The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-09-30
Is this a White Mans
Government T.
ARE NEGROES DEPRIVED OF THEIR
RIGHTS?

The Moline Republican, in advocating ne
gro suffrage, says:
awe can understand why u negro, as slave,
should be deprived OF rights but no man can give
a reason why ne should be as free man"
We are not aware that tho cOiored individ-
ual has been deprived of any rights. A
we'll might our neighbor say tina. women, and
young men under 81 years of age, are de-
prived of their rights" because they are
not permitted to vote. There may be cases
whsrs negroes could safely be permitted to
observation-disclosures who are educated and have
become familiar with aud could exercise the
duties of an eec5or iateLtiyeatLy. But uni
versal or even very general negro suffrage
should never be permitted IN this country
The truth IL that, this Is, as Andrew John
son says, white mans government and
Should he administered by white .uen AID
for
D.I l. ever occur TO our ne.Shorr. of Ehe
R.1s,.i-t. .ua5 the constitutions rLs ma Il tg
ante nan. aud tor white men, anl ~. thei,
paste, uy? Tne preamble TO tue constitution
of the UuI ed States Is in these words, VIZ:
'sNe, tie people of the United States, order
to FORM perfect union .esrs hllsn Justice, IN
sure domesuS tranquility, prov de Tor the CON
mo- &c -uce, from tie tne general weiiIre, dGi Sc
Gu 2 the blessings Of liberty TO OURSELVES and Our
PosrEaIrY, do orda and establish this cJarutu-
ion 10. The Ln,ted STATES OF Anne rcd.'
l. caunot he denied thal tue language.
We, tue people of the United } ate', Used
in cue f,regoing preamble. Gao have reference
her Of ha yT h
framed aud adopted the same, and to their
constituents, OF those who elected them, and
Afterwards ratified the constitution. Of
whom was that convention composed ?-of
white man, Indians or negroes? 1t is well
known snut 1t composed OF white mem,
and white men alone; many OF whom held
negroes in sefvttude, and who were elected
by people ar clJnies, AL of which, except
Ma,.acauselta, neld negroes In servitude );
aud GuaE neither Indians or negroes had any
Voice III electlng the insmbers OF that couven-
ton, or in ratIfyIng the constitution which
they adopted. Consequently, neither In
dams nor negroes had anything to do with
tue esta bishmeut of the constitution, and are
not the posterity of the white nen who adop-
ted it, it Is self evident that the people Of the
United States " in political sense, can be 40
other than white people, and that they alone
come within the guarantees of the constItu-
ton.
Genl Paine, of Milwaukee. in the Wiscon-
sin radical state convention, held at James,
vile, on Wednesday last, admitted this point,
by saying that
ssOur fathers committed great in framing
the Constitution, and that their children should
right by declaring the negroes their equals and
by giving them the right OF suffrage
Paine thus admits historical fact-that
the constitution was made by white men and
for white men, and for their posterity.
In the celebrated contest between Judge
Douglas and Nj. Lincoln, for the senate, in
1858, Judge Douglas said:
81 hold negro is not and never ought to be,
citizen OF the United States | hold this govern
ment was made upon white basis, by white men
for the benefit of hic and their posteri,y for
ever, and should be administered by white men
and none Others. / do not believe thar tho A ~
mighty made the negro capable of selfgovorn
ment Now, say to you, my fellow cItzens. thai
in nv opinion, the slgners of the DecIarat,,.r g
Independence had no reference to the negro what,
ever when they declared all men created equal
Thev destred 10 express, by that phrase viii.
meu-men OF European birth, and European de-
scent and had reference to the negro, the saw
age Indian. or other mi srIor or degraded races
Al that time every of the thirteen colonies
.Iave holding colon. and every slgner of the Dec
laration represented slave holding constituency
and knuw hat no one OF them emancipated their
slaves much less f=red citizenship TO them when
they signed the Declaration
In me same contest Mr.. Lincoln, IN ore OF
his speeches. said:
..Judge Douglas has said to you that he has not
been able TO get from me an answer 10 the question
whether am in favor of negro citizenship. So far
as know, the Judge never asked me that question
hef re II. shall have no occasion TO ever ask II
.r,r fo- tell him usru frankly th't d" no
81 a. e-gro CITIZENSHIP