Year: 1879

while conducting Congressional election un-
der this State law. Such interference is organ
izod anarchy. No officer Of State Govern
ment can lawfully be directed or controlled by
Federal officer in the performance Of his
duties under valid State laws, for each Govern
the constitution of the United States This
Federal Election law is, therefore, utterly and
obviously unconstitutional


Mr.. Sherman makes O faint attempt to justify
the Republican party In enacting this law by
,.l4iming that there were $1,000 Illegal votes
cast in the city Of New York in 1865; but he
does not pretend that experience has proved
the law to have been wise one, for he knows
that wherever its power has been invoked the
Deputies employed and paid out of the public
treasury have been largely poor Democrats,
bribed to desert their party for IS day, and
still more largely the most dispicable scoun-
drels that could be raked from the hells Of the
big cities. The law has demonstrated itself
everywhere to be the basest and corruptest in
strument of partisanship ever seized upon to
stay the downfall of party in power.


Dodging the question of the constitutionality
and expediency of the law, Mr.. Sherman ar
raigns Gen. Rice and myself for having re-
fused appropriations Of money to hire these
spies and Marshals to intermeddle with State
elections. He says the withholding Of public
money for this purpose is q more dangerous
opposition than the attempted notification Of
the Tariff laws by South Carolina, put down by
Gen. jackson, or even the attempted secession
put down by civil war. By this doctrine fiu1li-
fication and secession are made easy by the re-
fusal OF majority of either house to obey the
law" He seems particularly sorry to find
Gen. Rice and myself, after our honorable
record during the war" in this terrible attitude
of notification ana rebellion. q II they were
right during the war, they are wrong now. I
have no disposition to arraign them, but
I prefer to follow the old Republican
flag that was hoisted in 1854" Stop there.
Mr.. Shermanl I want, in the midst OF
your patriotic peroration, to call your
attention to the fact that in following
the Republican flag in 1856 you, yourself, Of
fered an amendment to the Army Appropriation
bill to the effect that @no part of the military
force of the United States herein provided for
shall be employed in aid Of the enforcement Of
the enactinents of the alleged Legislative As
sembly o. the Territory of Kansas and,
further, TINT your amendment was adopted:
and, further, because the Senate refused to
concur in your amendment, You flibustered
and forced the adjournment Of the first session
Of the Thirty fourth Congress, leaving the
army without dollar Of appropriations; and,
further, that when the President called Con-
gress together again you voted to adhere to
your amendment and undertook to force the
adjournment Of the second session without
permitting the passage Of the Army Appropria-
ton bill, but we're overruled by few of your
conservative Republican colleagues joining the
Democrats and saving the army from disband-
ment for want Of an appropriation.


As you seem to have forgotten this striking
page in your political history, referyou to the
| Congressional Globe, Thirty fourth Congress
part second, 1855 56, pages ], T54 ,790 Ireland
2,240, ard page Is Of the appendix. u You will
find the references handy, as they age all in
one volume.
U,a l~,4- A..
and now is this: Then you were struggling
against bad use Of Federal troops in a Terri
tory, over which the Federal Government had
supreme control; and now you are struggling
| for bad use of Federal troops and Marshals
to control State elections, with which the Fed
eral Government has nothing whatever to do.
You were willing to disband the whole army
then rather than suffer the Federal Govern
ment to exercise its undoubted powers; and now
| you denounce as rebels and nullifiers men who
| served through the war for the Union, while
| you prospered in peace and comfort at home,
for dlsbanding your hordes of partisans, paid
| from the common treasury Of the people to
wrest from them the control of their ballot-box.


am not disposed, my fellow-citizens, to
claim that in the ordinary exercise Of its pow
ers Congress is at liberty to withhold appro-
pria6ons for purposes prescribed by law. We
did not withhold any appropriations the fail
ure OF which is at all likely TO Interfere with
any VI VIC 0OphItuoutc VI buo dOfcruIuoub IL
the exercise Of their ordinary and acknowl-
edged powers. We merely forbade the use OF
| any money appropriated for the army to trans
port or maintain troops at the polls; and we
withheld no appropriations, except for the fees
Of Marshals and their deputiea- We knew
that all the Marshals would be patriotic enough
to hold on to their offices and draw their regu-
lar salaries, and perform all their ordinary
and useful duties, trusting to Congress
to pay their fees for legitimate service. We
merely resolved that the public treasure should
not be wasted, nor the control Of our State
elections interfered with by hiring bummers
and shoulder -hitters, or bribing needy men out
Of the common treasure of the people. And


we now appeal from the advocates Of Fedora


interference to the lovers of home rule to sus


tain our action. We will let the ballot-bo,
itself declare whether it is safer in the hand
and under the control Of the officers of the
election precincts, or Of emissaries hired b,
the administration and backed by bayonets.
This is not revolution nor notification nor Be


cession; but only an orderly, honest and pat
riotic appeal from Cesar to the people.