, 1865-09-22

Treasury. It should be underst tood that tho
Objectionable arrangement did not originate
with him. Those who arc responsible Tor 1t,
1t is presumed, simply had in view TO give
general officers substantially the benefit Of the
same gratulty that was extended to field and
| line officers BY the act Of Congress, granting
three months extra pay to them upon their
honorable discharge from the service. There
y reason to believe that upon the meeting Of
Congress reduction of the number Of double
and single stars on the pay-ra1ls, correspond
ing to the reduction OF the army, wifi be
made.
NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
Letter from John Stuart Mill.
His Friendly Advice that Uniycrsal
Suffrage Should be Required II, the
Restoration of the Southern States.
TO the Editor Of the Cincinnati CommerttAll
CINCINNATI, Sept. 10, 1865
Some weeks since the eminent foreign name
Of Dc TocguttIle was brought into service In
behalf Of the argument against universal sut-
ftaee. Opportunity vas given for this In his
very unsatisfactory chapter on slavery; un-
satisfactory, because while he abors at great
length upon the difficulties attending the
Southern problem Of races, he yet attempts
no luton oft; aud closes what he has to
those who Introduced slavery u:ou this
continent, and In the language OF despair.
In this connection, It occurred 10 me, TINT
the views on this subject Of the still more
eminent foreigner, John Stuart Mil, would be
of'great service. therefore wrote him, In
closing Gen. cox's 0beslln letter, With my re-
ply to II, md requested his opinion on the
question of negro suffrage, which wns the
question considered in those letters. l en-
close herewith his reply, q most luminous cx-
position; in brief terms Of the whole subject.
Let those who read 1t remember that thIs Il
not the language Of the philosopher and
statesman merely, but Of our constant friend,
who las the advantage, by reason'or his ior-
elgn position, Of seeing our atIairs In some
wlnt the same light in which they will be
viewed By posterity.
Respectfully yours,
i, ". N. DicRsoN.
D1AcKuEA1u PAnK, KENT, Sept. J, 1855.
DEAR SIR: I am sincerely obliged to you
for giving nc m opportunity Of rcadins the
letter oi Gen. Cox and your excellent paper In
reply.
tate very long before obtruding upon any
American, md still more upon the American
public, any mere opinion: Of mine respecting
| their internal concerns. But It is the concern
OF all mankind, almost ns much as Of the
United States, that the conquests achieved by
! your great and arduous struggle should not
be, In the very hour Of rtctory, carciess1y
flung away; and the opinion which yon do
nc the honor to ask, Is one which l shnre
with 50 many OF the noblest and wisest Amer
leans, that need hare the less seruple In ex-
pressing It.. :. =
It is Certainly some gain to the negroes, and
to the principles Of freedom, that they have
been made even nominally free, I do not pre-
er legally be bought and sold. But this Is
about the amount OF all they will hare gained,
1.-THE power Of legislation over them Is handed
over once more to their old masters, aud to
the mean whites BY whom they are
dcspised rs much, and probably more, than
even BY their masters, and who have been
fighting these four years to retain them en-
slaved. II it wcro not for your State inssitu-
tious, the case would not be 60 pressins; for
those who have made them frec could keep
thcm 20. But, once the war power laid down,
and the regular course Of Stats government
ture, chosen BY their enemies, from making
laws under which, unless they resist by force,
they will have rs little the control Of their
own actions. as little protection for lie,
honor nnd property, WILL In short, be, e1--
cept In . lew Of tho outward Incidents OF
bring this about, It would not even be peces-
sary to enact new laws. It would suffice to
leave the old ones unrcpealed, by which the
testimony OF negro can not be received
against white: Nay, eren were these laws
abFogatcd, nothing more would be needed
courts Of Justice. And would It be consistent
With ordinary human nature that such par
tiality md prejudice should not e1ist7 All
this Is 50 evident that even the candidate,
to whose letter you 60 ably replied, Is quite
averttng the evil, except what agree with
you In regarding Us the chimesical project or
eIectins local separation between the two
races, excluding the negres from the Iuris-
diction Of the States, and giving them terri.
torfal government npart. 1t Is not to be be-
leved that the President or Congress will en-
then, they allow the Southern States to reor-
ganizs themselves, and resume all their con-
6tituttonal rights, without negro suffrage,
what is to be dones To abandon the negroes
to the tender me1cies Of those from whom, at
SO terrible cost, you have so .lAtely rescued
themY No party or set Of men III the free
States are 20 shameless as to propose this
combined turpitude and lmbecfiity. But the
freedom OF the negroes and the se.fgovcrn-
ment or the Southern StAtes,' 1s at present
constituted, cannot coexist; and nlt Is de-
termined that, come what win, the former
shall be reality, it must be!intcnded that
the latter shall be mere prctence. 4 cen.
sorship will have to be exercised over all the
acts, both legislative and administrative, of
The State governments tue federal authori- !
tiss VII, BY military coercion, prevent or set
teissre " VIE t5at eeusnty asats'ea Of 10 elvil Il
rights with which they are bound
by every consideration, both of duty and Of |
Interest, to secure to the freed race. And
this military dictatorship will have TO be con.
ilnnea u 1or Fe.y great length q time; for 1t
generations must elapse before the habits and |
feelings enEendered by slavery give place to |
new one-before the stain which the POSI- |
tion OF fslave-master burns into the very souls |
Of o. ths II privileged population can be expected
This is The state Of things which the policy
now apparently acted on by tha Federal Gov.
eminent leads to-; but have too high an /
opinion Of the intentions and feelings Of the I
President, and the practical good sense and
determination of the American people, to be-
licyc that such policy will be persevered in.
II would be nothing less than electing to rule
tion, IN order to avoid depriving the white
half OF that population Of the power Of tyran-
nizing over the other black half.
Instead Of restoring to tho States lately In
rebellion nominal selt-government wlich,
unless you are willing to sacrifice al that has
not be suffered to be real, would 1t not be bet
ter to make the selfgovernmeat real, but to
grant It only to mixed community, III which
the population who have BEEN corrupted by
the vicious institutions will be ueutralized BY
black citizens and white immigrants from tho
North:
And what is the hIndraucc to this In the
minds of the President and the Cabinet Isit
scruples about 1egalitys To be sc1upuious
about exceeding his lawful powers, well be-
comes the first magistrate Of a free people.
But In this case the scruple seems wholly out
Of place. We are told that the rebel States
must be assumed never to have been out .ot
The Union, and therefore to be unconditional
|y entitled to I'LL their original liberties and
powers the moment they condesccnd to ac-
:ept them. Reason would say, on the COIL
Irary, that by declaring themselves independ.