Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-02-21

Ny pet prejudice is indulgod against the man
whose person gives off an odor curiously com.
pounded of dirty shirt, bad WHISKY and pig-tail
| tobacco We value ourselves upon these preln-
dicos. It makes us feel respectable to cherish
them. But We must abate somewhat OF their
strength in our political relations, if VIC would
live peaceaby with fellow citizens OF the 5tate
'ioC Ohio. l would apply the same mode OF reason
I ing to the coloied race which, in conversation
with friend. some time since, | used in reference
to the Irish Catholics OF the country. My friend
conended that this class of population should
be wholly dislranchsed on the ground that they
are iguorant-that they know nothing Of the ma
ture Of our institutions--that they are intemper
ate and unthrifty. / repled-there is great deal
of truth in what you say, but these people here
and must remain here. They will continue to
form part of the social inauer of the commu-
| nity Dsfranchisng them will rid us oil their
presence nor improve their characters. If an
Irshman is ignorant, depriving him Of the ballot
will not enlighten him. if he is drunkard, 1t will
not make him sober; if he is spenthrift, 1t will
not give him the virtue of economy. 1t Will bo
more likely to exert upon him an influence OF an
opposite kind. 1t will certainly ALLEVIATE him from
the state, and weaken his sense of obligation to
obey the laws Since the Irish people are here,
the practical question is, how car we best att2ch
them to the government and inCite them to i'm
provement? The answer undoubtedly is, by be-
slowing upon them, after q suitable period OF nat
uralizatlOn, the immunilles OF u citizen 20 !
would reason in regard to the cDlored people. Ad-
mtting that there some objections to their vo-
ting, still they are here and will remain here
They new number some millions in the country
No man Of sense supposes that they will ever
be removed from this continent. | believe that
the Colonization Society, in its best days,
never succeeded in expatriasng in year rs
many as arc born in week. The proper ques-
ton then is, how can we make most CT them,
both for themselves and for us? reply by Civ
ing them the elective franchise. There is no
M who IypulH ba prou1nr nf piiiznn shin tbn N
the colored man; no man who would make
more strenuous exertion to quality himself for it,
4. urge as q fourth argument in favor of
.he proposed amendment, that humanity to the
colored people demands it of us. BY this | do
not mean merely, that dopriviug them of the
elective franchise is oppressive, in itself consid.
r cred, though this is undoubtedly true But
do mean, that tho colored man in this country
is in situation Of peculiar peril to life, fbelty
and property. and that full citizenship is neces-
sary to his protection Free cplored men at the
North have been repeatedly kidnapped and car
ried into hopeless slavery. Since the passage
Of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, with its en-
couragoments to false swearing, this crime has
increased, and is likely to become alarmingiy
prevalent. On several occasions this class of
our people have suffered from assaults upon
property and life. In the year 1884, in the cit
les of New York and Philadelphia, attacks,
which the papers of those cities inform
were entirely urFFoseked, were m'te. upon the
, tuouscs tue -toiOfSu teOpGutlOItNi. tWeutV
houses in New Yorks and iorty-li Gin Phi,adat
Iphia, wereseither fnuch injured or d,4oils d..
: stroyed. a
, The furniture Of these dwellings, was broken
in pieces or heaped up in the strects for bon.
fires, and the inmates were cruelty assaulted and
driven into the night air. without regaId to age
sex or physical condition. "ln one house." says
Philadelphia Gazette, there corpse, which
was thrown from the coffin and in another
dead infant was taken out of the bed, and cast
On the floor the mother being at the same time
barbarously treated" The National Gazette,
another Philadelpl paper, says: "One OF the
+ houses assaulted was occupied by an uniortu-
nate cripple, who, unable to fly from the fury
of the mob. was so beaten by some Of the ruff
ians that he has since died in consequence of the
bruises and wounds inflicted i
For the last two days the Jersey steamboats,
have been loaded with numbers of the colored pop
ulation, who, fearful their lives are not safe in
this determined to seek refuge in another State.
On the Jersey side. tents were erected, and the
f negroes have taken up temporary residence,
until prospect shall be offered for their perpet-
ual location in place of security and liberty"
The testimony of these papers is entirely unim-
/ peachable, not only on account of their respect
able character, but also because they had never
}sympathized with the movement on behalf of the
coored people of this country, and could have had
no motive to exagerate their sutferings. believe
that scenes somewhat similar to these have
red even in Ohio, but for the honor ef our com
monweath, have no wish to dwell upon their de-
, tails. Now, sir, we owe this hunted race protec
ton, and the only way in which this can be secured
to them, is by giving them the ba Hot. Amid the
hea7ings and swellings of our tumnltuous popu!a,
f tions no distinct race be secure in property
and person without the safeguard Of the elective
franchise. Bestow this upon the coored man, and
have no fears that his other rights will not be
, respected. Those who mould public sentiment
among us, have the highest esteem for every man
who carries in his hand that little piece of paper
on which he is permitted to write the name of the
individual whom he prefers for public station AS
voter, the colored man would be spoken of from
the stump in n very different manner from what
he now is 1t would he edfyiug to see what new
light some people would get, and how their pref
udices would be abated. We would no longer hear
of "nggers," but of "our intelligent, thrifty and
!. enterprsing colored fellow citizens" And in ad.
diton to "the rich Irish brugue." and ''the sweet
German accent" we should doubtless be told of
. "the full varied and expressive Ethiopian dialect"
l. next proceed to notice some common OBJ
l., jections to giving the coored man the right OF
suffrage. In the first place, it is objected that he
e is not sufficiently intelligent to take part in
o political affairs. Doubtless thero arc many gnor-
e ant and degraded colored ople in the State-u
II thing likely enough to be true of any race SC
Y many Of whom have just escaped from slavery.
4 But believe that, a whole they are much
f better informed than is generally supposed
believe that the great ma ajority of the rising gen.
: "
come upon the stage, have been instructed in read
h ing and writing and the common branches of ed
. ucation. | knOw that universally they manifest
the greatest eagerness to acquire useful knowledge
q am pretty we'll acquainted with the coiored
people of this State as am with most classes in
+ it. am one of those who not afraid of their
. own kind. ! love sometimes 10 sit In the lowiy
) and retired places Of society and feel upon me
n the warm breath of native humanity, or, IL you
i please, of wild humanity. love to see men be-
l foro Fashion has caught them, and cut them into
shape after some fantastic pattern of her ownas
!. French gardener would cut into shape buck
n thorn hedge | have been out among the people,
n have shared his potatoe with the lrishman his
: sour-krout with the Dutchman, his sweetcake with
the African, and have broken cheese with the
i Western Reserve Yankee. have also spoken,
though at humble distance, the sons Of the frst
r families OF Virginia, inhabidng the south eastern
/ part of our State. have seen human nature
+, enough in them all to satisfy me Of the unity Of
S the human ace,and havo seen specimens among