Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-12-06


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1hs rslAtions u ~ Gsosral 0evsrnmsne
towards The four nillioos Il inhebitants
when ~ was be- nlIso int ftesdom, have
eaeaeed ny mess sssieus consideration. In
the propfiety Of attempting 70 make the
sedoen electors By the proclamation ofthe
Executive, took the Constitution itself,
the interpretations Of that instrument BY is
authors and their contemporaries, and re-
cent legislation BY Congress. When at the
hrst movement towards independence, the
Congress Of the United States instructed the
several States 70 institute governments Of
their own, they LEFT each State 70 decide 70.
itself the condition for enjoyment Of the
elective franchise. During the period Of
the Confedesaey there continued to EXIT Q
very great divess,ty in the qualifications
Of electors in the several States /;
and even within State . dit
tictions Of qualifications prevailed with
regard to the officers who we're to be cho-
sen. The Constitution Of the United States
recognizes these diversities when it snjoins
that in the choice Of members IF the House
Of Representatives Of the United States, the
electors in each State shall have the quail
ifications requisite for electors Of the most
numerous branches Of the State Legislation.
After the formation Of the Constitution it
remained as before the uniform usage for
each State to enlarge the boundary Of its
eleetoss, according to it, own Judgement !;
and under this system one State after an
other has proceeded 70 increase the number
Of ito electors, until now universal SUI
frsge, or something very near It, 10 the
general rule. So fixed was this reservation
Of power in the habits Of the people, and 50
unquestioned has been the Interpretation Of
the Cons titution, that during the civil
war the late President never harbored the
purpose, certainly never avowed the
purpose of designating it, and in the acts Of
Congress during that period nothing can
be found which, during the continuance Of
hostilities, much less after their close, would
have sanctioned any departure by the Exec
utivc from policy which has so uniformly
obtained. Moreover, = concession Of the
elective franchise to the freedmen by act Of
the President Of the United States, must
have been extended to all coloIed men
wherever found, and so must have establish
ed = change Of suffrage in the Northern,
Middle and Western States, not less than in
the Southern and Southwestern. Such an
act would have created new class of vo-
tiers, and would have been an assumption Of
power by the President which nothing in
the Constitution or laws Of the United
States would have warranted. On
the other hand, every danger Of
conflict is avoided when the settlement
of the question is referred to the several
States; they can each for itself decide on the
measure, and whether it is to he adopted at
once and absolutely or introduced gradually
and with conditions. In my judgment, the
freedmen: If they show patience and manly
virtues, will sooner obtain participation in
the elective franchise through the States than
through the general government, even if 1t
had power to entertain it, When the tu.
mutt OF emotions that have been raised hy
the suddenness of the social changes shall
have subsidized, it may prove that they will
receive the kindliest usage from some of
those on whom they have heretofore most
closely depended; but, while l have no
doubt that now, after the close Of the war,
it is not competent for the general govern
ment to extend the elective franchise in the
several States, it is equally clear that good
faith requires the security of the freedmen
in their liberty and thcii property, their right
to labor and their right to claim the just re-
turn of their labor. l cannot too strongly
urge dispassiOnate treatment of this sub
ject, which should be carefully kept aloof
from all Marty strife We must equally
avoid hasty assumptions of any natural i'm
possibility Tor tire two races to live side by
side in state of mutual benefit and good
will; the experiment involves us in no in
consistency Let US then go on and make
that experiment in good faith and not be too
easily disheartencd.
FREE LABOR.
The country is in need OF labor, and the
freedmen are in need Of employment, cul-
turc and protection. While their right OF
voluntary migration and repatriation are
not to he restrained, l would not advise
their forced removal and colonization let
| us rather encourage them to honorable and
useful industry where it may be beneficial
to themselves aud to the country, and in
stead of hearty anticipatiOns OF the certainty
of failure, let there be nothing wanting
to the fair trial Of the experiment. The
change in their condition is the substitution
of labor by contract for the status of slave
ry; the freedman cannot be fairly nc.
cused of unwillingness to work SO long as n
doubt remains about his freedom OF choice
in his pursuits and the certainty of his re-
covering his stipulated wages. In this the
interest of the employer and the employed
coincide. The employer desires in his
workmen spirit and alacrty, and these can
be secured in no other way; and if the one
ought to be able to enforce the contract, so
ought the other The public interest will
be best promoted il the several States will
provide adequate protection and remedies
for the freedmen; until this is in some way
accomplished, there is no chance for the
advantageous use of their labor, and the
blame OF i'll success will not rest on them
| know that sincere philanthropy is earn
est for the immediate realization of its re.
hottest aims, but time is always an element
in refornn-it is one of the greatest acts on
record, to have brought four millions of
industry nut be fairly opened to them, and
then their future prosperity and condition
must, after all, rest manly on themselves
Ii they fail, and so perish away. let us be
careful that the failure shall not he attach
ed to any denial ofjustice. In all that re
lates to the destiny of the freedmen, we
need not be too anxious to read the future |;
many incidents, which from speculative
point of view, might raise alarm will quietly
settle themselves
SLAVERY GREAT EVIL.
Now that slavery is at an end, or near its
end, the greatness of its evil in the point of
view Of public economy becomes more and
more apparent. Slavery was essentially a
monopoly OF labor, and AS such locked the
States where it prevailed against the incom
ing of free industry; where labor was the
property of the capitalist the white man was
excluded from employment, or lad but the
ccond chance of finding il, and tho foreign
emigrant turned away from the region where
his condition would be SD precarlo,is With
the destruction Of the monopoly free labor
will hasten from all parts Of the civilized
world to assist in developing the various and
Unreasonable resources which have hitherto
lain dormant. The eight or nine States
nearest the Gulf of Mexico have soil Of ex