The Greensboro patriot [March 14, 1877]

              THE PATRIOT
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
4f GREENSBORO, N. C.
BLI8HED IN 18811.4a
..Wtcat.and best Newg-ili.
Mate!
Proprietor
ranabiy iuadvan—:
• 1 . - ni"iitl•« $!."•■
age-ibseribarae.
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,. v\>\ TISINO.
The Greensboro Patriot.
Established in 1821. WEDNESDAY, MARCH M, 1877. | New Series No. 467.
THE DEMOCRATIC ADDRE8S.
A Protest Against the De-claration
of the Elections
of Hayes.
- ; liable — ■*"
: winentK (insifrly
THE dHABOBS OP
OOK8PIRAGT A.\D
St BSTANTIATBD.
REITIILICAN
CORRUPTION
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Administrator! no-
. , ..liuuii advertise- «i
professional Cards.
,,.. JOHN N..STAPI.K
MENDENHALL & STAPLES,
., nil UNK V SAT LAW,
i.K • E!«S»OBO, K.C.
rthe, Stokas, Ran-
, *o, r B. Circuit anil
.. attention K'v •*" t('
i| llie .State, and to
North nt Court House.
> « Ml Kit P, I w.liWKI.I..
»i OTT A « ALDWEIX.
S8BORO, N- C.
., th< B i|>erior Court ol
\V lolpb, Darid-
|.. ell uid fctecklen-
8 ipreme Court of lb*
,; Coon at Greensboro
« leevi ,.ud in oourts
:. I *_f of money
. M iritiee.
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.lO. \v. GLENN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Heidm/Ule, N. C.
i ., the Courts of the
. attention given to
75-1$.
« ,i. ^•■•■-■»nKsl,i:c.nri.LY
OFFERS HIS
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Oretiuboro.
I ll> llll. BAME AS THOSE
Otbei Practicing
/•;,„,, iniM of Hit' Wry.
_
lOIIA V. BARBMOEB,
J A I 1'OKNEl Al LAW,
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led to.
H Photograph
Do irt Houao.
„ II GRKOURY.
; & GREGORY,
rORI.'EY S AT LAW
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GRf I f BBORO, N. C
... ., ilm State ai rt Federsl
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D. A. & R. F. ROBERTSON,
RGEON DENTISTS,
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THE TABLE
lieat. ilio rooms are
and neatly Ibrnialied
Terms.redneed t'
ONLY $1.50 PER DAY.
the Month on
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■■■ Depot Free.
■i. It b'lELD.
• I i insamebloek
t' lake yon to inj
"ate rates.
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I a W.i: AND UKTAIl.
DKUGG ISTS.
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DRUG STORE.
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Mi Cheaper, Than
be bought North and
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E iiD.M A CALL!
WASHINGTON, Marcb *.—The fol
lowing 18 the iiddr. ^s aduptftl by
tlif Deuooratie uintii>.-is <>t the'
IIIIUKH of RepiPaeotativea at tho
csaoaa li»-l«l Sstardpy ev«
March A, in t!ie hall ol the House:
To THE AMERICAN PEOPLE :
We Nubtnit to tlie country the
following review of the events
wbicb havt- re.sulted in the declara-tion
that Rutherford 15. Haves has
been elected President of the Unit-ed
Statev. lu the late political can-vacs
two facts stood out prominent-ly—
first, the BepablicM party,
true to its sectional nature, sought
to unify the North against the
" solid South r" and while engaged
in that effort it was striving to
make good its probable losses in
the North by dividing the votes of
the South. This division it bought
to effect by an unconstitutional use
of tbe at my in South Carolina,
Louisiana and Florida. Second,
the troops were sent to those States
when there was neither invasion
nor domestic insurrection to require
Ih.-in. With the legislature easily
to be convened, the only demand
for their preseuce was made by the
State Executive. The elections in
these States, therefore, were held
in the shadow of the military pow-er.
The bayonets glistened at tbe
polls, lu depositing their ballots
the mi/pus enjoyed only such liber-ty
as the army permitted. In the
other States the elections were un-usually
peaceful. Immediately af-terwards
the result showed that
lOOTilden electors had been chosen.
Ot the whole popular vote they re-ceived
a majority ol more than a
quarter ol a million, and ol' that of
the Caucasian race, which controls
every other Christian and civilized
government of the world, they re-ceived
a majority of more than one
million. On the day succeeding the
election it was announced by the
Chairman of the Republican X;>
tional Committee that 184 Tildeu
and 18i» Hayes electors had been
chosen. Nothing had then been
learned of the election excepting
the vote actually cast. It has never
since been disputed that by that
rote a majority ot Tildeu electors
had been appointed. Such an an
Donncemei t, then-lore, could onlj
have been made in pursuance ot an
arrangement to change the vote
shown to have been given by the
people.
We charge that after the true re-mit
hail been proclaimed, a con-spiracy
was formed by the Repub-lican
leadets to reverse I be decision
made at t he polls. Th- field chosen
Foi the development of tbe eon-
•piracy was the Btatea ol Florida
ami l.mi.siana. The persona i act
with the original i inspirators were
the Governors and members 01 tV
ret'truit.g boards of those States.—
The field was well chosen, and the
State officers selected were suitable
persons for the work to be done.—
For more than ten years those
States had been subjected to gov
erumeuts uot of their choice. Taxa-tion
and maladministration had rob
bed them of their substance and
well nigh destroyed their spirit and
hope. The army of the United
States had been freely used to
maintain those governments in
their acts of corruption and usurpa-tion.
It was believed that its ser
vices would aid in the designed cou
spiracy. The names of the officers
depended upon are Marcellus L.
Stearns, Samuel J5. McL'tin anil
Clayton A. Cowgill, of Florida;
and Wm. Pitt Kellogg, J. Madison
Wells, Thos. 15. Auderson, E. Oase
nave aud ,). I!. Kenner, of Louis
iaua. These men were uot strangers
to the American people. They had
before usurped authority. The re-turning
boards of those States had
made themselves by-words in the
laud. The Governors were known
to be pretenders. If there were
two names dishonored iu general
estimation they were the names ot
Wm. Pitt Kellogg and J. Madison
Wells. To such men was the work
ot consummating the conspiracy
confided. Tbey entered upon their
task with alacrity, advised and en
couraged by leading " visiting" Re
publican statesmen of the North.—
They took each step with delibera
tlon aud apparent regard for law.
Iletore the election iu Louisiana
Win. I'itt Kellogg and his subor-dinates
assumed exclusive control
ot the execution of the registry
law. Tbey ietused registration to
thousands entitled to it, anil added
thousands to the lists who had no
right to vote. Ou the day of elec-tion
the polls were managed by
officials appointed by the Governor.
There were in nearly every instance
members ol the Republican party.
Uuited States marshals swarmed at
every precinct wheu thought neces-sary
under pretence of preserving
ibe peace, bnl in net to intimidaii
voteis. Ballot-hoses were stuffed
in tbe interest of Republican eandi
dates. Poll books were falsified in
Mm instances and then returned
to the canvassing board, while in
other cases returns giving Demo-cratic
majorities were withheld from
ti-.f canvassers altogether. Attei
n-t urns bad been delivered to
the board tbey remained in its ex
: is>\.- i,,,.,M-SMOII, and while tbey
wen opened with its conseut the
original papers wee abstracted aud
false ones substituted in their e • ad
When tbe returns weie opeued the
uoard, with an appearame oi fair-uess,
permitted persona represent-ing
both parties to bo present but
when the decision was made as to
what should be counted secret ses-sions
were held from which every
Democrat was excluded, although
the law constituting the board re-quired
;hat it should be composed
ot representatives of both political
parties. In counting the votes it
exercised powers not conferred by
the statue, and in the most flagrant
disregard ol truth and just'eo the
members of the. board changed poll-books,
so that Republican officers
appeared to be chosen where their
op|ionf-uts had, in fact, been elected.
They torged the names of officer?
to the certificates of election. They
threw ont votes of precincts upon
affidavits which they knew had
been fraudulently obtained; in-deed,
they themselves ordered false
affidavits to be made hundreds of
miles from the places at which they
purported to have been taken, in
order that a decision might appear
justified which they had in advance
determined to make. They arbi-trarily
threw out votes where there
was no preliminary statement from
the commissioners of election to
give them jurisdiction. They cor-ruptly,
in order to elect favorites
and to correct the mistakes of cer-tain
Republicans in voting for elect-ors,
added to the list of votes which
had never been cast. While con-sidering
the case members of the
board endeavored to enter into
negotiations with both the Repub-lican
and Democratic Nationai Com-mittees
to sell their decision. A
half million of dollars was the price
asked. Not obtaining it, they tried
to bargain with leading Democrats
of Louisiana to elect the State
ticket of their party. J. Madison
Wells, with the approval of Thos.
C. Anderson, offered to elect the
Nicholls State ticket for $200,000
cash in hand. The money was not
paid. Negotiations were then re-newed,
if ever broken off, with the
leaders of the Republican party.—
The result was declared in its favor.
The chief conspirator, J. Madison
Wells, admitted that he was paid
by that organization for his decis
ion.
In Florida the same frauds char-acterized
the returns and the ac-tion
of the returning boards; votes
were thrown out with the same dis-regard
of justice. Besides, in that
State it refused to regard the or-ders
of the courts of competent ju-lisdiction,
and proceeded in the
must defiant contempt of judicial
authority. In this manner more
than one thousand Tildeu votes
were thrown out in Florida, and
in 'Hi' ■. I an 'en thousand in Louisi-ana.
Tbe votes of those States, in
consequence of the conspiracy,
which in fact had been cast tor Til-deu,
were given to Hayes. The on-ly
excuse for this outrageous re
venal of the judgment of the peo-ple
is that intimidation had been
practiced by the whiter, against the
blacks where the votes were thrown
out. Whether this intimidation
compelled some persons to vote
against I heir will, or prevented
some from attending tbe polls, it
afforded iu neither case-a justifies
tion of the deliberate rejection of
ballots by tbe returning board.
But the statute of Louisiana ouly
authorised proof of intimidation in
cases where charges of violence
sere made i-i writing by the com-missioners
of election, on the day
when the election was held. These
charges were to be enclosed to the
board in the envelope containing
the returns. In a tew cases, only,
were the charges made as required;
in the others evidence w^s received
without proper foundation having
been laid. The evidence received
consisted in the main of affidavits
written out by clerks and employes
ot the returning board, without ev-er
having been seen by the persons
purporting to verify them, or the
officers purporting to certify this ;
there was, therefore, no adequate
proof of intimidation.
It may be remarked here that the
temptation to Kellogg and his re-turning
board was very great to
manufacture cases of intimidation,
for it was only on them that tbe
Democratic majority could be over-thrown
and the conspiracy be sne
cesssful. We should not tail to call
the attention of tbe people to tbe
dangerous effect of the doctrine of
intimidation in politics. It disqual-ifies
from voting not only the pat-ties
to the act of intimidation but
all those who havo voted at the
same precincts with them. Two
persons may conclude to make a
case of intimitlation and thereby
cause a parish casting thousands ol
votes to be rejected. It makes elec-tions
a farce. It takes tbe power
from the people to rest in returning
boards. It enables the latter to
impose the severest of political pen-alties,
disfiauchisement, without
giving the persons punished an op-portunity
of a hearing or trial. A
republic deserves to lose its liber-ties
if it tolerates such outrages for
an hour. By this disregard of law,
disobedience of courts and con
tempt ot the rights ot the voters by
their frauds, aud corruptions and
usurpations, by their briberies and
perjuries and forgeries did the con-spirators
obtain the certificates of
election for the Republican candi-dates
iu the Southern States nam-ed.
From the day that tbe cirt ili
cates were issued to the Hayes elec-tors
in Louisiana and Florida, the
country has been tilled with au un
precedented excitement. The peo-ple
have done little else than en-gage
in discussion as lo the fraudu-lent
conduct ol tuese returning
boards. In this condition ot affairs
business has been generally BUS
ponded : (allure.- have been ttequon;
and prostration has seized upon
nearly every iuterest in the laud.
When this excitement was at its
height Congress assembled. Oue
of its duties was to count the elect-oral
vote ol the States, including
Florida and Louisiana. With the
view ot facilitating the count and
providing for the peaceful perform
auceot its duty by Congress, a bill
was passed creating tbe Electoral
Commission- By that law tbe com
mission was to ascertain the true
and lawful vote of every State. In
this labor it was to exercise as to
hearing of evidence and examina-tion
of papers soch power as Con-gress,
or either house of Congress,
possessed. In the belief that evi-dence
would be heard and that a
settlement of the disputed question
of facts would be fairly reached,
tbe Congress and the people ac
cepted the commission. How that
confidence has been disappointed,
bow a decision bas been made bused
upon a refusal to consider the un
fortunate question of tbe dispute,
is well knowu to the country. When
the certificates from Florida and
Louisiana were opened and submit-ted
to tbe two houses, objections
were riled to those presented by the
Hayes electors. Among other
grounds of objectectiou, it was
urged than these certificates had
been fraudulently and corruptly
issued by the returning boards and
Executives of these States, and as
a result of a conspiracy between
them aud the electors claiming to
have been chosen. That such cer-tificates
had been issued in viola-tion
of the laws of tbe respective
States aud that some ot the electors
named therein were ineligible by
the express provision of the consti-tution
of the Uuited States. Wheu
these objections were made before
the commission proof was offered
to the commission to sustain them.
The commission, by a vote of eight
to seven, refused to receive the tes-timony
offered except as to the in-eligibility
of a single member in
Florida. It was voted iu the case
of Louisiana that the commission
would not hear evidence to show
that the returning board was au un-constitutional
body; that it was
nut organized as the law required
at the time the vote was canvassed j
that it had no jurisdiction to can-vass
the electoral vote; that the
charges of riot, intimidation aud
violence were false, and that the re-turning
board knew that fact; that
the certificates were corruptly and
fraudulently issued, and as a result
ol a conspiracy, and that the vote
of tbe State has never been com-piled
or canvassed. The same rul-ings
substantially were made in the
case of Florida. Tbe commission
also refused to bear proof that at
tb» time of the electiou in South
Carolina anarchy prevailed, des-troying
tbc republican form ol gov-ernmeut
in that State, aud that
troops were returned there in vio-lation
of the Constitution to inter-fere
with the free choice by election
so that the lawful vote of that State
could not be known. Against these
decisions we protest most earnestly,
in the name of free aud republican
government. Iu the first place,
they struck a fatal blow at the con-stitutional
power of the two houses
to count the electoral vote. This
power has been exercised by both
houses without dispute from the
foundation of the government.
That evidence should be received
in cases of contested returns seems
clear. The principle has been main-tained
by tbe ablest statesmen the
country has produced. It w is the
practise confined to the principle iu
secret session-, notably in the case
of Louisiana itself in 1869 and 1873.
Such evidently was the view of both
houses at the preseut session ; the
investigating committees were sent
to Florida, South Carolina aud Lou-isiana
to take testimony aud report
as to Ibe elections in those state-*.
It is difficult to see upon what prin-ciple
this view can be based. The
duty of Congress is to count the
vote. This makes the enactmcut of
the vote to be counted. This again
makes the deteimination of what is
tbe true vote aud the distinguish-ing
ot the false from the true. This
requires evidence, for wheu the
taise and tbe fraudulent have beeu
approaced to themselves the forms
of law expressing the tact canuot
be made unless evidence be admit-ted
; for it fraud possesses the re-count,
how cau the success ot false-hood
be prevented if either jury be
denied ? The action of the commis
sion disables Congress from per-forming
a certaiu constitutional
duty. In the second place, this
decision nullifies au article of the
Constitution. In section 1, art. 44,
it is provided : "But no senator or
representative or persou holdiug an
office of trust or profit under tin
United Stater shall lie appointed an
elector." If tbe State choose elec-tors
who are ineligible, how can
this provision be made effectual f
The State, by its action, has refused
to repeal it. Manifestly it can then
only be euforced by the power au-thorized
to paso upon tbe vote
wbicb the State has returned :
Congress, then in counting the vote
must determine who are uot eligible
electors—(acts which can only be
ascertained by evideuce aliundc.—
Auy other doctrine abrogates the
previous construction, and in effect
substitutes the following: "Sena-tors,
Representatives and all per-sons
holding offices of trnst or
profit under tbe United States may-lie
appointed electors/' lu tbe
tbiid place, the doctrine ignores all
the precedents and rules of morals
iu excluding the evidence of fraud
submitted. Nothing can stand
which is tarnished by fraud. It
vitiates everything. It annuls ev-ery
deed, cancels every obligation,
annuls every contract and u-verses
every judgment. Every tribunal,
however organized, is bound to re
gard every lauduleut transaction as
a nullity, however it may come be
fore it. whether directly, iuan iude-peudent
proceeding or colaterally
The decision ot the highest tribunal,
if procured through fraud, should
be treated as of no effect by the
humblest court of the land. As
said by a distinguished writer, " It
matters not whether the judgment
impugned has been pronounced b.'
an inferior or tbe highest court in
the land, but in all cases alike, it is
competent for every court whether
inferior or su|>erior, to treat as a
nullity auy judgment that can be
clearly shown to have been obtain
ed by manifest Iraud. It remained
for this decisiou to declare that
there were certain tribunals which
could perpetrate fraud with impu-nity,
and that there was one court
which could not lay its hands upon
fraud when brought before it (or
view. Those exceptional tribunals
were the re'urniug boards of Flori-da
and Louisiana.
That exceptional court is the
Electoral; Commission. Fraud has
found an eutrenchmeut from which
it cannDt be driven, iu a contest
makiug the choice of the highest
officer of the greatest of republics.
A doctrine more corrupt iu its con-sequences,
more destructive of the
purity of elections and more threat
ening to the perpetuity of free
government could not easily be
found. It is sought to justify this
decision by an appeal to State sov-ereignty.
The argument is that,
as tbe States choose their electors
iu a sovereigu capacity, their de-cision
cannot be reversed by auy
other authority. This proposition
pushes to its furthermost limit the
doctrine of State rights. The the-ory
of the most advanced advocates
of that school was only that the
States were sovereign as to the re
served powers over them which were
delegated. It was conceded that the
Constitution was supreme. The
power to choose electors would not
have existed except tor the Consti-tution.
It was therefore a delegated
power. The Legislature of the
State chooses electors by virtue
of the constitutional provisions. It
is a duty to be performed by the
State while in the Union. It can-not
perform it before admission nor
after the Union is disputed. Can
it be possible that there is no power
in the Union to determine how the
duty has beeu performed and
whether in compliance with the
constitutional provisions? To as-sert
this doctrine is to declare the
absolute independence of the
States, to deny the Supremacy of
tbe Constitntion and to leave the
United States powerles against the
fraud or violence of the included
States, which may force a President
upon the people. The power to re-view
the action of the electoral
colleges seems necessarily to be de-nied
from the nature of a confeder-ated
government. If one party to
the compact possesses a power as
to its subject matter superior to the
power created by the agreement,the
compact inevitably tails for it is
impossible for a confederacy to ex-ist
unless the jurisdiction of its in-dividual
members as to powers
committed to confederation is subor-dinated
to the larger jurisdiction of
the later. For example, in this
case one State cau receive its func-tions
as to electing a President in
violation of the Constitution with-out
any power iu the Union to re-verse
its action, then a Constitution
was unnecessary for the delegatii
of power, aud the nation may be
governed iu violation of the very
instrument which created it. Rut
whatever the power of Congress as
to the authority over the vote of
electors, it is certain that it is not
bound to treat as valid fraudulent
certificates. It matters not how
absolute the sovereignty under
which a Iraud is perpetrated, it
cannot receive protection nor be
granted recognition. It there be a
II :initial towliieh the certificates are
submitted, it is bound to treat them
as worthless. The certificates were
charged to be fraudulent The
commission, if it counted them,gave
them validity. It was its duty to
bear the facts to prevent the suc-cess
of fraud, even though the cer
tificates came from a sovereignty a
hundred-fold greater than Louisiana
or Florida. By these methods, un-der
the forms prescribed by the law
constituting the Electoral Commis-sion,
Rutherford B. Hayes has been
declared President of the United
States.
His title rests upon the disfran-chisement
of lawful voters, the
false certificates of returning offi-cers
acting corruptly, and the de-cision
of a Commission which has
refused to hear evidence ol alleged
fraud. For the fust time are the
American people confronted with
the fact of a President fraudulently
elected. His inauguration will In-peaceful,
and in that hour the most
infamous conspiracy of all history
will receive its crown. Iu the ex-citing
days just past the forbear-ance
of the people, has maintained
the peace. Let it not, however, be
understood from this that the fraud
to be consummated March 4 will be
Hayes' Inaugural Address.
FELLOW-CITIZENS :—We have
assembled to repeat the public cere-monies
begun by Washington, ob
served by all my predecessors, and
now a time honored custom which
matks tbe commencement of a new
term of the Presidential office-
Called to the duties of this great
trust, I proceed, in accordance with
usage, to announce some of the
leading principles on the subjects
that now chiefly engage the public
attention, by which it is my desire
to be guided in the discharge of
these duties.
I shall not undertake to lay down
irrevocably principles or speak of
the motives which should animate
us and to suggest certain important
ends to be attained in accordance
with onr institutions aud essential
to the welfare of our country.
At the outset of the discussions
which preceded the recent presi-dential
election, it seemed to me
fitting that I should fully make
known my sentiments in regard to
several of the important questions
which then appeared to demand the
consideration of the country. Fol-lowing
the example, and in part
adopting the language of one of my
predecessors, 1 wish now, wheu
every motive for misrepresentation
has passed away, to repeat what
was said before the election—trust-tliat
my countrymen will candidly
weigh and understand it, and that
they will teel assured that the senti-ments
declared iu accepting the
nomination for the presidency will
be the standard of my conduct in
the patch before me charged, as 1
now am, with the grave and difficult
task of carrying them out in the
practical administration of tbe
government, so far as depends un-der
the Constitution and laws ou
the chief Executive of the nation.
SOfTIIRRN POLICY.
The permanent pacification of the
country, upon such principles and
by such measures as will secure
the complete protection of all its
citi/.eus in the free enjoyment, of all
their constitutional rights, is now
the one subject in our public affairs
uliiiii all thoughtful and patriotic
citizens regard as ot supreme im-portance.
Many of the calamitous
effects of the tremendous revolution
which has passed over the Southeru
States still remain. The immeas-urable
benefits which will surely
follow, sooner or later, the hearty
aud generous acceptance of the
legitimate results of that revolution
have not jet beeu realized. Diffi-cult
pud embarrassing questions
meet us at the threshhold of this
Subject, The people of those States
are still impoverished, and the in-estimable
blessing of wise, honest
and local self-government is uot
fully enjoyed. Whatever difference
of opinion may exist as to the cause
of this condition of things, the fact
is clear that in the progress of
events the time has come wheu such
government is the imperative neces-sity
required by all the varied in-terests,
public and private, of those
States. But it must not be forgot-ten
that only a local government
which recognizes aud maintains in-violate
the rights of all is a trae
self government. With respect to
the two distinct races whose pe
ctiliar relations to each other have
brought upon usthedeplorablecom-plications
and perplexities which
exist in those States, it must be a
government which guards the in-terests
of both rates carefully aud
equally. It must be a government
which submits loyally aud heartily
to the Constitution aud tbe laws;
the laws of the nation and the laws
of the States themselves, accepting
aud obeying faithfully the whole
Constiiulion as it is; and resting
upon Ihese sure and substantial
foundations the superstructure of
beuefiuent local governments cau
be built up and uot otherwise. In
furtherance of such obedience to
the letter and the spirit of the Con-stitution,
and in behalf of all that
its attainment implies, all so-called
party interests lose their apparent
importance and party lines may-well
be permitted to fade into in-
Bignifieance. The question we have
to consider for the immediate wel-fare
of those States ot the Uuion,
is the question of government or
no government, of social order and
all the peaceful industries aud tbe
happiness that belong to it, or a re-turn
to barbarism. It is a question
in which every citizen of the nation
is deeply interested, and with re-spect
to" which we ought not to be,
lands, we are reminded by tbe in-ternational
complications abroad
threatening the peace of Europe,
that our traditional rule of non- in-terference
in tbe affairs of foreign
natious bas proved of great value
; in past times and ought to be strict-ly
observed. The policy inaugu-rated
by my honored predecessor,
President Grant, of submitting to
arbitration, grave questions of dis-
; pute between ourselves aud foreign
I powers, points to a new and incom-parably
the best instrumentality
i lor the preservation of peace, and
means at tbe disposal of my ad-ministration,
I am sincerely anxious
to use every legitimate influence in I C00*1 W'H. 1 believe, become a bone-favor
of honest and efficient local j nceQt example of the course to be
self government as the true resource ! pursued in similar emergencies by
of those States for tbe promotion other nations. If unhappily, ques-of
the contentment of their citizens. ItioB8 of difference should, at any
In the effort I shall make to accom- time during the period of my ad-ministration,
arise between the
j United States and any foreign gov-i
eminent, it will certainly be my dis-position
and my hope to aid iu their
plish this purpose. I ask the cordial
co-operation of all who cherish an
interest in tbe welfare of the coun-try,
trusting that party ties and I
prejudice of race will be freely sur- j
rendered in behalf of the great pur- i
pose to be accomplished.
In the important work of iestor !
ing the South, it is not the political
situation alone that merits atten I
tion ; the material development of |
that section of the country has been
arrested by the social and political '
revolutiou through which it has!
passed, and now needs aud deserves i
tbe considerate care of the nation-al
government within thejust limits
prescribed by the Constitution and
wise Republican economy.
EDUCATION.
At the basis of all prosperity for
that as well as for every other part
of the couutry lies the improve-ment
of the intellectual and moral
condition of the people. Universal
suffrage should rest upon universal
edncation. To this end liberal and "ie O00"""* '" the electoral votes,
permaueut provision should i„, "houhl bo referred to the decisiou
made for the support of free schools J** tribunal, established by law,
by the State governments, and if 'or "lls sow purpose, its members
need be, supplemented by legiti !l" "' them men of long established
mate aid from national authority, reputation tor integrity and Intel-
Let me assure my countrvmen ot ''Kimoe, and with the exception of
the Southern States, that it is my ' ",08e w,1° nr'' als" members of the
earnest desire to regard and pro
settlement in the same peaceful and
honorable way, thus securing to our
country the groat blessings of peace
aud mutual good offices with all the
nations of the world.
TIIE SITUATION.
Fellow-citizens, we have reached
the close of a political contest
marked by the excitement which
usually attends the contests be-tween
great political parties whose
members espouse and advocate with
earnest taith their respective creeds.
The circumstances were |>erhnps in
no respect extraordinary save in
the closeness and the consequent
uncertainty ot the result. For the
first time in the history -if the conn
try it has boon deemed best in view
ot the peculiar circumstances of the
case, that the objections and ques-tions
in dispute with reference to
mote their truest interests, the in-terest
of the white aud of the col-ored
people both and equally, and
to put forth my best efforts in bo-half
of a civil policy which will
forever wipe out in our political
affairs the color line aud the dis-tinction
between North aud South;
to the end that we may not have
merely a united North and a uuited
South, but a united country.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
I ask the attention of the public
to the paramount necessity of re-form
in our civil service ; a reform
supreme judiciary, chosen equally
from both political parties. Its
declarations enlightened by re-search
ami the arguments of able
counsel were entitled to the fullest
confidenceol tbe American people.
Its decisions have been patiently
waited for ami accepted as legally
conclusive by the general judgment
of the public. For the present,
opinion will widely vary as to the
wisdom oi the several conclusions
announced by that tribunal. This
is to be anticipated in every in
stance where matters of dispute
are made the subject ol arbitration
under the lours ol law; human
uot merely as to certain abuses ami judgment is nevi r unerring and is
practices of so.called official pat-ronage,
which have come to have
the sanctiou of usage in the several
departments ot our government,
but a chauge in the system of ap-pointment
itself; a reform that shall
be thorough, radical and complete :
a return to the principles aud prac-tices
of the founders ol the govern
ment. They neither expected nor
desired that public officers should
owe their whole service to the gov-ernment
and to the people; they
meant that the officer should be se-cure
iu his teuure as long as bis
personal character remained un-tarnished
and the performance of
his duties satisfactory; they held
that appointments to office were not
to be made uor expected merely as
rewards for partisan services, nor
merely on the nomination ol mem-bers
of Oongress as beiug entitled
in any respect to the conrol ol such
appointments, and tbe fact both of
the great political parties of I lie
country in declaring their principles
prior to the election, gave a promi-nent
place to the subject of the re
form of our civil service, recogniz-ing
aud strongly urging its neces-sity,
in terms almost identical iu
their specific import with those I
have here employed, mnst be ac-cepted
as a conclusive argument in
behalf of these measures. It must
be regarded as the expression ol
tbe united voice and will of the
whole country upon this subject:
aud both political parties are virt-ually
pledged to give it their unre-served
support. The President of
the United States of necessity owe.
his election to office to the suffrage
and labors ot a political party the
members of wbicb cherish with
rarely regarded as otherwise than
wrong by the unsuccessful party in
the contest. The fact that two
great political panics have in this
way settled a dispute, in regard to
which good men differ as to the
lacts and the law no less than as to
the proper oouri e to be pursued in
solving tbe question in control
is an occasion for general rejoicing.
Upon one point there is entire una-nimity
in public sentiment that I-dieting
claims to the ptesii]
must be amicablj and peaceably
adjusted, and that, when so ad-justed,
the general acquiescence oi
the nation oii'^ht smelv to follow.
It has in en reserved foi a govern-ment
of the people, when the right
of suffrage is universal, to give to
the world the first example in his
tory of a great nation, in the midst
of a struggle of Opposing parlies
for power, hushing its party tu
molts to yield the issue of the con
test to adjustment according to the
forms ol law.
I. Hiking for the guidance ot that
Divinity, by which the destinies of
nations and individuals are shaped,
1 call upou yon Senators, Bepre
Beiitati\es, Judges, Pel low-citizens,
ben ..::<! everywhere, to unite with
me in an earuesl elf o < cue to
oui country the blessings no'l ••:\\\
of material prosperity, but of jus-tice,
peace and union, a union de-pending
not upon tbe constraint ol
force, but upon the loving devotion
of free people "anil thai all things
maj be so ordered and settled upon
the best and surest foundations that
peace and happiness, truth and
justice, religion and piety, may he
established among ns for all gen
orations." [Quoted from tbe Bpii
Bile'uifv acquiesced in by tbe conn- in a partisan sense, either Repub-ttrryv-
Let no hour pass in which the licans or Democrats.
usurpation is forgottou. Let a
tation be increasing that at every
opportunity the people may ex-press
their abhorrence of the out-rage.
Let want of confidence be
voted at every election in Mr.
Hayes and his administration.
liotb mnst bo controlled by
conspirators who have
one and will organize the other,
and whatever of good may come
from either will be alwajs darken-ed
by tbe stain upon their title.
Let the Democratic party at once
organize for the new contests to se-cure
overwhelming victories, that
conspirators may never again at-tempt
the experiment which now
humiliates the republic and bas in
stalled in its highest office a usurp-er.
(Signed.)
FRANK H. UUKD, O.
RANDALL L. GIBSON, La.
JOSIAH G. ABBOTT, Mass.
OTHO R. BWGtETOS, Miss.
WM. P. I.YNDF.. Wis.
Many vears ago a well-to-do farm-er
lelt Hawesville, Ky.. to bettei
bis fortune in tbe West. He had
nearly passe:! from the memory ol
nil. The hearts of his friends beat
with joy when they heard that a
postal card had been received say
ing that if be bad not lost his citi
zensbip he would like to be admit-ted
to the poorhouse.
But, fellow-citizens aud fellow-men
to whom the interests of a
common country and a common hn
manity are dear, the sweeping revo-lotion
of the entire labor system of j
a large portion of our country and
the advance of tour millions of peo-ple
from a condition of servitude
elected the to that of citizenship and upon an
equal footing with their former
masters, could uot occnr without
ating problems of the gravest
moment, to be dealt with by the
emancipated race, by their former
masters, and by tbe general govern-ment,
the author of the act of
emancipation. That it was a wise,
just and providential act, fraught
with good for all concerned, is now
generally conceded throughout the
country: that a moral obligation
resis upou the National Govern-ment
to employ its constitutional
power and influence to establish the
rights of the people it has emanci-pated,
and to protect them in tbe
enjoyment of those rights wheu
they are infringed or assailed is
also generally admitted. The evils
which atrlict tbe Southern States
cau ouly be removed oi remedied
by the united aud harmonious ef-forts
of both races, actuated by mo-t'ves
of mutual sympathy and re
gard. And while in duty bound
and fully determined to protect the
lights of all by the constitutional
ardor and legard as of essential copal Prayer book.]
importance, the principles of their _______
party organization, bnt he should
strive to be always mindful of tin-fact
that he serves his party best,
who serves the country beak
FURTHER REFORM—THE PRESI-DENTIAL
TERM.
Iu furtherance of the reform we
seek, and in other important re
spects. a change of gieat import
ance, I recommend an amendment
to the Constitution prescribing a
term of six years for the Presi-dential
office, and forbidding a re-election.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.
With respect to the financial con-dition
of the county, I shall not at-tempt
an extended history of the
embarrassment and prostration
which we have suffered during the
past three years. The depression
in all onr varied commercial and
manufacturing intereHts throughout
the country, which began in Sep-tember,
1873, still continues. It is
very gratifying, however, to be able
to say that there are indications all
around us of a coming chauge to
prosperous times. Upon the cur
rency question, intimately con-nected
as it is with this topic. 1 may-be
permitted to repeat, here the
statement made in my letter ol ac-ceptance
that in my judgment the
feeling of uncertainty, inseparable
trom our irredeemable paper cur- !
rency with its fluctuations of values,
is one of tbe greatest obstacles to
a return to prosperous times. The
only safe paper currency is one
which rests upon a coin basis and
is at all times and promptly con-vertible
into coin. I adhere to the
views heretofore expressed by me
in favor of Congressional legisla
tion in behalf of an early resump
tion of specie payment, and I am
satisfied, not only that this is wise.
but that tbe interests, as well as
the public sentiment of the country,
demand it.
OUR FOBEIUN RELATIONS.
Passiug from these remarks upon
the condition of our own country
to consider our relations with other
Common malformation- -Too long
a tongue.
Russia has .,io monasteries and
convents which enjoys an annual
income ol marly $7 000,000,
i- OS • ': 'ling gen-tleman
that is als ays d by
the girl be loves—bis portrait.
Kansas anticipates a very large
immigration in the spring from Wis-consin,
Minnesota and Michigan.
It is sad to reflect that the young
woman a bo was last New \'.
presenting her Charles with a vel-vet
pin cushion, because be had
•' swore "li," ma hence be
ing a yellow patch
on • lie basement ol bis gre;
And yet, such is life.
A Bbeep ranch ol I
has jUBt been surveyed in Menard
county, Texas, for a Ten
breeder.
The " blue glass" cure must be a
homospathic remedy, on the prin-cipal
thai p IOCS will cure |
A glae bli wei is n lently died
at the age ol 110
age is aootber prool of tbe truth
of tbe - theory.
To oppose the do.:
tiouists anew Free Trade Union
ha- been opened iii ' iermanj.
the head office at Berlin and
branches at Bremen, Stuttgart and
sic.
A Mewark woman married a
policeman because,as she explained,
aer mothei was once robbed ol two
dr<—s. and she though' i
man was a good thing to have about
the house.
A fragment ol a mi teoi fi el In
[owa and was carried away by the
man who found it. The owne#of
the ground sued to recover the
' curiosity, and tbe suit was decided
iu his favor.