The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-06-29
Negro Suffrage.

and done it, kicked over the bowl of gravy
and stuck their foot i'm it, and we are called
upon to sustain their action. Not content
with freeing the niggers and having them
right here among us, and dressing them
up for soldiers, and giving the very front
in time of danger, they go farther and de-
clare that they shall vote, if they are loyal,
and who ever heard of disloyal nigger.
This is the strangest piece of Radicalism of
all, an insult to the honored memory of
Chief Justice fancy, and a violation of the
Lecompton Constitution. Who ever heard
of Negro Suffrage, save only among the
Puritans of New England, and down amid
the barren sand-hills of North Carolina and
the tobacco fields of old Virginia? This is
indeed the last bitter cup offered to us by
the insane Abolitionists, and yet we are
told we must drink it down: shut our eyes
and swallow it, or have our noses held
while the doctors force it down against our
will. .rI-....E
What shall we do? Shall we argue the
question before the people, vote for the
nominees and spit upon the platform, after
the names of Greedy, or flee to the Noun
tains of Hepsidem where the Copperhead
hisseth and the Abolitionists howleth not?
The thing is bound to carry. the ngger is a
rising man, he has shown himself capable
of self defence and now is to be tried with
the experiment Of self government. But
then he is black and that is an unanswer-
able and un-get-Orerdble argument against
his voting. A ballot cast by black man
would pollute thousand white ones. and
leave a smell like the odor of a nigger i'm a
hempfield i'm the ballot box for q thousand
years afterwards. A ballot should be the
calm anddeliberatee exp xpression of an intelli-
gent mind, and how can il be possible that
negro as black as Egyptian darkness can
deliberately form an opinionupon Govern
mental affairs.
This is truly an age of discovery. The
Republican party have discovered that the
loyal negro is man, and even say that it
has been proven TO be true on the battle
field, and as a consequence he is not only
entitled to life. liberty and the pursuit of
happiness, but is also entitled to pursue that
happiness and enjoy that liberty by excr-
cising that God-given right of the elective
franchise. What next? Some wise acre
will some dnv discover that ,romun is a
man too, and then the privilege of voting
and talking politics and betting on the
election will beextended to the women both
white and black. andhow would that look?
IT the Almighty had intended the negro to
be eotinG freeman he would never have
created him with black skin, p iav bird
heel and flat nose; natures Jewels are
never put up in such caskets. and then only
think of the offended dignity and outraged
insult TO the refined feelings of our patriotic
and sensitive dimmycratic brethren, who
are about to have insult added to injury in
Tho a,a fAr4aar,..,at 1.f this nroposition which
Is TO cut like two-edged sword, sharpen
ed on brlckbat 1t was not enough to
declare the negro entitled to vote. but the
privilege is to be restricted only TO such
white men as are 1oynI, thus leaving
many of our Southern brethren and their
Northern allies out in the cold
We had thought that there were enough
of mean white men in Iowa already, who
do not sufficiently prize the privilege of
voting, without offering bid for the emf
grafton African race to come into Iowa and
reduce the wages of the laboring man to %
cents per day. and, by doing all the labor.
thus drive the white men out of employ
ment, besides getting into the poor-house
themselves from their own shiftless habits.
and want of industry, (this argument is a
quotation from a speech of Amos Harris,
and may not bear inspection but has been
received as sound copperhead logic, never
theleSs.
Practically, this proposition of the State
convention is only kind of feeler. and bv
our Constitution cannot be hastily adopted.
Under that instrument the proposition
must be carried in both houses of the Cen
eral Assembly, and the ayes and nays re-
corded thereon, and then if endor ed by a
majority, is to be referred to the Legisla-
ture to be chosen at the next regular elec-
ton thereafter; if adopted by majority of
both branches il is then submitted to the
people, and not become part of the Con-
stitution till thus adopted. Under all the
circumstances we are in favor of the meas
ure; that is, in favor of giving the people "a
chance to vote on the question; but as one
of the people we shall reserve the right to
vote against its adoption, unless we shall
see the proposition in different light. 1t
is at least necessary that something be
done TO stir the bile on the stomachs of our
copperhead friends, and we think this pro-
position will do so effectually. Let 'em
Nippla Union G,,furH