Are The Election Measures Of The Administration Despotic

To forin an intelligeut judgmcnt in i eferenoo to any act, it is necossary that i just and equitablo standard shall havo : )een adoptod. Iq the case to be oonsiderd, wc shall adopt tlio admirable rules aid down by tho distinguished jurist Dr. írascis Liehkk, in bis vvork ou Civil jiberty and Self goverument. He says an eluction eau have no valué whaieoer if tío fojlowing couditious aro not f'ulfillod : 'he question must have been fairly be'ore the people, for a period suffioieutly ODg to discuss the matter thoroughly, ud uuder oiroumftanees to allow discusión. The liberty of the iress, thercforo, is a condition sine qua wii. The iudeeeney as well as the absurdity and immoritlity of ,he governmèot reoommending what is o Ij votud, ought never to be pertnitted. If any one of these couditiouB oniitted, the whole election or votiug is vitiatcd." Let us soe how thesu conditions have been fullilled under the present administraron. For the mode in whieh the elecüoiis were coudueted iu Maryland, iu 18G3, vto quote the corresjoudence of the National Inielligencer, and the New York Tribune. "Tho eleeion ordeis were issued by Gen. Scheucl; and his subordinatea ; and eudorsed if not directed by tho Presideut or the Seoetary of War. At Cl.ostertowu, the Liieutouant Col', stated iu a priuted order : It becouics every true loyal citizen to avail bimself of the presont opnortunitv offered, to place himself orably upan the record, by giving a full aud ardeut support to the whoh Governent ticket, upon the platform adoptod by tho Uniün League Couveution. The sergeaut in comuiand at Potal'a Nook district in the same county meutioned above, stated to the judges of election, that ho ïad received orders to enforce Order STo..53. That after tha Proclamalion was rceeived at camp, ho was ordered to euforco Order No. 53, as ït had beeu modified by the President ; to adiuinis;er the oath, to challenge evury mau who oílered to vote, aad lo preveut all from votiug who prcseuted any but tho yeüow or Oreswell ticket. A very small vote w;is-pollud: the inass of the people being deterred from coiuiag out by fear of the soldiers, who were reportoil to have received orders to arrest all who voted for Mr. Ckisfiisld. In Baireu Creek, the sergeant ia mand pulled out ot kis pocket a yellow or Cbeswell ticket, and said "This ts the onhj ticket that Jiaü be voted to-dai.'' The vvindow was guardad, und all wure ejeeted who would uot voto the yellow ticket. In these iastances was the administration guilty of the indecenci, tho ahsurdity and immorality of uüt only reoommeudiug, but also dictatiug who or what should be voted'? Wus this civil liberty ? Again we quote : " Mr. Artuük Crisfield advanced between the line of soldiers to the judges desk, and offured his vote ; Capt. Moorb who was standing by the desk, immediately frouting the judges, challengod his vote and iuquired his canie. Tho reply was "Arïiil'r ÖRI8FIELD." Oapt. Moore, puiling a paper iroin his pocket, examined it, and proceodud to interrógate Mr. A. Ckibfield, iu substance as iollows : Capt. Moore - "Have you ever been in the rebel service ?" Mr. Crisfield- "No." Capt, Moore - "Are you loyal ?" Mr. Crisfield - -'i am." Capt. Moqre - "llave you ever 'sympathized with those in rebelliou agains the governmont ?!' Mu. CiiisriEi.D - "I bave never givcu aid, assistauce, or encourageuieut to the South." Capt. Moouk - "Do you acknowledgo this to be a rebclliou agaiust the governmeut. Mr. Ckisfield- "I acknowledgo this." Capt. MooiiE- "Aro you iu favor oí prosecuting the war to put down the rebellion by overy meaos, and of voting men and money for ibis purpose, and that all your property may be dovoted to lbo prosecution of the wai' ?" Mu. Cjusliüi- - ''Deñue the ineans." Gapt. MooiiE - "Jiy bloekadüs, cutting off supplies to the South, and by cvcry mcans known iu civilizad warfure T Mk. Cmsfkl - "I think the goveromeot has the right to prosecute the war by all the meaus recoguizcd by iuteruational law and civilized warfare, within the limita of the Constitutiüu and the laws of this couutry." Gapt. Moork - "Are you in favor of prosecuting the war ly every means V' Mr. Crisfield was ropeating thu sume reply as that to the former question, when Capt. Mookb turued to the judges and said, "administer the oath to him." Mu. Pinto, ouo of the judges of the election, then roso aud said, "We disápprove of tuis mode of conduc'ing the eleotioa. We were swoni to coiuluct the eleetiou according to the laws of Marylaud, aud if we are not perunttod to du go we subuiit to arrest." Capt. Muoiiu - uYou refose then to curry out thu order of Gen. SöUOTCH V" Mu. Pinto - "We decide to oboy the Proclamatiou of ihu Govcftior, and the order of the President." üapt. Mooius theu arrestod the judges, aud said, " the arrest is i'or reiusïög to obey thö order oí' (Jeu. Sciiisnc. Not ouly iu MaryluiiJ, but also iu Kentucky the damo high hauded acts of deapotisr.i v.ere rcpeatedly tuacted ; military offieërs Bupportod by armed moa forbiide vcturs castiug their ballots ior auy but the adiiúijistratiou candidato, aud ovcu now the o;-der of Gov. John son, of Teunessceo, recently iwsued, over ridïug the State Constitution, and coutravouiug the Presideut's Pcoclamation of Amnestv, was desgncd to, and must praótically have the same efl'eet. Iu 1852, vvlieu trancé was aske'd by Napollon III, whetKer she approved of his proficred des:iot;siu, auuibilating not ouly lier ConslUulion, but all thü progress she bad made in represeidalioe governmeut, all her libertes, aud all her cioil dignity, and submittiug fortunes and all to a ruler who telis civiüzed Fraooa with suggestivo etnphasis, that the history of annies is tho hihiory of nations that respousiblo luinisters are nothing but iucuuibranees, aud that Franca desirea a goveruiaeut that reavives Lts whole impulse from ouu man; theu, when the whola urmy waa at his command, she wafa asked to eleet by biiüot, not whether he or 3OU1C olher tr.au sliould be her ruler but shan no be lMnperor f les, oriNo f r in othor words, but a siuglc ticket was lowed to be voted. Does not despotsin prcsuut the same features iu all eliinates, aod auion; ail peoples aad iustilUtions? Dues it nut Beek to attaiu ife nda by the same mcuus ? Is not the hirst for power and arbitrar y sway uner the thia guise of partisanism the amo in America as in Fianee ? aad yet traugo to say, tho despot recüvüd Lioarly hree-fourths of tho votes of FrUuoe, and dlmost tho entire army vote. J-gT' In the inaugural addreas of President Lincoi.n, dolivored after the 'onnal secesuiou of several Siates, we iud the followiug puragraphs : '"TUere is imich co atrovrsj about tlie deveiing up of fugitives iVum service or labor. L'he clau.se l uow read is as plaiuly wntten in hu Couatuulkm as any other oí its provisions : :x'o persen held Co service or labor iu one 'State luider the laws thereof, escapiug iuto ■another, shull iu consequeuce of any law or 'rëgulation tliurein, be dischargéd Irom such 'servicfi or labor, bul shall be delivsred up on claim of the party to vvhoni such ser■vice or labor uiay be due." "lt is scarcely queslioned that the provison wis iutendod by tliose wlio made it for the redempion of what we cali fugitivo slaves : and the inteiition of the law citere is the law. "All membera of Congvess give their support to the whole ConstitutiOQ - to this prooision as well as any other. 'J'o tiie proposition, then, that slaves wliose cases come within the terms of this clanse 'sliall be delivered up,' their oatlis are uuanimous." The Conetitution is the saine to-day as it was on the Ith of Mareh, 18G1, aud the oaths requirod of membera of Coagress the sarae now as then. Yet Congress has repeülüd the fugitive slavo law, and President Lixcoln, forgetting that his oath of ofSco was as broad as that of a meuaber of Gougress, has sanctionod the rcpealing law. Doos tho President Uien ocoupy hw original position, and is the war being waged to preserve the Union under the Constitution whioh created it, and but for which it would uever have esisted, or is it being waged in deiiaueo of tho Constitution to destroy an iiiutitutiou clearly protected by that instrument? Ljt caudid cilizer.s answer ia the light of faets. j522LT Tlie dcclaration of the Chicago Convontiou io favor pf inmediato 'ófforts for a ccssíitiou of hostilities, uud an attempt to restore the Union tljrough negotiations, cumo near throwing iuto convulsione that kirge uumber of our Ilepublioan friends, who favor fighting on forever, providiug soiuebody bosides i thcmselvos will do the fighting. To suoh we commend the following ssntence, extraoted verhatim from tho inaugural Addre of l'i esident Lincoln : ".Suppoho you go to war, jdu can not Jlght alwuy; md when, after ïnucli loss on loili sidos aii.l no gaine on citliei', you cease ngnting, tho identical queslions as to tenns of intercourse are again upen you." If this was trua on tho 4th day oí Jíarcl), 1860. it is no lega trae uow. Is it not, thereforo, time that soine effort was madö to "cease Sghting" aud deter mine ly negotifttioö, t'nc "terins of intercourso?" It oertahily is, unless tho country is piopared to adopt the radical theory of "extermiuation." Let the votersofall partios who wouki hail wit'u i daüght au honorable peace thiuk of this l.rnatter.