The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-10-31
To Vote or Not to Vote =?

| That is the question which is now being
pondered By those Of our people who wish
to escape negro domination. 1t will be
extremely unfortunate for us Of the white
race if we shall again become divided upon
vital question of policy. We have al
ready called attention to that provision of
the reconstruction acts which requires the
lists of voters to be revised previous TO
"any" election under and by virtue Of
those acts: and we have expressed the
opinion that if BRowSLow Constitution
should be adopted by the Convention, it
will be the bounden duty Of our people to
vote it down. The Staunton Spectator has
leading editorial upon the same subject,
in which ii takes ground in favor Of total
abstinence from voting. 1t says
1.-THE Constitution which will we framed by
the Convention Will be as worthless rs waste
paper till ii be ratified by the registered voters
Of the State. The Constitution will fail TO be-
ratified unless ut least onc-halt Of the regis
tered voters vote upon the question OF ratili-
cation. If the number voting be Il majority
o. the registered voters including those
voting for and againSt-thcn a ma Iority merely
NJ those rotjag viii ratifv. But rs il requires
ii least one half of the registered voters 70
r,ic 10 effect ratification, il a0"s viii vote VINO
are OUUoN.i 10 ratiiiCatlOG ii Will require one
hall o. the whole number of reyjSt.rtd voters
10 vote in tiror Of ratification 10 effect that
object.
This being so, ii would seem that our
people should have nO difficulty III peTceiHing
that il * the true policy OF those VINO wish TO
defeat the ratification OF the Constitution TO
have il o,,tnerS0Ny understood that none 50 de-
string should vote upon the question at all
Then ratification would fail, and The bottom
would drop out Of the Radical reconstruction
Iub unless the friends OF ratification could
rally vote which would be equal 10 one-hali
of the whole number Of the registered voters.
If the premises Of the Spectator were
reliable, we should cordially concur in the
conclusion which il draws from them.
But, unfortunately, they are not. 1t is
true the reconstruction acts provide for the
submission Of the Constitution to a vote Of
the people, and declare that if it shall re-
covo majority of Il majority of the register
ell votes, &C., Congress will admit the State
into the Union. This provision, however,
and this declaration are not obligatory
upon Congress. That body may accept
the Constitution as il comes from the
hands Of uUNNICUTT. Indeed, no one who
knows the temper of Congress, and who
understands tho exceedingly Intense
anxiety which the Radicals no,c feel for
the carly admission into the Union Of
the southern States, can doubt for u
moment that if Constitution such
as the Spectator would lain defeat by alb
stncncc from voting were presented to
that body with the assurance that it had
been rotcd for by ninety thousand, or
eighty thousand, or seventy thousand
voters, and cotel against hy none, such
the work of our people, Virginia be ad
United into the Union, and Radicalism
made triumphant in the State. We sup
pose that it is not necessary TO argue this
point. No one will contend that Congress
is bound to pursue the course laid down
in the reconstruction acts-CongrcSS,
whose leader glories in the fact that they
lcgislate outside Of the Constitution. All
act of Congress binds us: the military
take care that it shall do so. Bat it does
not bind that body itself, which can at
any moment repeal all or any part Of its
own laws.
Under these circumstances, it does seem
to us that there is but one course left for
us to pursue. We must purge the regis
tralion lists and prepare to cote dolr', the
Constitution. II it shall turn out to be
one that our people will be willing to ac-
cept, no harm will have been done by our
preparations to reject an Objectionable
one