The Portland daily press., 1867-11-08

The Latc Elections In the South.
To the Editor of the Press:
When the undersigned wrote the series of
articles on the reorganization of the rebel
States In the spring of 1856, he predicted that
If Congress scould confer the right Of suffrage
on the blacks and men Of mixed color, and
disfrdnchise those classes of traitors pr0poS-
ed by the committee of fifteen, the Union
men aoould be able TO carry all the rebel
States except Firginid, North Carolina, dr.
kansas and Texas, and that possibly the trail
tors might not be able to carry all of these
After the delay of nearly year, Congress
adopted that proposition. The result is be-
fore us in part. Elections have interviewed in
Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and Georgia.
The Union men have triumphed in each of
these States. This triumph is complete.
When the prediction was made, it was
thought there was very small chance for the
Union men in Texas and Virginia, but that
there A.Assa.z xssz..2 k<s ss2.. AsPs esr
success in North Carolina and Arkansas
But the success has been complete in Virgin
la. There is now good reason to believe that
the Union men win succeed in all the rebel
States except Texas, which was brought in as
State illegally, primarily to strengthen the
power Of slavery and more remotely to
strengthen the Shareholders for the rebellion
then in prospect.
| The success of the Union men in Virginia
is peculiarly gratifying, and nothing more so
than the election of the James w. Hunnicutt
and Judge Underwood from Richmond
Judge Underwood was driven out of Virginia
in 1856 by Wings and Democrats, merely be-
cause he attended the Republican Convention
in Philadelphia, which nominated John C.
Fremont.
During the early part of the war, Mr.. Hun
nicutt was obliged to leave on account of bis
Union principles. After the rebels cayed in,
he went to Richmond and established a
Republican paper. In his paper he advocated
republican principles, equality of all men be-
fore the law, free schools, equality OF taxation
on property, and negro suffrage. For time
he stood almost alone. His lifewas constant
ly in danger from the slaveholding aristocrats.
Ever since the election, he has been in the
reception of letters, notifying him to leave or
he would be killed. But he has stood at his
post unfinchingly. Without the aid of bis
paper and his person it may be considered
certain, that the rebels would have triumphed
in Virginia. All the other papers in Rich
mond opposed him and opposed reorgan-
ization under the acts of Congress.
The Richmond Whig was particularly dan
gerous, because though edited by traitor, oc-
sionally IL affected to be In favor of reoreani-
zation according to the Congressional PLAN
This editor was formerly a Whig. The acci-
dents ofhis position won upon the confidence
of the New York Tribune. That paper dur
ing the canvass declared that Republican
Union party was about to be started in Vir-
ginia under the lead Of the Richmond Wing,
not after the Hunnieatt pattern. That paper
has seemed specially desirous to place the
power in the rebel States in the hands of trail
tors, il they will make a pretence of Union
ism. You will remember at one time IFS
principal editor came out In favcr of univer-
sal suffrage and universal amnesty, and If
suffrage for the negro could not be obtained
then in favor of universal amnesty without
universal suffrage. This would have placed
the Union men in the South, black AMI white,
wholly at the mercy of traitors. No Union
man could have lived in peace at the South,
unless they were virtually slaves. The ten
der mercies of traitors to Union men were
witnessed at Memphis, New Orleans, and
Mobile. When Congress passed the constitu-
tional amendment and adjourned relying on
that, Thomas ]. Durant, the Union orator of
New Orleans, told the people of New York
that the plan of the President and the plan
of Congress would be alike fatal TO Union
men in the South; that the number of Union
whites was so small in the South that they
could not be protected without the aid OF ne
gro suffrage, when the Union soldiers should
be withdrawn.
Some other Union papers in the North be-
sides the New York Tribune, have opposed
Mr.. Hunnicutt and given aid and comfort to
the traitors in this matter of reorganization.
But In spite OF the Rebel press, in spite OF the
aid Of the New York Tribune and other ms
guided Union papers, in spite oil 'he s'Ase-
holding aristoclacy and all their "iSl'pien'a
tions and threats, james W. Hunh'cu'' mas
succeeded.
Misrepresentation OF Hunnicutt have been
constant. The undersigned has read his pa
ner from the start and the New York Tribune
far the last fifteen years. The undersigned
has read every political article in Mr.. Hunni-
cutt's paper ffom the beginning. 1t has been
charged that he was laboring to bring about
war of races; that he was advocating a gen.
eral confiscatiou of property. These charges
are false in toto. The rebels have been labor
ing to bring about war Of races. By their
threats of ostracism they have prevented
most Of the Unionwhites from voting for aeon
vention. Very few of them have voted at all.
If the traitors could have induced those poor