The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-26
The Suffrage Question.

and the judgments of former era, but by the
dictates of sound reason and impartial justice.
The negroes of the South are hereafter to
enjoy the elective franchise. That point may
be considered settled. Having once become
members Of. the body polite, they cannot be
expelled therefrom except at the cost of a
bloody revolution. But while the great mass
of the colOred people of this country have be-
come invested with all the rights of citizen
ship. there are considerable numbers of them
in many of the Northern States who are still
uniustly excluded from the ballot-box by laws
passed originally in the interest of the now
overthrOwn slave system. The question arises,
whether all such laws ought not to be imme-
diately repealed, as inconsistent with the
character of our own free institutions and at
war with the general humane and progress
sive sentiment of the age.
We are sometimes told that it is inconsis-
tent on the part of the North to insist upon
negro suffrage at the South while negroes are
excluded from the ballot-box in so many of
the Northern States. We prefer to put the
inconsistency in its proper light by saying
that it is grossly inconsistent for the North to
continue these unjust laws of exclusion against
the blacks here while we have overthown the
same species of enactments, and with refer
ence to a vastly more numerous class of
people, at the South. The inconsistency is
on the part of wrong doing, and not on that
of right doing and it consists in doing wrong
here at home while we are doing right at the
South.
In the great work of Reconstruction, conse-
uuent upon the overthrow of the Rebellion, it
became necessary for the nation to determine
,Uho should be considered the body polite at
the South. And this question was to be set
tied upon principles of justice and right, and
not in accordance with those lingering relics
of the pro-slavery age which still remained in
some of the State laws Of the North. Accord
ingly, there was nothing to be done but to
recognize the blacks as a part of the people.
They could no more be excluded than could
the whites. They were citizens of the United
States, born upon its soil and amenable to its
laws. There was no possible ground for ex-
cluding them from the political community.
To have attempted to do so, as Mr.. Johnson
did, in professed obedience to the old State laws
and institutions which had perished amid the
fires of war, would have been to acknowledge
that the whole work of Reconstruction was
itself nullity and fraud. For if the old
State laws of the South were authoritative on
the point of suffrage, they were upon all other
points; and the Rebel Governments which
were in de tdcto possession Of the Southern
States on the overthrow of the Rebellion were
also legitimate, and entitled to respect and
obedience. In brief, if the nation was entitled
to reconstruct at all, it was bound to recon
struct on the principles Of justice and free
government. Hence, the recognition of the
blacks as constituent part of the body polite
was necessary result of our republican form
of government. Had Congress excluded them.
Congress would have been itself guilty Of
founding new oligarchy and building up q
new despotism in place of the old.
The nation having thus, through its appro
pirate organ, Congress, established suffrage
in the inchoate States of the South unon the
basis of equity, the unjust laws of oul
Northern States upon the same subject stani
out in bold relief of inconsistency and wrong
If the colored citizen is Justly entitled to vot,
at the South, why not at the North r,
what rule of equity do we exclude him baro
We shall not discuss the question wbetbe
voting is natural right or a conventions
privilege. In either case it must stand uno,
an equitable basis. Society has no right +
be unjust in the bestowal of its nr;y1ooo.
Hence, we are prepared to say that the excI,,
sion of any citizen from the ballot-box on N
ground of his color is a monstrous piece ,
injustice; and it is a wrong so glaring, pie,
of tyranny so inexcusable, that no argune,
or apology can be offered for it. Indeed, tho
who support it never resort to argument, f
there is literally no argument to be offer,
for it. property test for voting has son
basis of reason, for it may be plausib
urged that a man should have some pecunia
interest in a government whose power
shares. The payment Of tax as prerequis
for voting is not wholly indefensible, for
may be said that he who by his vote m
impose taxes on others, should himself pay
tax. A qualification of intelligence for voti
stands upon strong grounds, for it may
argued that very ignorant man is nee
sarily not qualified to take a part
government. But upon what posi-
ground can the mere accident Of col
standing in no relation to a mans men
or moral qualifications be made the exc,
for excluding him from the ballot-bo,,p A