The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-11-13
PAINS AND PENALTIES.

ting on the question OF negro suffrage
in the South; that Ohio has never been
in rebellion, and that while they are
willing to infict negro suffrage on the
Southern people as punishment for
their rebellion they see no necessityfor
adopting it at home among people who
are so loyal as to need no punishment
for their short comings. We have to
thank General Schofeld for his candor,
if he has no other quality to entitle
him to our respect or admiration. lie
has not been in politics long enough to
know the political value of reticence,
and he has no political managers, like
General Grant, to keep his mouth shut
for Presidential purposes.
Although we did not expect so can
did an avowal from Radical District
Commander, yet we have long since
known that, in spite of all the philan-
thropic. professions of the Radical lead
ers, negro suffrage, as well as every
othes part of the Reconstruction
scheme, was intended as penalty tor
supposed political crimes. When the
Constitutional Amendment was first
passed it was intended to punish the
South by DISTINGUISHING her honored
leaders and reducing her representa-
ton in Congress. Emboldened by the
result of the elections last year the
Radicals increased the, severity of the
penalty by passing the Military Bills,
which were intended to humiliate the
South by placing the Southern States
under the control of the enfranchised
slaves. There having appeared some
doubt of the accomplishment Of the
desired objects, Radical District Com
manders set about to secure the thing
by forced construction of the Acts of
Congress, and a too willing Radical
Congress called an extra Session to
endorse their work. And even after
all these things had been done, where
ever there appeared the slightest pro-
liability of failure of their scheme, a
ready expedient was found to accom-
plish the original objects Of the Radical
party. For instance, the whites had a
majority of thirteen thousand in Vir-
ginia, which would have enabled them
to control the Convention, but General
Schofeld, the first promulgator Of the
penalty theory, exercised his ingenuity
in the formation of election districts SO
as to give the control to the Radicals,
and succeeded in giving them a major
| ity of thirty votes. The Conservatives
had Hunnicutt beaten, but this inge-
NOUS penalty advocate opened the
polls beyond the legal time and had
him returned whether the majority
wanted him or not. We expect to hear
next that John Minor Bolts, who was
fairly beaten at the polls, has been LET
in by some military hocus pocus Oh
other. No political crime, however
enormous, will be left uncommitted in
order that the. South shall receive hel
full measure of punishment for her at
tempt to oyerturn "the best govern
ment the world has ever known"
But while the contemplate agents O.
an infamous political party are busy il
organising the rack for their helpless
victims, the people everywhere have
become fully awake to the designs
which they have hitherto attempted te
conceal. A majority of the people O
the North have become satisfied thai
THE South has already suffered enough
They have commenced to reflect thai
the war was prosecuted to restore the
Union, and are beginning to clamor al
those who keep the Union dissolved
more than two years after the Confed
crate armies were. dispersed. They d.
not believe that negro suffrage is
good thing, either for the North or the
South, and they say scat the polls when
ener they have an opportunity. Still
less do they believe that it would con
duce to the interests of the North o.
the South to have a dozen States abso
SElutely under negro control, with Negro
governors, negro congressman and ne
gro legislatures. The people, there
fore, in Ohio did vote on the question
of negro suffrage in the South, ant
voted against it by seventy-fve thou
sand majority. So did they vote il
California and Pennsylvania; and so
doubtless, they have voted in New
I York, New Jersey and other States
4 They will continue to vote on thi
| question, until negro suffrage is buried
beyond hope Of resurrection, either a
the North or the South, and until al
those who have attempted to force
] upon an unwilling people who ar,
buried, like Senator Wade, along will
it. Two years hence there will not b
found in America respectable part,
which will admit that iteyer contem
plated extending the right Of suffrag
to the negroes either at the North o
the South.
14 Judge Cazabat has resigned hi
judgeship. He does it because til
strong arm Of the military has been up
setting some of his decisions. It seem
IN I