The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-06-16
The Question Of sulrruge in the south.

What is suffrage? The distinction
between suffrage and citizenship very
few people understand very few law
yers understand it, because very few
lawyers study constitutional and inter-
national law. In so learned a work as
Webster's Dictionary l find one of the
definitions of a citizen TO be-
"In the United States a person, ma
tive or na~turalized, who has the privi>
lege of exercising the elective franchise,
or the qualifications, which enable him
to vote for rulers, and to purchase and
hold real estate"
This is an utter confusion of ideas.
Iii not true at all, and there is no au-
thority for it whatever. 1t is not nee
essary to vote in order to be a citizen,
and it is not necessary to hold real es-
tate to be a vote. Take a case: an
American woman, who is neither a vo-
ter nor q holder of real estate, crosses
the ocean. On the voyage she is cap
tured and her property taken lin a time
of peace) by a British vessel. The
American Government is bound TO de.
fend that woman and her property with
all its power. Why? Because she is an
American citizen. What a marvellous
aosurdity TO say the women of Ameri-
ca are not citizens because they are not
voters When the United States Court
decided that negroes were not citizens,
it was not done on the ground that
they were not voters. They never en-
tered into the question. TWAS because
fhav mara --;1ar III, glouaz -
could not be citizens;and moreover, that
persons Of African lineage we're las it
was previously decided in the Chero-
kee case) in a state of pupilage. Citi-
zenship, in its general sense, simply
means to be one of the body of a ma
ton, and as a father defends his family,
so must the Government defend its
people. What then is suffrage? Suf-
frage Is to have a vote-thst is, a voice
in deciding questions, whether in the
body political or ecclesiastical, or any
body corporate. Suffrage, then, simply
means voting. What is meant by the
right of suffrage? There is a right in
suffrage, but there is no right 10 suf-
frage. That is, a man who is entitled
to a vote has a right to vote; but the
man who IS not entitled to vote, has no
right to claim that he shall become a
voter. This is not one of the natural
rights. The Declaration of Independ-
ence is certainly very broad in its prop
ositions; but the Declaration of hide
pendence announces no right to vote.
The men who made that instrument
were not quite such simpletons as that.
In every community upon earth, in
every State of the Union, suffrage is
arbitrary; that is, conventional. 1t
must remain 50 until every child who
can lisp yes or no, votes. OF the white
population ofthe United States return
ed in the census only one-sixth are en-
titled to vote. What becomes of the
other fve-sixths? Suppose that half of
the whole population are restrained
from vote by means of infancy, IDIOT.
cy or lunacy, you will have only me-
third voting-where are the other twoS
thirds2 "Ohr' says some one, as if he
were settling the laws of the universe,
they are m or young men under
age. That settles nothing with me.
John Jones hasImuch more sense and
knowledge at eighteen than John
Smith has at twenty-one why should
John Smith vote and John Jones not?
Simply that you must draw some line;
and that line is always an arbitrary
one Why are not those good, intelli.
gent women 1-see before me in the
chuSches as fit to vote as an ignorant
Connaught Irishman2 "Ohp YOU saw,
st is not expedient" Why not as ex-
pedient as what you have done2 Is the
American Republic to stand upon sex,
age and usage, or upon some virtue and
knowledge In any case, it comes to
this, that suffrage is conventional
IL is always an advantage, in reason.
ing upon any subject to know some
thing upon what we are talking about
Before we rush into a discussion about
negro suffrage, We had best know what
suffrage is, and whether the United
States Government, in time of peace,
has anything to do with it. 1t seems
to me, these are essential questions to
be considered. Suffrage being purely
conventional, it follows that whatever
be the terms of its exercise, the denial
of it to particular classes is no denial
of either natural or moral rights. If a
man enjoys the full rights of life, liber-
ty, and the pursuit of happiness, sure>
ly he has no reason to complain of any
other maj that he does not invite him
to his house.
In regard TO negro suffrage in the
States, it is embarrassed by
the most serious considerations and the
most awful responsibilities. These do
not relate merely to the expediency of
suffrage in certain classes, bat to the
constitutional powers of the govern.
nent1 to the future condition of the
who may inhabit the Southern
states and to what ali Christians will re-
gard IS of prime importance, the elect
upon the future condition of the ne.
yroes freed from slavery by u of the
wonderful operations of Divine Provi-
fence, cropping about in darkness for
ONE OF that light which is possessed by
White men, ambitious of elevetine their
ace, struggling for some new scheme
4 successful labor What is best for
II this2 Is the bible so far forgot tkat
hope to improve its plan Of regenera-
by political laws2 So long as the ne
.roes were slaves, politicallaw were nee
ssary to free them. The Bible is the
hsrteE of liberty. The gospel is the
EMANCIPATION of the human mind.
ience, 1 must believe that the present
1eans of elevating the negro race and
be church and the school The surgeon !
tho has operated on the eye for eata-
act, permits the light to be introduced ]
by slow degrees, that the eye may !
trengthen for future use never be-
eyed an iota Of the stuff uttered by ]
-nox, (ethnologist Dor Calhoun, (politi- J
az, or the whole race of slavehold- }
& ~apologists, about the inferiority of D
African race. On the contrary. !
eheve the African race equal to any
her but l believe that will never be =
roTen TO the satisfaction Of the ma !
rity, till like the white race)tLey are
iucated, trained and disciplined to
mess for all the higher avocations Of
'ciety and industry. Now we must
owe this, to produce q salutAry and
ldurlng impression on the public
ind The public will is the real gov.
nment Of this country, and whatever
DEGREES will be done But this
Iblie will must be directed q
an enlightened conviction.
myself, ! remain in allowance. q
have gone for this war, and for all q
e war powers of the government
d should do 50 while there was a
an TO fight or a dollar to give, till the
81 rebel had laid down his arms Il
DO this, it were necessary 10 destroy
avery (by the war power only } 10
istroy even the State governments c,
burn cities and obliterate, If neces- pa
sary, the very outlines of society. l IS
build do It. would make the South a
sserb like the war-path of Attila. IL