, 1865-06-18

gees, removals, and deaths, caused hy ~
mas considerably diminished To
Do oco; very possibly to 25o. 600. On The
oaer hand, many -negroes from the border
sta,es have been driven lnto Aisa.ss1nn1
enough doubtless after offsatttng the losses
oy AL means to raise the present negro nor,,.
iation OF The State to 500. .ooo.- uoon A..
data tho people Of Mlssissippln ~ of the dsts
| ol The ordinance Of secession form INIT owe.
third Of tho present "people Of M,..lssinnl ;,
To state that the principle Of eovernment
by the people is yindieated when 4 const,tn.
ton and laws made by the former mr. j1ono..
ea oy the fresldent on the latter il an obyi.
ous aeuon and falsehood. But when we
! teneet that OF the white third Of the peoplo
OF Alsa'ssipps every soul, 60 far as Is known.
we're eecees1onlsts md rebels, while only The
oiaek tWo.thlrds are really In favor or the
National Union, 1t is hard to zee how
the reconstruction Of the State, On the b.s,s
OF placing the feet Of the white rebets on the
necks Of the black untoniats, can be aafa
either for emancipation or the Union.
It Ia further to bs understood that ghIle
tae blacks ara excluded from the sufftsga.
they count as fun men In tho representation
IN Congress, and IN electing the President.
Hence the wh{tc (rebeD third Of the people
OF Mississippi would hare three times the
voting power OF the citizens Of the Northern
States. Here Ii, 600 Inhabitants must elect a
representative In Congress or PresidentIal
e'eetor. There the white 4, ,Oo0 ont Of that
number would have that power, since thev
would vote for tie other two-thirds. The
/ vote ef the other two-thfrds would be. If cast
| according to their inclinationa. for libertp
and tie Union. But cast by the ex.slave-
holding rebels, It win be solid Coppe,head
vote ior slavery, dlsunion and reputation Of
the national debt. It cannot be said that
6orthers voters arc to "let nloner d policy
which gives the ex-rebels of the South the
power to cast, In effect, three yutes to a
Northern mans one.
But II 1t he asked what guide the PraaI-
dent could adopt upon the question of sui.
tlage, We answer, he could have ndopted the
constitution and Laws Of MI the States. en-
cept South Casoltta, In force immediately af.
Ter the adoption Of the Federal Constitution
and before the heat Of the slavery question
warped and twisted them till the rigbts of
nan ran through their sawning assures and
Wele lest.
South Carolina never had u Republican con-
htifut'cn. and hence Is no precedent; but every
other State entered the Union with con.
stitution which, Whatever Its provisions on
the suffrage question, excluded none On nc.
count Of color.
Thus the Declaration Of Rights in The Con.
stituticn Of Delaware decls.ed:
"Ev.zy freeman having sufficient esIaoncs o{
permanent common interest with 40 attachment
u the community hath right Of ennfsSe.r
The Constitution Of M1ryland provided:
h.x1a iFeensn esas aboye o. txenty.one Tsas Of age,
county in which they Offer to vote. and rcslaior
therein. and al frcemen h>sing property ini this
money. and having resded in the County in Whiei,
they oder 10 vote one whGle year next precrdfuc
tse % ens1 hsys .hs rshs
The Virginia Declaration Of Rights pro.
vidcd:
'.All men having sufficient evidence of ue,ma
pept common int ret, with an attachusnt 10 iha
community. hath right Of suffrage"
The Constitution of North CarolIua con-
tained this provision:
stAll freedmen Of the ago at twenty one ycars.
within The Stats twelve mouths fmncdtsteIy pts.
cediuR the day Of any e'ection, and shali 6ave
psit public taIcs, shall be enntled t5 vote for
y IN which they reside.'
The Constitution Of Georgia declared that
*@Ehe electors Of the members OF both branches
Of tbs General Assemb!y shall be ctItzaas md lp.
1 s =, or :hl, State snd sha have attained %
the yesr preceding the election, and shall hnTe
resided tl1 months within the county"
so colored men voted In Pennsylvania TIL
1888 in Connecticut till 1917 In New York
on the eame footing with the whItes TIL
1926 and since then with property qualGfl-
cation !; and In the other Eastern States With
out hindrance. Also in Maryland till 1883
and In North Carolina and Tennessee till
about the same period. It is only when we
come to the State OF South Carolina, whose
people never voted for President, and unlcss
worth ten slaves, or SIC, 600, did not vote at
all. that we find In the constitutions Of those
days the word white.
"The quali0cstIons OF an slsetos Ahail ho ovury
tfee nhtft uxn, and no ofher persoH," etc.,
The exclusion Of negroes from the sufftagc |
and became policy about the yea-s 1873 to l
constructing States In which slavery Is In. l
tended to be abolished, than the propriety Of !
adopting those principles Of sufr:agc In
vogue, before slavery ruled the country. i. c.,
after the adoption Of the Fed. |
era1 Consultation. Instead Of this the Prest-
dent has adopted the rule In force when /
slayc:y was In the elimination of ita power,
and In the very act Of seeding. Evidently
there was nothing to require this choice but
his own inc'Ina ton.
Its inevitable tendency is, in our Judgm:nt
to restore the rebels to power and the negroes
to slavery, to undo the work of the past war
and Involve us In new one. We shrink |
from the contemplation Of the effects Of the
policy thus jnaugu1Ated. The public mind Is