The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-08-07
ANDERSON s. c. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST T. 1867 Nc

in the State to whom Congress could, by
new law, give the exclusive right to
vote, and who would very readily call q
Convention? Suppose new law, which
should extend the disfranchisementt to call
who participated in the rebellion" and
where would the white vote of the State be?
The United States Government has said,
call a Convention, frame your own consti-
tuition, provided erepublican; insert GER
tain provisions which we think the late civ
lwar renders necessary for the future qui-
ct of the country, and come back to your
old places in the Union. You reply-no,
we will have no Convention, no dictated
constitution, we will not come back to
the Union on your terms. Will not Con-
gress say-very we'll; if you will not
come back freely, you can be brought
back forcibly. A military government is
costly experiment at best; give power
to the freedmen, and they will soon place
the State in loyal relations with the
Union. And when you have rejected this
plan of reconstruction, you will find, too
late, that you have misunderstood the
temper and underrated the power of those
offered it. You know that the Republi-
can Party was divided on this very meas
ure; that the more violent and extreme
wished, and still wish, to pursue harsh
er course. Will not your rejection of
this plan be reckless defiance, which
will strengthen those who wish to COM
pass your utter destruction?
But suppose that your rejection of the
Convention is not followed by any such
vindictive legislation--that the present
military government is retained. What
have you gained? What is this military
government, which is so much better than
any you can frame, but the armed repre-
sentative of the very power you wish to
defeat? Is it reasonable to suppose that
when you reject Convention, for the ex-
press purpose of avoiding tho consequen-
ces of the Reconstruction Act that the
military commander, who is the creature
of the Act itself-who exists solely-to ex-
ecute it-who is part of the Government
who has imposed it on you eithercan or
will join you in carrying out yonr pur-
pose {? This is not matter of argument,
but of experience. You know already
what this military government is, and
what is there that the Convention can do,
except restore you to the Union, which it
cannot and will not do-nay, which it
has not done? The Act, by express pro-
vision, has conferred upon the freedman
the privilege of suffrage, which neither
you nor the military commander can take
away; and within the last few months,
the orders issuing from military headquar-
ters, have, in anticipation of the Conven-
ton, declared that the colored voter is
entitled as an equal of any other citizen,
to take out licenses, ride in public con-
veyances, sit on juries and hold Offices.
Indeed, in the very last order appointing
Registers, he has been put in office. Does
it need argument to convince you that
this military government must be and is
simply an absolute power, irresponsible
to you, and bound by the very law. which
created it to do for the negro all thaty
will not do, or that you refuse to call q
Convention for fear that the Constitution
will do for him?
And this brings me to the thirdsreason
urged against the vote for the Conven-
tion-that if you do call Convention
you will have to recognize and incorpor-
ate into your State Constitution the prin-
ciple of universal sufrage-that this prin-
ciple will place the control of the State in
the hands of the numerical majority,
which is colored and that the legislation
of the State will, in consequence, be used
to the injury and degradation Of the white
citizens, who are helpless minority.
The first and most practical reply 10
this argument, is, that if it is 80, you can
not prevent Convention. This numer-
cial majority which you fear will either
exercise its power, and call Convention
against your wishes, and in spite of your
votes, or if you have influence with it to
divide it, then it is obvious that the same
influence which could induce them to act
with you to prevent a convention, would
induce them to act with you in the Con-
yention when called An organized oP-