The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1865-05-26
The Right Of Suffrage.

The spirit Of slavery-for that spirit was by
no means confined TO the slaveholding States
wrote the word ''whitg' in the constitution of
Pennsylvania, excluding an entire class of her
citizens from the ballot box--a class, all of whom
were natives of the country, and large pro-
portion Of them worthy, intelligent, honest men
while foreigners, however ignorant, vicious
ana iebased, utter strangers to the genius and
spirit Of our institutions, and incapable Of un-
derstandng them even if thoy had tried, were,
after q short delay, admitted 10 al. the pgiTiie-
ges of citizenship. We were going to say ''af-
ter q short pro57ton," but there was no pro-
baton about it. The question was not care
YOU fft to be a citizen O. but, 'How long have
you been in the country -
We say nothing against our laws of natural
ization. Many good citizens have como in
through that door, and we do not wish to see
it shut; but we desire to unbar another door
in cur State, and restore TO those Of our citizens
who. although not white, have proved them-
selves to be loyal, patriotic and brave, pTivile-
ges Which they once enjoyed, but Of which they
were unjustly deprived by the Conventional
Convention Of 1885. At that time well-dress-
cd gentlemen and scholars united with coarse
ard brutal nobs to sustain slavery, and at that
time it was agreed by the COMMON consent Of
all these classes, representatives OF the pulpit,
the forum, the tap-Goom and the brotaoi, that
abol;tionists should not talk, and that negroes
should not vote.
But now, since abolifonists have regained
the right to talk as much az they please and
where they please; since William Lloyd Garri-
son has walked the streets of Charleston, ard
made speeches there, and since black men wear
the livery Of the nation, and battle yali&ntly in
lis defence, We say that in all fairness we must
let them vote. When tie right was taken q
way from them in Pennsylvania, rhe advocates
OF tho measure contended hat Ii was cr, e9seat
but even this miserable plea cannot he urged
now Let tie word 'whilo," therefore, be ex-
plunged from our State Constitution, and let it
drift down among the cast-of barbarisms and
follies Of bY-gone era, along with that infa-
nous judicial dictum, that colored man "has
no rights which q white man is bound to re-
spect."
We do not say that the word LOYAL ought
to be inserted 10 It's stead in Pennsylvania but
there are plenty Of States, in The constitutions
Of which it ought to be inserted it would be
good word in all the border States, while in
those which composed the late coafedoracy it is
Indispensable This, of course, would admit
all ihe coored men to the ballot-box, bGt il
would excinde many white. This, ii seems TO
US. is the dictate of reason, prudence and COM
mon sense; while to exclude an entire class,
merely because they nave not as white skins as
the -est Of us, can be referred to nothing but
to blind and slavish prejudice. Let MS mag
inc that two men are before us-one has fought
and bled in the service of his country, but his
skin IS black; the others sonl is black with
treason, and hands red with the blood Of his
murdered countrymen; but his skin is white
which shall vote ?-PuGburg Gazette.