Year: 1872

was no change in the cattle or sheep market.


FREEDOM OF ELECTIONS.


The rapid progress OF the consolidation Of
power within the Republican party, and the des-
perate effort to abolish the constitutional Imita-
tions OF that power, have ut length become go
apparent that they cannot longer be disregard
ed, unless the people Of this country are willing
to give up the freedom OF the elective franchise
without protest. The rapid change OF public
sentiment, and tho positive manner in which it
has arrayed itself against the usurpations of the
Administration, have alarmed the leaders, and,
as q last resort, they have determined to ride
rough-shod over the people at the coming cleo
tion, and elect General Grant By the nnwarranta-
BILE and Illegal use OF the power which is in their
hands, go applied as to give them control of the
election. Every measure of purely political
OF the Administration, for the past
two years, has been shaped with
this end in view; md recently two i'm
portant evidences of this have been brought
before the p1blic in the most uumstakable
manner.


/. The attempt to continue in force certain
features OF the Ku-Klux law Of 1871 through
another year. That law, which WAS passed in
May of that year, just before the Adjournment
of Congress. gave to the President the right to
suspend the writ Of 7abeus corpus at his discre-
tion upon such information rs should be satis-
factory to him alone. This. enormous and nb-
6o1ute power which Congress gave to the Prosi-
dent was, in reality, for the purpose Of coDsoh-
dating power in his hands, to enable him to e1-
tinguiEh my sentiment adverse to him, and it.
was used in that manner, during that very year,
in nine counties in South Carolina, when no
election was pending and it VAS time Of peace.
This power was given to the President
professedly for one year, in order to pacify the
South, but really with the intention Of continu-
ing@it this year to influence and control the
Presidential election. Tho intention was con-
cealed until the closing hours Of the last Con-
gress, when, by the CAUCUS dictation
Of Cameron, Morton d. Co, tho in
innate advisers Of the President, the SEN
ate passed the act to continue in force
one wear longer the feature Of the law Of 1871
which gave the President the right to suspend
the writ Of habeas corpus. The small minority
in that body could not prevent its passage. The
bill went to the House. In that body, which is
nearer to the people than the Senate, there we're
Republicans who now for the first time became
alarmed at the rapid strides Of the Administra-
tion towards absolute personal power, and,
joining hands with the Democrats,
they succeeded in burying it under measures
which could not be acted upon, and refused to
the Administration party sought to accomplish
it's purpose in another way. Tho situation was
3 desperate one, for tho nominations at Cincin-
nati and Philadelphia had been made, and, at
that time, it was universally conceded that tho
Baltimore Convention would indorse tie Cincin-
natl nomination, and it was therefore de-
termined to make another effort to give the
President the power of re-electing himself.
The Civil Appropriation bill was under consid-
Grafton in the Senate, and notwithstanding a
rulo had been adopted that no amendment
should be received which was not germane
to the bill,. the amendment to continue
the Presidential privilege another year was
tackled to it, and it was forced through the Sen
ato by the free use of the party whip. Tt went
to the House, and once more the House asserted
its rights and strangled the infamous project.
In the light of the circumstances which attended
the two efforts to push this measure through
Congress, and especially in the light Of events
which have t1anspired since that time, can any
one doubt what was the real meaning of that
movement? From October, 1871, until June 10,
1872, martial law was the only law in thoao parts
OF the South where the writ Of habeas corpus was
suspended. Does any one believe if this privilege
had been continued, and the election had been
close and excited one, that the President would
have hesitated to use it. not only in South Caro-
lima, but in every other Southern State where
there was danger of his defeat, and that in this
manner the operation Of State laws would have
been thrust aside and free election prevented? ?
The President, who, On more than one OCCASION
has shown himself to be susceptible, and easily
Influenced even in matters OF miper importance,
could no more have resisted the opportunity to
control the ELECTIONS in the South and turn them
to his OWL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, than he could help
sw1ndling the merchants Of Now York through
Leet g. Stocking The Liberal movement
was organized in time to prevent
the consammatiou Of this iniquity' and, but tor