Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-08-15

! Union, were compelled to allow masters
to reckon three-fifths of their slaves for
representation, without adding slave suf-
frage to the other privileges of the slave
holder. But free colored men were always
voters in many of the colonies, and In
several of the States, North and South,
after Independence was achieved. They
1 voted for members of the Congress which
declared Independence, and for members
OF every Congress prior to the adoption
of the Federal Constitution; for members
of the Convention which framed the
! Constitution; for the members of many
of the State Conventions which ratified
it; and for every President from Wash
ington to Lincoln. RI. '''' q
| Our Government has been called the
| white mans Government. Not SO. 1t
is not the Government of any class, or
| sect, or nationality, or race. 1t is Gov
ernment founded on the consent of the
governed, and Mr.. Broomall, of Pennsyl-
vania, therefore properly calls it 1.-THE
| Government of the governed. tits not
! the Government of the native born, or of
the foreign born, of the rich man, or the
poor man, of the white man, or of the
colorcd man-itis the Government of the
! .freen,dn. And when colored men were
made citizens, soldiers, and .freemen, by
our consent and votes, we were estOpped
/ from denying to them the right of suf
frage.s
! Gen. Sherman was right when he said, ,
i in his Atlanta letter, of 1864: of you
admit the negro to this struggle for any
purpose, he has n right to stay in for all ;
and, when the fight is over, the hand
that drops the musket cannot be denied
the ballot. .,., ID
! Even our adversaries are compelled to
admit. the Jeffersonian rule, that " the
! man who pays taxes and who fights for
the country is entitled to vote.
Mr. Pendleton, in his speech against
the enlistment of colored soldiers gave
up the whole controversy. He said:
Gentlemen tell us that these colored men are
ready, with tlreir strong arms and their brave
hearts, to maintain the supremacy of the Con-
stitution, and to defend the integrity of the
Union, which in our hands to-day Is in peril
What is that Constitution? 1t provides that
every child of the republic, every citizen of the
It provides for all of them trial by jury, free
speech, free press, entire protection for life and
liberty and d property 1t goes 69rhsr 1t Sc Sc,
right to hold office, the right to aspire to every
office or agency by which the Government is
tay, erey man required 10 take up 6t its de-
tensc is 6y Us provisions entitled TO roe, and com
petem dspudm for every office in Tie Government.
DEMOCRATIC ORGANS CoNCEDE THE JUS
TICE OF IMPARTIAL SUFFRAGE.
The truth is, impartial manhood suf-
| L
is now merely question of time. In
the eleven rebelStates, in five of the New
England States, and in a number of the
Northwestern States, there is no organ
lied party able to successfully oppose
impartial suffrage. The Democratic
party of more than half of the States
are ready to concede it's justice and eX-
p ediency. The Boston Post, the able
organ of the New England Democracy,
says:
Color ought to have no more to do with the
matter (voting) than size. Only establish right
standard, and then apply it impartally. A rule
Of that sort is SIC too firmly fixed in justice ant
clearly to the good sense of the entire body o.
our countrymen to be successfully traversed by
objections Once let this principle be fairly pre-
sented to the people of the several States, with
the knowledge ON their part that they alone are
to have the disposal and settlement of it, and W,
sincerely believe IL would not be long before Il
would be adopted by every State in the Union
The New York World, the ablest Dem
ocratic paper in the Union, says:
Democrats in the North, as well as the South
should he fully alive to the importance of thu
new element thrust into the politics of the coun
try. We suppose it to be morally certain tina
the new constitution of the State of New York
to be framed tins year. will confer the electiv,
franchise upon all adult male negroes. We hav
negro element out OF politics It is the part o
wisdom frankly TO accept the situation, 81 and ge
cendancy over the negro mind.
, The Chicago Times, the inhuenta
organ of the Northwestern Democracy
, says:
, The word "white" is not found in any of thu
original constitutions, save only that of souti
In eVeTS oih1r Sie o megr0es Wn
mpartiaily of ali men. We're admitted to Vote
; and many of that race did vote in the southeri
S wei c s III Hot tG H"rterm h SfeS tcIat A orf mo
was the Democratic party of that day whcl
affirmed their right in that respect upon an i'm
sna oaSiS WIN at s day blc AZ r"tfen II,
Ftatetni Mt of General Jackson, thnt he was SUP
: Ported for the Presidency by negro voters in th
9{TfS q rG9sSgT ric @y ps,t,o1
: earliest ana most essential dSctrines OF Deinoc
lacy, Il Is the aiirmatinn Of ne right Of ever.
@ ,h w :, a,c b Is,If ISsrJ m 9i sue gnrgs
{ or vote in its sol lernment. Il is the first rrin
n,p,c u%pgn % WIFI @ W., ~ " ue E n
J critics of Amrrica viii be preserved. if they ar
prSacr'eed e at ~ t, idc RTocfG P[.{ mus mus
upon the immutable rock Of principe.
In Ohio theleoders of the Peace Dem
ocrocv intend to carry ON one more cam
noign on the old and rotten nlatform q
: pre;udicc nna inst colored neople, The,
o sneix in this waw tn divert attention fro,
e thp rerord thev made during the war q
i tho rehejlion. But the rreaf fncts of on