
powerful ; whether, in short, he at this mo-
ment stands in need of protection from the
white man, or the white man stands in need
of nrotcction from him. IfMr. Eaton intends