, 1867-02-08


Some efehe rsry radical Journals ars rsioIe-
Ing VIII .xeeeding great joy over the TACT
that bill has paired Conrre1s Krantiug upre.
strietee sputage 10 The thousands Of uneduea-
ted negress.in the Distriet Of ColumbIA. We
look gp9. tnis meaaure as one Of the most de-
strueute oieHs ever aimed At our insttufions,
openiuR - u does, the way to the ballot-box for
seven hupdred Thousand people, ninety nine and
half PER cent. Of whom can neither read nor
write, 90 whose training has been such a. 70
wholly unit them for exereisinE the highest
duties % The citizen. The value and psrpstuity
OF RePnohean Institutions must, from their
very nAture, depend wholly upon the average
Itutelligsnee and capacity Of those Who, through
the balot-boI, make the laws Of the country.
In country Of 1--WE millions Of voters, where
paTtiei are so evenly balanced as they. usually
are 10 the Uoitsd State, half million or so Of
ignorsnt voters will always turn the scale, and
therefore the destinies Of the Nation must Virtu-
ally remain in their hands. Due regard for our
own protection, aud for the interests, welfare,
and h,nor Of the Nation, should deter us from
ever faeing the eonirol Of the Natioa 10 the
hands Of those who are so ignorant that even in
the orlinary business affairs Of life they cannot
with atsty be trusted TO make their contracts,
but mnst be kept under the guardiansbip Of
Frsednen's Bureau agents. As was remarked
by Acing Vice. President Foster, when the Dis>
trict Suffrage bill was under discussion In the
UnitedS States Senate, the voters Of the country
are called upon to sit In judgment upon thea
of Congress, Legislatures, Presidents, and Gov
eruors, and not unfrequently Congressional pro,
cesdinEs are reversed, aud Congressional laws
virtually repealed, at the ballot box. Is there,
in all the land, q man who will say that any
one Of the half million or more Of the adult
male apprentices Of the Freedmen's Bureau is
ft to b. Senator or Member of the Lower
House Of Congress If the ignorant aud re-
Gently -enfrauchised freedmen are not competent
to sit in the halls of Congress and make laws
for the Nation, are they competent to sit in
judgment upon and pronounce against or in
favor Of tIe acts Of Congress Would we al
low any man whom We did not believe to be
competent 10 sit on a Judges bench, 10 reverse
decisions Of the Supreme Court7 The white
race, for generations, had to pass through a
series of training and education before 1t be-
came competent to use the ballot with judgment
and discretion. Is the black race so far superior
to the white race that it is competent to emerge
at one bound nom condition Of slavery and
semi-bRrbarisn to position where it can virtu>
ally decide the most important aud abstruse
questions of craftsmanship at the bsliot-boI
We trow not. Congress is unwise in hurryiug
these people to the ballotbox. 1t is preparing
the entering wedge which is 10 destroy our Re-
publican system. 1t is virtually denying the
efficacy and usefulness Of eur system of educa,
tion, and holding out premium for ignorance,
by placing tae political judgment and wisdom
upon par with class OF people whom Con-
gress admits are not capable of managing their
own private affairs, aud so placed them in all
business matters under the guardianship of GoV>
ernment agents. The great mischief Of the
steps taken by CougrsSs lies Ia the fact that iu
matters of suffrage it 10 impossible 10 SO backs
ward. A mistake once made 10 this direction
cannot be rectifed. -Once allowed access to
the ballot. box class will ever vote to close it
a against themselves. The mischief once set Afoot
must keep on with its work until destruction
ensues. When once the little teredo has secu-
red position ia a plank of ships bottom, il
does not cease its dangerous work until the
grand and glorious vessel is a helpless wreck.
Thus far Congress has only extended suffrage in
the District of Coin nbia, and is endeavoring to
extend it IN the Territories. If it would pause
there all might be we'll, for as the voters in the
District and Territories do not make members of
Congress, the evil might yet be abolished, for as
soon as the new system is tried even on cir
cumscribed scale, it will ue demonstrated to be
perncious, dangerous and destructive. But
Congress has no intention of pausing. Having
introduced the Trojan Horse within the walls
Of the Republic, that body will ehdeaVer to keep
it running until the animal succeeds IN over
throwing them. Our only hope is that kind
Providence will interpoSe some obstacle to pre-
vent the full accomplishment of the designs now
on foot. Ii Congress succeeds in imposing COM
pete negro suffrage on the country, there are
adult men who read this article who will live
long enough to see our Republican Institutions
destroyed by this new system, aud eognAte mea-
sures that are travelling hand in hand with the
abominable misehief.-S. r. CaA.