Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-08-30

Oh 1AA AdAus 10 nave AJe5i4 AiA fst4FE ~ 54y
faithful to the flag, Seven thousand Of
them, or rseven-tenths Of the whole num-
Der, Lnulattoes and All Of competent age
to vote, have served in the armies offhe
Union A large proportion of these have 4
given life, health or limb for their cOun-1
try's cause.
Now if wevOte down the constitutions
al amendment given The right Of suf-
frage to these people we in effect treat
their loyalty with contempt. We say
to them that it is a thing Of no value to
us. and we brand il with obloquy. We
even go farther and afffx upon it the
stigma Of criminality. Our laws dis
franchise murderers,. robbers, house
burners, desertens and black men. Now
if we continue to do this what is the in
evitable inference? Why that to be
black IS TO be no better than a murderer,
a robber, a house-Burner anda deserterI
We thrust these loyal black people into
social and political ostracism with the
vilest criminals Z We go further and do
worse. We say to the Almighty, "What
mistake thou hast made in creating
men with black faces! We greatly
=depreeate this blunder in thy Divine
economy, and that while thou didst
manifestIy intend to create all men
equal in their rights, thou hast in re-
spect to this race 50 sfgnal1y failed. p
Now can we afford to perpetrate this
blasphemy and this injustice ? Can we
afford to thus spit upon and brand with
the badge of infatny the patriotism Of
these people? VIII the times justify
such an act as g measure of national
safetyg The time a0as when had these
people all been as dis1oyal as the rebel
whites, and we could have purchased
their loyalty by conferring the right OF
suffrage, we would gladly have thrust
that privilege upon them. But that
loyalty came unasked and unrequited.
They gave it to us without money and
without price, even when we were tax
ing pains to assure rebels that we did
not mean todestroy slavery. That 10y
atty was far more pure, and true, and
steadfast than any ever purchased by
office, Of. honor or gold. We cannot say
that we have rewarded it by destroying
slavery, forwe avowedIy did not destroy
slavery for that purpose. We destroyed
it in order to destroy rebellion. They
gave us al the moral and physical as
sistance in their power to give. Now
can we afford to withhold from that
gift its proper and its cheap rewards p
Can we afford TO say to these people
that their faithful help was worthless
and deserves nothing at our hands?-
Can we g6ord to destroy their CONT
dence. and good viii by repudiadng
this debt?
We cannot deceive these children. Of
nature. They win just as surely detect
any hypocrisy and duplicfty in our
/ dealings with them as the little child.
arraigning you before the tribunal of
its innocence, reads with its mild blue
eye the secret motives of your heart
IF we coneede their rights in the South,
and withhold them in the North, they
viii at once detect the Inconsistency
and injustice of our motives. They
will at once lose faith in us, and viii
begin to listen to the siren voice of the
secessionist, who tells them he was
their best friend from the beginning.
Can we a6ord thus to lose the friend
ship and cooperation Of these black
people 2 @
There is a large party in ourland rot
ten with treason, There is iniquity
enough in it TO sink this nation any
day to the depths of hopeless ruin, pro-
viding it had the power to do so. Co
opera ing with this party is a wicked
and faitbless President, evidently bent
on mischief With sacriIegious hands
he tears down the fair fabric reared out
of the ravages of war by the National
Congress and the peoples votes With
vengefuI recklessness he drags some of
it's trusted pillars from beneath the
temple of our liberties. Stanton, Sber-
idan and Siekles are removed simply as
a preliminary step to placing the power
they have held in the hands Of traitors.
The times are such as preemfnently
demand that we kindly encourage and
nurture every little germ of loyalty in
our land, no matter where we find it.
The exigencies Of the nation teach us
that wherever there is a spark of patri-
otism we should carefully fan it into
flame. Now, can we at such time
atord to rudeiY crush the healthy germ
of loyalty and madIy quench the spark
of patriotism? The cost of such folly
may be fearful. Let US ponder well
before we commit it.
That the negro race will ere long en-
joy in this land the privilege of the
elective franchise is just as certain as
that the sun shines in heaven. We have
nolg, at this Ue1.y moment, the golden OPP
portunity o. choosing whether we, the
Union party, shall enfranchise that race
for the purposes of loyalty and Union,
or whether we shall let the Democratic
party enfranchise it for purposes of dis
loyalty and disunion. We must 71oa0
choose whether we shall retain these
black people as our friends, or whether
we shall wantonly oppress, spurn and
spit upon them, and thus make them
our enemies. Can we AFFORD the gratifi-
cation of an unchristian and unhuman
prejudice, by such an insane and mex
cusable course as the latter2
Suppose we do, how long Will it be
before the disloy North and South,
will say to these. people: Here is a
pttA " anu q OFSA uAA4GtAH W AACI - NAC-
spise and have vainly endeavored to
overthrow. We believe we could have
succeeded but for the opposition you
made to us. Now this government, af-
Ter all you have done for it, requites
you by the worst oppression. 1t is
government in which J7-ess have no
voice, and taxes you without represen-
tation. You have precisely the same
reasons for resisting it that the coIonists
had for taking MP arms against Great
Britain. 1t is a government no less OPP
pressive to you than it is odious to u.s.
Our grievances against it are common.
Now unite with us in helping to over
throw it and yen shall have all the
rights of freemen.''
Already we have premoni5tons that
the secessionists and Copperheads are
preparing to take this very advantage
of our refusal TO do Justice to the black