The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-09-18
Emporium. Fact. fort People"


Ia its first instalment of Important
Facts for the People," our neighbor has
presented some statements which are
not Facts" at all We don't like to
say that our amiable cOtemporary has
either wilfully falsifed or is grossly ig-
noIaut, but we have no hesitation what
ever in pitching into" that exchange"
from which editorial articles are some
times clipped, or that mysterious "friend"
whose capacity for editorial laundering
has been so often exposed. In short,
then, when the Inteligencer'8 'iriend
intimates that, under the present system
of representation, "the white man III
Mississippi and South Carolina casts
two votes for President to one cast by
the white map III West Virginia or
Pennsylvania" he either betrays an
amount of ignorance altogether inexcus-
able in any nan who attempts to "write
Tor the papers," Or else he lies.
In the first place, let us examine the
present system of representation in Con-
gress and in the electoral college, The
Constitution of the United States, Arti-
Gle |, Section 2, declares that "Represen-
tatiycs and direct taxes shall be appor,
toned among the several States which
may be included within this Union, ac-
c0rdiDg to their respective numbers,
which shall be determined by ad-
ding to The whole number
Of free persons, including those
bound to service for q term of years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fftha
Of all Other persons" The "othcr per-
sons" spoken of in this clause were, man
ifestly, the negro slaves. Ia the North.
eru or free States, therefore, the entire
population, men, women, children, ne
groes and all, was counted in determln-
ing how many representatives the State
should have il Congress, or how many
votes it should have in the electoral col
lege Every negro in the North cJunted
one in This enumeration. But how was
ii IN the South? There every free neggO
was counted as one, but the large mass
Of Southern negroes were slaves and, 81
these, only threeffths were counted. The
North, therefore, had representation FOR
the whole number Of It's negroes, bat the
South had representation for only three
ffths OF the colored population Is eon-
taiued Was there any injustice TO the
North in this, or had The North a''y night
to complaint If this system gsro +" a
white man in South Carolina tw" votes
with which to overbalance the one cast
Is rhne man in PENNSYLVANIA "r West
Yi.gJia, W confess that Uc "ao t see
H."
S.rp 80 tor the sake %! Illus ration,
tu4 ZACH cue hundred persons
Wa. rnu1cd 70 one repre- entutlye
in Congress, Suppose, further,
tina. Jhese are Que Hundred Nh,s, per.
sons AID Que hundred blacks ii Massa-
chusetUs. aud that there Is an>eXactly
similar uumb,s u whites and blacks in
South CAROLYN. The hundred blacks IN
MASSACHUSETTS, are fee; those IL south
Carolina. are slaves. l. lie House of
Representatives and il the electo i col
lese Massachusetts, would have two oyes,
both cast by tRe hundred Unite ma; but
South Carolina wouldhave only o., vote
and thee ctths. Now is IT true tat "a
white uIau in Mississippi or South Car
oliua.casts rwC votes for President 80 one
cast by the white man IN West Virginia
or Pennsylvania ?" Ire idea is abSurd
and has been so Otteu exploded that va
woEdeC how evec 50 stupid a peT,on as
our reighbor's friend" must b. has
dared to advance it, labeled an '.mpor'
taut fact"
The abolition ui slavery simply has
the effect of correcting the inequality
that existed to the disadvantage Of the
south, under the fJJmer system otrePre'
sentation The hundred white .yerscns
..nd hundred blacks in Massachusetts,
accmdjag to the case supposed above
viii stil ! We two votes both, rs before,
cast by the white man; the hundred Shite
and hundred blacks in South Carolina
will likewise have two votes, both, as at
the North, cast by the white man. Is there
any injustice, any inequality in this
The negroes Of the North are represent
ed Why not the negroes of the South ?
All are now free alike
The attempt to change the basis of
representation that is. new being made
BY theradicals is simply an attsmps to
compel the States to grant to tie ne.
groes the right of suffrage. 1t has and