The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-07-01
Oopperhead Impudenoe.

OOPpO1ACeso PeA0OAJOa
On the question OF negro suffrage the or
gar. of copperheadism in this city, finds the
following item in the Chicago Tymes-lhe or
gan Of Booth DEMOCRACY In the West-the
paper which Gen. Burnside suppressed, and
which apologized for Booth by saying he
thought he was "ridding the world of ty-
'rant"-and declares il to be pertinent to this
subject" and ecommends it to the Press as
making home suggestion to its agitsting
friends" thus giving it a full endorsement:
A HOME QUESTION.
Would it not be more decent II she negro
worshippers would agitate the question OF ne
gro suffrage in the North, rather than in the
SDuthp Here, in Illinois, for example, ne
groes are not only MOI blessed with the privi-
le1e of suffrage bat the most of them are lia-
bic to be exoelied from the State, In virtue OF
the Constisution and laws. We snggest to
the negro worshippers OF Illinois, that they do
little home agitation, and meanwhile leave
the South to work out its own salvation on
the niger question.
The impudence OF this "home question:
put BY me of the viIest sheets In the country
and commended to our notice by another
scarcely less venal and mendacious, Is seen In
the fact that Illinois, from the day she was
made State till within the last very few years,
has been controlled by the Democratic party,
and the legislature Of. that State was never
able to elect a man to the u. s. Senate who
was not of extreme Southern stamp on the
slavery question till the election Of Mr.. Trum-
bull, and he came in only through split
among the Democrats. 1t is well known that
in 1853, when the popular vote Of State
was in. favor OF Republicanism--as revealed
in the vote following the great Douglas Lin
coin debate Mr.. Douglas was elected to the
U. s. Senate by the legislature. ia
As late as 1868, so firmly was that legisls-
ture held by the Copperheads, withstand
ing the popular vote had madeMr Yates Gov
ernor,-that disgraceful scene occurred at
Springfield, showing so determined a spirit in
favor Of the South and it's rebel cause. SO much
unwillngness to back the soldiers in the neld
by sympathy aud succor, that the Governor
took the responsibility to prorogue that body,
and cut short its REASONABLE proceedings.
It was under such a regime or dynasty that
the disgraceful BLACK code" OF that State was
enacted, and laws made that were intended to
exclude free negroes from the State. If a
free negro from Kentucky took passage across
the Ohio, the moment he stepped loot On sthe
soil q Alinris,. though pursued BY. blond
hounds, be was met>Sy the De,,o .,.1,,;o o...
utes of the State and forbidde.. 80 s'as
compelled to turn back, or run the risk :.
being incarcerated in filthy Jail =
This was Democratic regard for free men
enacted by an infamous party to subserye
Southern slaveholding interests, SO as effectu.
ally to put up the bars against any opportuni.
ty for fugitive slave to escape through that
State to Canada, and also prevent breeding
discomfort in the minds Of Kentucky slaves
by the sight of free, happy, industrious and
prosperous freemen of their own color and
race, separated. from them only by narrow
stream of water. lssasu ~ 9aassaas
These are the facts, but not all of them
just as soon as the Republican Union party
became strong 10 the legislature Of the State
one OF its first acts was to wipe off the infa.
nous "black CODE" and provide the initial
steps to make the Constitution harmonic
with the principles of freedom, humanity and
the Declaration of Independence, and while
copying from the Chicago organ of copper.
headism, the copperhead organ of this city
knesU that these things were SO, and that al.
ready the work Of Regeneration in Illinois Il
going on; that the barbarisms which have
been incorporated into the statutes Of that
State by the Democratic party are being eff
faced, and that Liberty, Justice and Equality
before the laws are now the watchwords q
Union men there as here. Nf
And our copperhead contemporary knows
another thing; he knows while all these pro-
gressive movements in Illinois are being push.
ed BY Union Republicans, that the Democrats
almost as one man resist them; that the in
famous "black CODE" repealed last winter
was de ended and its repeal resisted by every
Democrat in the, Legislature Of that State.