M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1857-10-01
and wicked prejudice, and is a ruinOus poll.


But, 0hils zoe feel il 10 be our duty to er-
press our opinion clearly and decidedly on
this point, acc lcOuld also sag as emphdtieaHy
that niae.isnihs of ht RsPubiieans Of Mn.
HesOia-and, indeed, in al hs States and
1trriiories-ars in tarOr ctgiring hs negro
his rights.
| What DO the Republicans ofVinton coun-
ty say to that Are nine-tenths of their
number in favor of giving the negroes the
right to vote Their Washington City or
gan says they are The Era very peril
nently asks Dhy the Republicans censue
the recent decision Of Judge Tanoy, in the
Dred Scott case, If they are not in JarOr Of
ntgro suffrage Let us see little about
that decision. Judge Taney, majority Of
the Supreme Court of the United States con-
curing, decided that negroes, of the Alri-
can race, are not citizens of the United
States under the Constitution. What is the
meaning of the word citizen 4? Does the
reader know Ifhe does not and will turn
to Websters Dictionary he will there find
it defined 10 mean" In the United States,
a person, native or naturalizcd, who has the
privilege of exercising the ELECTIVE FRAN
cHIzE, &C. We quote the words of the au-
thor, who, it will be seen, declares that a
citizen, in the United States, is one who is
! ollnmad 10 ,,o1s
Now, the reader will remember what a
yell of Indignation went up from the Re
publican presses and leaders throughout the
North, when Judge Taney made the decis-
ion that negroes were not citizens of the
United States, and If he reads Republican
prints he will find that our opponents still
continue to cry aloud against this decision.
This, Of itself ought to be sufficient to con-
yict the whole junto Of Republican leaders
Of being in favor Of negro suffrage bu. as
our neighbor of the Macarthur Journal,
(who is ominously silent on this su5ject)
might claim that we had not given the doc.
uments TO prove the point, we append some
thing from the public records On page 3Ol
of the Laws Of Ohio for 1867, will be found
some joint reso lntions, "relative to the de-
cision in the Dred Scott case" which were
passed by the late Republican Legislature
of Ohio-the Republicans voting for and the
Democrats against them. The second res
olution declares
"That in the judgment Of the General
Assembly, evcry free person, born l0ithin the
imtts Of any Stale in this UNION is A
CITIZEN THEREOF" &C., &c."
Here it is declared by the Republican
Legislature of Ohio, tina: every free person,
black or white, is citizen of the United
States and as matter of course, accord
ing to the definition of that word by our
standard author, privileged to exercise the
elective franchise.
The proof has been given that the Re-
publican candidates for the three highest
Offices in the State, the Republican State
and national organs, and every Republican
member of the State Legislature of Ohio,
are all in favor of negro voting. II this is
not sufficient to "mOke out a e,"-to |
warrant our declaration that the Republican
leaders centrally are in favor of negro equal
ty,-then we confess that we do not know
what proof is good for.
A petition was presented TO the late Leg
stature Of Ohio by some negroes praying
hat the word white " might be stricken
from the Constitution. 1t was relened TO
Committee of three prominent Republicans,
who made report strongly advocating ne
gro suffrage, and submitted the following
resolution, which will be found on page 52S
Of the appendix to the Senate Journal for
1857:
ResolUed, That the Committee on the
Judiciary be instructed 10 report to the SEN
ate bill which shall provide for submitting
10 the qualified electors Of the State, at the
next election for Senators and Representa-
lives, an amendment 20 the Constitution, BY
WHICH THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE /
SHALL BE EXTENDED TO COLORED
MEN, under the same restrictions, and sub
iect 10 the same conditions as are imposed
upon white persons.
If, with all these evidences, and others
that might be adduced, the Republicans of
Ohio who do not want to be placed on
level with the negro, will persist in follow
ing their leaders. we have only to say that
they will discover their error when it will be
loo late to correct it.
The Game of "Smenk."
While Robert B. Stevenson, the de-