The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1865-11-01
, =, = Nepro Suffrage ia thesS sSv1th;

HsrTBe following letter on this sutjsaris is
dgro;m me- celebrated sJohn stdart' Mill,
Fthe English political economist. .iteis q
strong, argument; ipreseatsy:thHquestiop
in clear 4ight, and wv he read ~ az
rejecting men With i9tsEest;;1 AHsnttllc' tl
Fina ma Z & sf6hio sent; stingnHfed Wi.
ter4be speech of al Cox, tho Re:
nublican candidate iOtGoGertinor o., that
7lSht.i in which he tooksgtoun6i6 AvSr
i Of separating the two races in:tht South,
] giving the negroes exclusive cOnstYi of
Eeertaio 3. Statos,; and the following: rGoin.
der was made 1iu answer: to:.hAtalstteEi:t
aa Rt,exuiE4r ,iE4 .p4sx, KIN; XIII sept! !" iseS:.
~ DEAR SIR !: T Sm sincetsiy Obliged 10
YOU for giving me on opportunity of
reading tho letter Of Geueral Cox, and
your excellent paper 10. .roply:l u;
You ask mc for an opinion. il should
hesitate veryelong before Obtruding upon
any American, aud still moro upon the
American, public, auy, mere opinioniof
mino respecting their internal concerns.
But it is the concern Of oil. mankind,
almost as. much as Of the United States,
thot,. the conquosts achieved by your
great and nrduous struggle should not
be, iu the very hour Of victory, careless.
ly flung away; and tho opinion which
YOU do me the honor to ask, is ono
which + share with so many Of the no.
blest and wisest Americans, that need
have the less scruplc in expressing It..
1t is certainly some gain TO the ne
groes, and to the principles Of freedom,
that they have Seen made even nominal
lily free. I do not pretend that it IS
nothing that they can no longer legally
be bought and sold. But this is about
the amount of all ,hoy have gained if
the power Of legislation over them is
handed over once more to the old mas
! ters, aud to the mean whites BY whom
they are despised as much and probably
more than even by their. masters, and
who have been fighting these four years
to retain tl.cm enslaved. IT 1t were not
| for your State Institutions the case
would not be so pressing, for, t.hsse who
have made then free could keep them so.
But, once the war power laid down and
the regular course Of the. State govern.
ment restored, what is to prevent Sta te
Legislature, chosen by their enemies,
from making laws under which, unless
they resist by force, they will have as
little the control Of their own actions,
US little protection for life, honor, and
property, will, in short, be, except in .
few Of the outward incidents Of slavery,
almost as. much slaves, as before. 10
bring this about, it would suffice 10
leave the old ones unrcpealed, by which
the testimony Of negro cannot be re-
ccived against whitS Nay, even were
these laws abrogsted, nothing more
would be needed than prejudice iu the
white courts Of justice, and would it be
consistent with ordinary human nature
that such partiality aud prejudice should
not exist? All this is SO evident that
even the candidate, to whose letter you
so ably replied, is quite aware Of it; and
can suggest no means Of aVerting the
evil, except what l agree with you in
regarding as the chimericai project Of
cfecting a local separation. between tue
two races, excluding the. negroes FROM
the jurisdiction Of the States, aDd giving
them territorial government npart. 1t
is not to be believed lint the President
or Congress will entertain such a schemc
as this seriously. IT. then, they allow
the Southern States to roorganixe them.
selves, aud resume all their constitutional
rights, without negro suffrage, what is
to be donc2 To abandon the negroes
to the tender mercias Of those from
whom, at 50 terrible q cost, you have so
lately rescued them, No party or set
of men in the free Suites arc 80 shame.
less as to propose this combined turpi-
tude and imbecility. But the freedom
of the negroes and the self government
Of the Southern Stales, as at present
constituted. cannot co.exist; and if it is
determined that, como what will, tho
former shall be o reality, it must be in
teuded that the latter shall be a mere
prctense. A censorship will havo to be
exercised over all the acts, both legtsIa:
tive aud administrative, Of the State
governments; the Federal authorities
will, by military coercion, prevent or set
aside all proceedings calculated to Inter:
fore with that equality of,oivil rights
with which they are bound by every
consideration, both Of duty. audiof TO-
terest, to secure to the freed race. And
this military dictatorship will have to be
continued for q very great length Of
time; for it. is speaking within bounds
to say that two generations must elapse
before the habits and feelings eugou.
dered BY slavery give place to new: ones
before the stain, which the position of
slave. master burns into the very souls Of
tho privileged population can b. expect
ed to fade out. "a .r,9;,! ,.:r..& = -
This is the state, ,.of things which the
policy, now apparently acted on. by
the Federal Government, leads to = but
r have too high: an opinion Of the: in'
tentious and feelings. Of: the, President,
audstbe practical good sense and: deter: