The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-09-22
NE6R0 SUFFRAGE.
Speech of Gen. Benton Of Iowa

Gen. BENTON Of Iowa, the candidate Of
the soldiers of that State for Governor,
made speech at Dubuque on Thursday
last After declaring himself . Repub-
lcan, with as good record as Governor
SroSR, the Republican candidate, and say
ing that he did not stand there to deceive
Democrats, or any one else; and if any
body voted for him, they must take him as
q Republican in all things except the foarth
plank in the platform, which endorsed
negro suffrage, he then, at considerable
length, dwelt on the arguments generally
adduced in favor of negro suffrage; de-
clared his belief that emancipation was as
much as they could stand, at present; that
this ought to be carried out in good faith,
and if additional safeguards for the secu-
rity of the negroes in person or property
were necessary, they ought to be enforced;
but that, to give them the elective fran
chiss, so far from being q boon, would be
ruinous to them. It would bring on war
of races, They were not capable of exer-
cising it. There was extraordinary unan-
unity of feeling on this point smeng the
soldiers who bad been South, and it was
not remarkable. Many who had gone
South strongly imbued with ideas of the
equality of the races, got quickly cured,
and have returned, feeling as strongly the
other way. He then alluded to the future
Of the South. The old South, as he once
contemplated it, was gone. It existed no
more. Now, a tide Of emigration was
pouring into it from the North; and in
the future, With Northern men, capital,
,skM and machinery, 1t would become 3
gQzster and richer attraction to our young
men, than Idaho or the West. Many
Southern men desired this, and had freely
expressed themselves, as desiring North
ern men and machinery to come among
them. But, negro suffrage established in
these States, would spoil all. New Or
leans and Mobile, and Vicksburg and
Nashville are already Northern towns,
and many others are becoming so. They
would become the homes ofour neighbers,
and perhaps OF our children, and we
should do well to consider this, in decid-
ing this question Of negro suffrage.
The Col. then alluded to certain jeal-
Gus newspaper correspondents, who were
employed to cry up the courage and con-
duct of the negro troops, and gave an in
stance that occurred at the battle of Jen-
kins' Ferry, Arkansas, in which his own
regiment and few companies of negro
troops participated. They were exposed
to CALLING fire from the section of bat
terry, which they could only oppose by
musketry, owing to the nature of the
ground, and after loosing many men, they
were ordered to rush upon the battery and
capture it. He would give the negro
troops their due. They formed in line
with his regiment, and came on well bnt
being few in number, his regiment over
! Tapped them, took the battery and its Off
GERS and men, and took the guns to the
rear. What was the indignation of his
men, when they saw in the printed letters
of these correspondents glowing account
of the bravery of the cOlored troops ir
storming this battery, and ignorine
the very existence Of bis regiment,
who really captured it, by moi
even mentioning its presence there. Bu
this indignation was still further increased
when, by some ones orders, these yer,
guns we're sent up to St Louis, and exhib
tied there at soldiers fair, with certai,