Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-02-10
NEGRO SUFFRAGE NORTH AND


people note and mark the men engaged
in this work
NEGRO SUFFRAGE NORTH AND
SOUTH.
Gov Brownlow, in his message Of Dc,
tober, 1866, said
" We cannot hear Of any excessiy
anxiety on the part Of the earnest men OF
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and
| New York, to change the constitutions OF
their respective States 80 as 10 admit col
ored men TO suffrage. They are distressed
because the ballot is not nj once thrust into
/ the hands Of the ignorant blacks of the cot
ton States, but they are proposing nothing
of the sort for the thousands of free blacks
among themselves"
The Legislatures of the States named
by the Governor, as well as number Of
others, have been in session for number
Of weeks, and that Of Illinois is, we be-
lieve, the only one in which action has
been taken looking to comforting the right
Of suHragdupon the negro A PROPOSE
ton for a 3 hvention to revise the consti-
tuition OF Illinois has been presented to
the Legislature, but we believe it has not
been finally acted upon, notwith-
standing the measure was brought for
ward several weeks ago On the 9th
inst "a colored man from Oberlin,
made a speech at Columbus, Ohio, to
fair audience which was composed of
Legislators, in favor Of negro suffrage.
The correspondent Of the Cincinnati
Commercial says
"He demanded the immediate submis-
sion Of the question to the people of the
State, and he believed that il would be car
ried by a handsome majority, thus having
more confidence in the matter than some
Of the leading colOred men of this city,
who fear defeat in case the people are
called upon 10 vote upon it at the coming
election"
Here is furnished the keynote to the
hardness with which this question is
acted upon by Northern Legislatures.
They are afraid of the people In New
York in 1860 vote was had on propo-
sition to permit negro Suffrage without
property qualification, and the vote stood
yeas 1877, SOB, nays 33z 1884, the majority
against unqualified negro suffrage being
l40,4Sl In 1864 like proposition was
defeated by majority Of l3S, 1880, the
vote being for the proposition 81, 400 and
against it 224, 1886 In 1862 a vote was
had in Illinois on several propositions
relating to negroes, and there was
a majority Of lOO,5s7 in favor Of ex-
Guiding them from the State. On the
proposition to confer upon negroes the
right Of suffrage the vote stood, for the
proposition 35,649, against it oil, 800:
In October 1865, a vote was taken in
Connecticut upon a proposition to so
amend the constitution Of that State as to
confer suffrage upon the negroes and the
vote stood for the amendment q, 2l7, and
against it 3,4S9, there being a majority
Of 6272 against negro Suffrage In the
same year a vote was taken in Wisconsin
to extend suffrage to negroes, and result
ed in a majority Of 1926 against the ex-
tension, the vote being &C. 629 in favor of
negro suffrage and So 4j4 against it. 1t
is curious fact that the soldiers vote
stood, for neggo suffrage 800, and against
it 1850 In September, 1865, a vote was
taken in Colorado Territory on the adop-
ton Of a State constitution, and on the
proposition to strike the word white
from the qualification Of voters, the ayes
were 476 and the noes 4l92, showing |
a majority Of 37lG Thus, in every in
stance where the proposition to confer |
the right Of suffrage upon the negroes has
been submitted to the people Of a North |
ern State, it has been defeated in some |
instances by tremendous majorities We |
do notwonder, in the light of these events,
that'the negroes Of Columbus fear to sub
init their claims to the people Of Ohio, |
nor should il be regarded as surprising
that the Legislatures Of the Northern |
States should manifest a dissemination to
trust negro suffrage to a vote Of their
people Abraham Lincoln, who was a
a representative man among the North-
ern people, but echoed their sentiment
when he declared in his speech at Colum-
bus, Ohio in September, 1859, that he
twas not nor ever had been in favor Of |
making voters or jurors Of negroes, and
that there is a physical difference be-
tween the white and black races which |
viii forever forbid the two races living |
together on terms Of social and political
equality. And inasmueh as they cannot
so live, while they do remain together
there must be the position Of superior and
inferior, and "l said he, AS much as
any other man, am in favor Of having the
superior position assigned to the white
race Gov Brownlow uttered similar
sentiment in his message ofOctcbsr, 1868, |
in which he said
A long and intimate acquaintance with |
Affairs In the South has convinced ne that |
the white and oolored people cannot live 1
together, politically or socially, as equals
Although there are comparatively but |
few negroes IN the Northern States-so
few that the influence Of their votes would /
probably not be felt in any election-the |
white people have shewn an unwilling
ness to place them upon an equality with |
themselves al the bsllot-box, and il viii /
require a very vigorous application Of the
party lash 70 bring them up 70 the adop
lon Of this measure While the Northern 1
people persistently refuse 70 give the negro |
he ballot, the southern people are con
SANITY beseeched 70 DO what they have
% far refused 70 do, and probably WILL not
10 This game Is being played 10 the
iope Of benehtting, not the negro. bat the
ATTY now in power