Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1866-11-10


Iasfshietl ig or sisis CantlliuN1n. Dc
eaffTlns oui Of ne ranfiliHiipnal riufif|an
rsfmniinf them 10 iesilil ln al Eases iu
ihs eaafii under NE tams rules Nhirh
govern whlis issiimany, eic auia fos'fleti
"a form Of nerro suniage. M ~ that MI
iisasan says about securing he heedmei
ln lLe fip possession Of ii.e civil bis ~
lonainf 10 lhe wlaits, and about pr0riinf
CO.. their elnoation, 20 heauliy concur I
But We really canult belleFsihat resiriri'
81 form Of negro Suffrage would arrest ihe
evils With which We are nov Threatened
Z The dominant party at ihe North does not
ask rs for any such liing, aud would at
0nse deponnee our resiri'iio . asdemagog,
isal aud eowardly, aud get up Just as muel
! agitation against them a. they are now
eyoking against our present position MT
Reagan admits that universal negro sui,
flage would be Obstructive that the eoun-
Try could not withstand the evils IL would
introduee-yel he says We are threatened
whit, as we'll as with eonhseaIion, the
snbyersion Of our State goyernmenis aud
the Acknowledgement OF nearly all our white
populations aud he hopes TO eeneiliale a
party which would threaten us with all
these evils by an imperative and Inefficient
form Of negro suffrage, admitting at the
same time that this crusade against us vs.
preashed 'by reckless Northern agltaiorsi
who are ignorant Of tho spirit with which
We again offer our allegiance TO common
government Of the condition we are In,
and Of the necessities Of ouI situation, and
unwilling, 1t would seem to accept any as
surance which We ean give them Of our
loyalty" II is great weakness In Mr.
Reagan, we think, to imagine that this cru
SADIE could be stopped by restricted suffrage
for the freedmen. lie forgels that We are
assailed by party which IL, mainlainipg
its own supremacy, aud which, therefore,
demands either that our federal representa-
/ ton shall be reduced or that universal ne
gro suffrage shall give il the opportunity
to change tho political complexion Of the
South. Restricted, negro suffrage, eonse'
quently, would be nothing more than throw
Ing straws against the hurricane. South
crn respect for the negro, Southern self-re-
spect, and Southern respect forthe North
ern people would stand more than anything
else in the way OF this expedicnt. Mr..
Reagan says none but Southern demsEosues
can oppose III the people generally think,
If We are not much mistaken, that none but
!
opinion. And We repeat that what we here
state as the belief of the Southern people
\ would be universally proclaimed at the
North-that is TO say, II would be asserted
that we attempted to escape the fulhllment
Of Radical threats by palming OIL an I'M
position on the frccdmen.y We would thus
complicatc our politics and produce vague
and injurious agtations among the freed
men without at all relieving oar situation.
Sush an expcdient would also be inter-
preted at the North ms an attempt TO escape
the Constitutional Amendment, which is
now pending. The issue is between the
Amendment and the threatened declaration
of universal negro suffrage, coniiseation,
and the subversion of our State govern
ments; and, we presume, If the Amend
ment is not treated contumaciously by the
South, that the Northern States will go ON
with its adoption, postpcning our threat
ened punishment until they see whether
the South will assume the responsibility Of
preventing its final adoption. If the DOM
inant party at the North will not do this,
neither will il be diverted from its aims by
our declaration of restricted form Of nc
gro suffrage.
Our situation is one Of the mos peculiar
! that has ever been known in the history of
\ the world. 0ae Of its peculiarities is this:
| many people who admit that such punish
meats as the Radicals threaten are not at
all appropriate to the occasion, yet they say
| il is useless to talk to that party-that it
will have whatever II demands-that its
demands amount to uoihing less than the
subsection of the country'to its. rule-ihat
if the Constitution offers any obstruction
to this end, it must be either amended or
set aside-and still it is hoped, that speci-
al conc esson will be something more than
mere palliative. This is foolishness. If
Radicalism is not to be opposed, the sooner
I ali parties understand the matter the better
for all concerned. On the one hand, it is
asserted, that what the Radical party re-
duires will utterly ruin the country by
| subverting the Constitution, ana the South
! is called upon, by alPthat is sacred, not to
yield to its demands. But on the other
hand, as soon as the pinch comes, thousands
of tt ose who had lately been calling on the
South to stand firm, beginning to proclaim
that resistance is useless and make ready
to leave the South to her fate. Thisis the
course pursued by the New York Herald,
and it has thousands upon thousands OF
followers. Not long ago it asserted that
the Congressional requirements would lit
rally destroy the country; now ii says that
I nothing else will save the country. WhyY
Not because the principal Of those require
ments has changed but because they have
been supported by majority of the North
ern people. If, then, the voice of this ma
ority is to settle the terms of reconstruct
ton, and if those who once held that the
South should have some voice in the matter,
are now of different opinion, the question
for the South to consider is not restricted
negro suffrage, but the Constitutional
amendment. y>And, once for all, with re-
| gard 10 this naLier VIC have been assured
again and again from the North, by resi-
pectable party, that if we yielded the issue,
they would surely be defeated in the COM
| ing elections. We hold, then, that those of
the Northern people who entered into the
| Philadelphia Convention, and who have
t ken ground against the Amendment IN
the pending canvass, are bound, IN honor
and justice, TO say to us-atter the canvass,
is over--s'wc can still stand by you m re7
l,iecting the Amendment or 1--WE have done
our best and have been defeated, and now
hold it to be our duty to do all we can to
prevent the substitution Of confiscation, the
subversion of your State governments, etci
for the Issue presented in the Amendment
itself" That is to say, we hold that the
Northern Conservative party is bound, if
the worst comes to the worst, to endeavor
| to prevent our rejection Of the Amendment
from bringing the threatened Radical evils
upon US, and to say to us, frankly and
openly, when it can do no more, "you must
either accept the Amendment, or do worsef' I
i Nor do we believe that it wi l, supinelyi
land unjustly, permit our first rejection. Of
the Amendment to be the meansof working
us deadly injury. 1t will, at least, do what
it can to secure the offer of the Amendment.
with the understanding that it can do moth
ing to avert the consequences Of rejection
So much is also due to us from the Presi-
dent with the support of all the power and
influence of his position. To suppose that
he and the Northern Conservative party.
would safely give up opposition to the
Amendment, without endeavoring to secure
for us the same privileges that we may
havo q chonca IN acf unon H. in omen and