Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1865-03-25

Let prescription and coufscation, viii.
every thought OF vengeance, be discarded
SO soon as the national safety viii permit.
Kill Slavery, the mother Of the Rebellion,
and we trust no further killing will be
necessary. Restore the cx-rebels 80 soon
as may be to all the rights of citizenship,
out do not say that those who have foughl
and bled TO save our country from ruin
shall De forever incapable of voting at ber
polls. That would seem the basest Injustice
and ingrstitude.
But would you let every ignorant vicious
negro vote?
No; nor ever ignoron', vicious person Of
sny color whatever. We deny the right
Of any man to vote merely because be Is q
man. If he is So ignorant and vicious that
bis vote can add notbing to the sum of iu.
telIigence and virtue embodied in the
popular verdict pronounced through tb,
bsllo, boxes, he has natural right tt
vote.
Who Fill contend that an inveterate,
lifelong burglar. thief, or robber, has a
natural right to vo,c7 In this city, all
such do,.vote; uinei, ,-nine in every hundred of
them voting regularly the Democratic
ticket. So do the blacklegs, the brothel.
keepers, the panderers for gain to every
form OF besstly appetite or vicious indu
gence. All these (unless black) will con.
tinue to vote, because .be Democratic party
csunot spare their voles; but their light to
do SO is fouded not in natural equity, but
in clause OF tue State, Constitution. They
are authorized 10 vote, for the same reason
that virtuous. intelligent blacks are dis
franehised-lo favor the Democratic party.
This disfranchisemeut is of modern origin
Within our recollection, negroes voted nor
ouly in this State, in North Carolina,
Tennessee 81. on precisely the same terms
as wbtes--os they still do in Massa.
chusetts. Vermont, aud soms other States
Bu' the great pro slavery Cotton reac,ion
Of 1920 Sc against the ideas aud principles
of our Revolutionary Struggle had very
nearly swept away the political rights Of
the colo ed race in this country; So that, in
the Peace Conference" at Washing on iu
February, 1861, Mr. James A. Seddou, oi
Virginia, (ate rebel Secretary of Wur,)
coolly proposed to amend the Federal
Constitution by adding 20 it as follows:
ART VII. Sec |. The elective fran
chIse, thd lhe right TO hold IF G. whether
Federal, Stale, territorial. or municipal,
shall not be exercised by persons who are.
in who or in part. of the AT lean race
Isn't this lovely exemphfcarios of
State sos oreisnty and local self government? !?
We have, ut two separate elec ions,
struggled for, as we have though life up.
held, the principle that suffrage should be
ba ed on charnc'er, not color. Io 80 far as
our State Constitution allows white ruff us,
pimps aud b,acklegs to vote, and denies
the franchise TO vir,uous and es,imabs
Blacks, we condrmD aud labor 10 change
it, We did our best to have it Otherwise
when this Constitution was framed aud
ratified, We tried again end failed in 1860,
We mean to keep trying till foil justice shall
be done. We wish it were now practicable
10 ingraft the true principle on every State
CONSTITUTION. Yet We do net propose to
continue the wsr for that purpose, nor to
mske black Suffrage au inexoroble con.
dilion of reconstruction. Let US have The
speediest possible peace based on freedom
let discussion aud observation pave the
way TO the removal of such wrongs and un-
Just disabilities as shall remain. Strapgle
the serpent Slavery, and the little serpents
hatched from her eggs will be slowly but
surely eradicaled - Nelo York Tribune.