The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-01-08

accepting the grant, all contemplated
the exercise of exclusive legislation
by Congress, and that its usefulness,
if not its necessity, was inferred from
the Inconvenience which was felt for
want of it by the Congress Of the
Confederation; that the people them
selves, who, it was said, had been de-
prived of their political rights, had
not complained, and did not desire a
retrocession; that the evil might be
remedied by giving them represen-
tatlon in Congress when the District
should become sufficiently popnlous,
and, in the meantime, local legisla-
ture; that if the inhabitants had not
political rights, they had great politi-
cal influence; that the trouble and
expense of legislating for the District
would not be great, but would dimi-
nlsh, and might, in a great measure,
be avoided by local legislature, and
that Congress could not retrocede
the inhabitants without their consent.
Continuing to live substantially under
the laws that existed at the time OF
the cession, and such changes only
having been made as were suggested
by themselves, the people Of the Dis
trict have not sought, by local legis-
laturc, that which has generally been
willingly conceded by the Congress OF
the nation.
AS general rule, sound policy re-
qulres that the Legislature should
yield to the wishes of people, when
not inconsistent with the Constitution
and the laws. The measures suited
to one community might not be we'll
adapted to the condition of another,
and the persons best qualified to de-
termine such questions are those
whose interests are to be directly af-
fected by any proposed law. In Mas
sachusetts, for instance, male persons
are allowed to vote without regard to
color, provided they possess certain
degree Of intelligence. In a popula-
ton IN that State Of 1881, ,OG6 there
were, by the census of 1860, only 9,6O2
persons of color, and of the males
over twenty years of age there were
$50, 0S6 white to 2,G02 colored. BY
the same official enumeration, there
were, in the District of Columbia,
6O,954 whites to II, 316 persons Of the
colored race. Since then, however,
the population of the District has
largely increased, and it is estimated
that, at the present time, there are
nearly 10000 whites to 10000 ne
grocs. The cause OF the augmented
OF the latter class needs no
explanation. Contiguous to Mary
landand Virginia, the District, during
the war, became a place of refuge for
those who escaped from servitude,
and it is yet the abiding place of Il
considerable population Of those who
sought within its limits a sheltcrf from
bondage. Until then, held in slavery,
and denied all opportunities for men
tai culture, their first knowledge Of
the Government was acquired when,
by comforting upon them freedom, it
became the benefactor of their race.
The test Of their capability for i'm
provement began when, for the first
time, the career of free industry and
the avenues to intelligence were
opened to them. Possessing these
but limited time, the
greater number of that population
having entered the District OF Colum-
bia during the latter years of the war
or since its termination, we may we'll
panse to inquire whether, after so
brief a period, they are, as class,
capable Of an intelligent exercise of
the right Of suffrage, and qualified to
discharge the duties of official posi-
tions? The people who are daily
witnesses of their mode of living,
and who have become familiar with
their habits of thought, have cx-
pressed their conviction that they are
not yet competent to serve as electors,
and thus become eligible for office
iii the local Government under which
they live. Clothed with the elective
franchise, their numbers, already
largely in excess of the demand for
labor, would be soon increased by an
influx from the adjoining States,
drawn from fields where employ
ment is abundant They would
in vain seek it here, and so
add to the embarrassment al
ready experienced from the large
class of persons congregated in the
District. Hardly yet capable of
forming correct Judgment upon the
important questions that often make
the issues of a political contest, they
could readily be made subservient to
the purposes of designing persons.
While in Massachusetts,, under the