Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-05-30
fFron the New rork Herald
ChieiJustice Chase. the Great Negre-
worshtpper

negro suffrage Is left TO the several States, and
| there We are content TO leave IL. When the ne
gro shall have shorn his capacity 10 vote by his
| good conduct under the severe test OF emsncips
| ton We shall be In favor Of extending to him the
privilege Of suffrage But, when il il eIteoted,
/, must be extended in a constitutional manner
New York allows the negro 10 vote upon certAin
conditions, and tue right Of the States to impose
these conditions. each for itself. has never been
| questioned by sny sound statesman. Indeed, the
most radical soolitionists have not vet yentUred
TO question It, although they now exhibit every
| disposition to begin the attack While, there
/ fore, We have no objection 10 negro suffrage
whenever the Masses of the show them
| selves worthy Of il, We insist that the matter
shall be settled constitutiOnally. Our position
in regard to the question il one with which no
honest. intelligent MN can differ, and We are
| satisfied that IL il the position of President
johnson aud his Administration. The social
status OF the negro Ia, Of course, quite another
affair.
These things being so. We cordially sympathize
with the popular indignation at the degradation
| of the ermine worn by Chief Justice Chase dur
ing bis electioneering tour among the cane
brakes Of South Carolina. II Mr.. Chase feels
himself untitled for the Office OF Chief Justice,
II he knows himself 10 be incompetent TO dis.
| charge its duties and meet It's responsibilities, he
can tender his resignation, which will be at once
accepted But while he holds the Office he is
| morally bound no, to disgrace il. The office IL
sublime one and the illustriOus predecessors OF
| Mr. Chase appreciated its dignity and importance.
We can imagine Chief Justice Marshall shudder-
ing with Indignation 10 bis grave as be sees the
| Chief Justiceship transformed into temporary
refuge for a restless politician, Who uses It's high
| prerogatives TO prosecute his plans for securing
| . Presidential nomination, careless whether or
not those plans may involve the country in san
| culinary social The circular letter sent to
the W est by Mr.. Chase reveals what his purposes
are. and his stumping tour among the Southern
| negroes develops the means by which he hopes
to succeed lie intends, is possible, to be our
| next President. and he expects 10 accomplish
this by means of the ultra radical, and perhaps,
the free negro vote This vote he desires to gain
through the agitation Of the negro suffrage ques
ton, as a sort of appendix 10 the abolition ques
ton. We oppose this lamentable scheme. not
because believe that il has the slightest pros
pect OF success, so far as Mr. Chase is concerned,
but because of the degradation of the Chief JUS
siceship in being thus dragged through the mire
Of politics. and becauee OF the dreadful couse-
queDccs which may follow such an agitation
the Chief Justice has commenced.
/ The relations between the whites of the South
and the recently freed negroes are naturally most
delicate. lie will require the ablest statesmanship
| To reconcile both these classes to their new con
ditions and to prevent a collision between them.
| The negroes cannot be transformed from slaves
to lreemen in day, without great danger of the
most determined antagonism between them and
| their former masters We see that danger crop.
ping out in the plot which has Ist been discov
cred among the negro troops IN Memphis to as
sassinate the paroled rebel soldiers. So intent
were the negroes upon this savage and foolish
revenge that they attempted 10 oyerpower the
white troops guarding them; serious coufict
ensued, and the riot was not Quelled until about
twenty negroes were killed or wounded. The
| same passion exists amone all the freed negroes
of the South as among the negroes at Memphis.
The barbarity of the native African is BY no
means extinct in the emancipated slaves. To
free negro is not of itself sufficient to educate
him to enjoy his freedom eIight and to employ
and improve it as he ought. Between this true
freedom and his former state of slavery is a
period of transition, which is also a period oil
danger. The vices of slavery remain; the vir
tues of freedom are not yet acquired. The ne
gro beholds his late master delivered into his
hand. he finds the great Government which
once assisted In keeping MIN slave now arrayed
against Shareholders. because shareholders have
been rebels. The temptation for him TO use
the lash, the knife and the bullet upon those who
were his oppressors is quite obvious, and his in
cDation is TO yield to the temptation. On the
other hand the white race at the South resents
the negros claim to equality as presumption,
and is all the more aggravated because of its
own ruined fortunes, the disturbance of the old
system OF labor, and the evident preference given
to the blacks on account of their zeal, assumed
or interested loyalty. Thus both sides ready
for terrible conflict and only the incest states
manship can avert the catastrophe.
At this crisis, and while the Government is
} considering how TO solve this difficult and i'm
portant problem, Chief Justice Chase visits the
South. He comes ostensibly to establish or re-
oman the TTnifad Sfatas Eourta alfhouoh his pres-
ence for such object is entirely superhuous
. and unnecessary. Really. and without extenua
ton, he comes frebrand TO precipitate a con-
fict which il is bis solemn duty to prevent. With
out delay he sets himself up an authority out
side of the Government, and, therefore, in 0ppo
. sition to the Government; for during such crises
he who is not with is against us Knowing
the immense gravity which attaches to his words
on account of the position he occupies, he calls
together two or three thousand blacks, and does
not hesitate TO suggest doubts OF the policy OF the
| Administration towards them, adding the signif-
cant sheer that he-the great negro. worshipper-
| is mo longer in its councils" In the very face
| of the Constitution he announces that he knows
no reason" why the privilege OF suffrage may not
be at once and universally given to the blacks.
thus predeciding constitutional question which
may possibly be brought before the Supreme
/ Court for its decision. liz is bad enough for the
Chief Justice TO volunteer these semi judicial
opinions; but il is worse for him to volunteer
them for political purposes. going into the mar
ket to bid for negro votes against the person who
arrested ex Governor Aiken, because that
Southern loyalist had thirty thousand dollars
worth of silver plate aud twenty thousand bottles
of old wine in his cellar Is Mr.. Chase ignorant
of the horrors Of St. Domingo? Is he unmind
ful of the fact that those horrors arose, not from
the actual proclamation of freedom, but from
the Efforts to readjust the status Of the emanci
pated blacksI lgnorantly or wilfully, he is pro-
yoking new social war between the races of
the South. His words are incendisry, and they
embarrass the Government. Instead of b,ing
at his post of duty at Washington. TO assist in
the trial of the assassination conspirators, he is
eectioneerng among possible voters for suffrage
| which may be denied them. With all our respect
for the Office be holds, we cannot forbear re-
buking such proceedings in the strongest terms.
Indeed, our respect for the Chief Justices
ermine renders the more impatient with him
who bedraggles and dsgraces il.
| Jeff Davis I'm Prison.