Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-08-09
H4cKWAR0 or FoRWARDe

5uted among men derive the5r Just f7oa9-
ers from he esnseut. Of the governed, .
and this is the fundamental principle
underlying our and all other repubh-
can forms Of government. If this doc
triue is not true our institutions are +
founded upon a falsity and sooner or I
later must tumble into ruin. Ii 1t Is 1
not true. Democracy, or Government +
of the People is an impossible thing
But the Democratic party Of Ohio is
TODAY arraved in direct antagonism to /
this principle. A part Of its creed is that /
men deserve to be disfranchised, that is, I
deprived or a voice in their government, /
not because they are criminals, not be- /
cause they are disloyal, not because /
they are turbulent and law-breakings /
not becsuse they have no property OF /
intelligence. not because they have
done nothing to preserve their country's s /
unity, bat simply and purely because
they are black. Now if tits right and
iusf to disfranchise men simply because
they are of particular race or color
then It must be true that gOvernme nts
derive their just powers " from some
9th p source than tie "a consent of the
governed. - How can governments 50 /
der We their powers when such consent
is rot permitted Bat the Democratic
psr V of tluio declarest that such consent
ShalL not be permitted II arrays itself
directly against the doctrine Of Jeffer-
son
Rnt perhaps we are told ttlaat Ohio
D,..aocfats Only design 70 apply their
views to the negro race, and propose 70
except all other races under heaven
How do we know that ? Is it in the
Democratic pIatform2 Nothing OF the
kind. And now if men ought to be dis
ffanchis-d because they are of one race
OF C ,ior why should they not be dis
rraf chised because they are Of another
ract 59r color? If 1t is right and just TO
disfraficIlise them simyis bscause they
are black why is it not risht and just
to disfranchise them simply because
tbev are white? If we recalcitrate
against the doctrine of Jefferson in ref
erenee to men of one Complexion why
should we not also do it in reference to
men of another complexion? Per
haps we are told that Ohio Democrats
onlv mean to qualify Jefferson s idea by
excluding from its application partie-
ulaf race. But if we qualify it by ex-
cIudiHR one race what reason is there
why we should stop here? Why should
we not go backward still further and
qualify it still more by excluding other
races? Why not keep on qualifying it
until we have qualified our government
into an aristocracy, an oligarchy, or an
absolute despotisn.
There is unquestionably no reason
| Either we must 90 forward and extend
the application Of our governmental
! theory to all men of all races, or if we
shall except one race we shall inevita-
| blv 90 backward and except others
q Forward or backward :" is now the
key. note of the campaign. Does gov
ernment 81 derive its. just powers from
/ the consent of the governed " or does
it not2 Men viii vote on the Second
Tuesday of next October on the affrma-
! tive or negative of this question. There
is no lodging it. Shall we stand by
/ the doctrine of jefferson or shall we
not, y is the question every voter must
now ask himself. Complexion has ab-
soIut4Iv nothing to do with it and is on
! " made a pretext. We are not cOnten-
/ ding now whether men had common
origin or a thousand different ones. We
are not quarreling about flat noses OF
Roman noses, or Greciau noses. We are
not arguing about the merits of a black
skin or a white skin, a high forehead OF
a low one. These are matters used to
cover up the real issue while the main
question involved is, whether our re-
publican theory is true or untrue. Once
admit its truth and you cannot avoid
its application. To make exceptions on
account of the color Of mems faces is
absurd and ridiculous in the extreme
1t is establishing a principle in direcl
contravention of the essential theory Of
our government. 1t is establishing g
Iprinciple which is anti-J efersonian, and
democratic, and which may, and
no doubt soon will, if successful, be
used with equal force as an argument
for DISTINGUISHING white men.
If the people of Ohio vote down the
penang Suffrage dlle4AClAA0tlL tAA6y w III
make a step backward from the Dec
laratian of Independence toward tn
despotism from which we were cut loose
by that immortal document. The same
reasons, the same arguments now USED
for disfranchising the eolored race may
and agiU be used for disfranchising
other races. We mast go forward o.
INSTRUMENTATION shall we do? Tht
Union eagles point to the front and The
omeus indicate VICTORY We have
right and justice on our side and sue
cess is only matter of time. If this
question is not settled now it will bt
agitated until it is settled. Let US ther
determine it at once, and in accordance
with the immoral doctrines of Jeffer
son and the essential principles of on
Constitution.
The Union host is on the right line o
march. Let it strike tents and NOV,
foraUard with fearless heart and soliC