Year: 1876




Let US suppose, for the sake of illus
tration, sweeping triumph for the Dem
ocratic party next November, and Tilden
and Hendricks inaugurated on the next
4th Of March. Then the Southern poll
ticians would claim and take control of
the party machinery, and direct the poll
cy of the government, on the strong plea
that the South had supplied the bulk of
the victorious vote in the electoral col
leges.


1t is quite easy to outline some of the
probable consequences Of such leader
ship. So soon as practicable, a reorgani-
zation of the Supreme Court of the
United States would take place, in
order to give effect to the views of the
Southern section. A sufficient change in
the membership of the court might be
brought about by the employment Of two
devices; First by the passage of law to
place on the retired list every Justice
above a specified age, thus embracing a
portion of the personnel as it now exists;
second, by enlarging the. number of
judges. This duplex method would en-
able the Democrats to reconstitute the
court so that it could be relied upon to de-
eide in some test case, that the amend
ments to the Constitution since the close
Of the war had been unconstitutionally
ratified, and so were without legitimacy or
binding force as part of the organic law
of the land A judicial decision like that,
reached through established and reOrgan-
lied forms of action, would at once re-
open for discussion some OF the most i'm
portant issues settled by the war and by
the legislation of Congress; such for IN
stance, as compensation for slave proper
ty, assumption of the rebel debt by the
General Government, and the payment of
claims arising out of the devastation caus-
ed by the march and battles of the Union
armies throughout the South. There is
no telling where the reopened controversy
would end. Il assuredly would contain
the elements of tremendous conflict of
the most ardent passions that can agitate
the hearts and minds of human beings.
Loyal sentiment would be affronted, arous-
ed, and embittered. ANY attempt to push
the decisions of the Supreme Court into
acts of legislation would inAsme the whole
country to frenzy of excitement, through
the resulting antagonists of opinion be-
tween different classes of D our people.
Measure of taxation, intended to realize
the deductive fruits of the decision, would
certainly be registered in the North, and
that, too, while the taxing power, the ar
| my the navy, and the whole machinery of
| the national government would be under
the unscrupulous control of the Densecra-
ey, guided in policy by the Southern pol
| iticians. If President and =. Congress
should persist in their mad scheme, under
all the circumstances, we do not see how
collision between North and South
could be avoided. Then We would have
that condition of affairs which Ben Hill
declared, in a speech at Atlanta, the Dem
ocrats intended tobring about Ia rebellion
against national authority with the South
at the head OF. the government !""Then, !"
| said he, "the cases. viii be reversed; the
Northerners will be the rebels, and the
South win be the loyalistss Thatis what
he styled sighting the battles of the
South within the Union.q q,,,g o.r, r..,.,


The picturewe have painted is not over
colored. Such contingencies lie in the near
! future They may be promoted BY vot-
ing for Tilden and Hendricks; they may
be blotted oat of the possibilities OF the
coming years by eleeting Hayes and
Wheeler.