The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1867-11-07

II W l@NQ
TuB CAUSE OF THE REPUBLICAN LOSSES AT
THE RECENT ELECTIONS.
am woll satisfied with the result Of
our election (wo may consider it tic)
the 100, 900 majority which, when we-
were altogether Union war party,
elected Brough our Governor, has been
driven off by few Radical leaders,
whom tho Republicans il the TWO
Houses have allowed to rule and per-
maps to ruin thom. There is very
large number Of old-l Wings, and Of
those who inherit their prepossessions
and opinions, who weEt with tho Re
publicans at the lato elections. in ali
things except the constitutional amend
ment, because they feared to place
power in the hands of their old adver-
naries, tho Democrats, while. they
heartily disapproved the extreme radi-
cal policy OF tho Republican party.
This class of voters is very nearly
numbered in the difference between
the Democratic vote for Governor and
the vote against the constitutional
amendment On tho whole, tho result
has shown that If now election were
to take place at once, 1t would DO IN
the power of the Conservatives to
give large majority to either side at
pleasure. This may. or may not be,
the case year TO como-either party
when in power may, within that time,
utterly destroy itself past the possi-
bility of rescue. The present tendency
of the Conservatives is to unite with
the Republican party, if that party
will, in obedience to what they now
know to be tho will of the people, re-
call their proscrptive mandate, and
loave tho intelligence Of the Southern
States FREQ to act in modifying and car
ry,ng on their State Governments, aud
dcsist from forcing on them negro suf.
frage ard gudSi-negro, qudSi-miiitary
rule. This Lhey will do If they read
Alright, and profit by, the lesson which
has just been taught them.
The two propositions, namely; that
of giving suffrage to tine blacks, and
denying it to the whites az punish
ment for past political and military
ofHenses, were for the first time submit
ted to the people, and their opinion
asked upon them at the late election IN
Ohio.
Ohio was selected as the most de
cidedly Radical among the great States
aud the questions were put TO her peo
ple first Of all, in tho confident eXpec-
taton that their authority would b'
obtained foe fastening the Reconstruc
tSon Acts on tho South, and extending
them over tho Border States, under
tho assumption that the governmen
of no State can be republican that doe
not admit negro suffrage and proscrib
men who h, We been rebels. Both thes
duestions.were involved and discussed
in the Ohio election; the Republican
orators insisting that it would be in
consistent and unjust to force negr
suffrage on the South, and not accop
1T for ourselves. This was manifesll,
true; we could nos, with any protens
Of political justice, place the Who'll
South under negro government. b,
admitting all black, and excluding 3
many white voters us would give TIL
negroes a majority everywhere, and a
tho Same time refuse to suffer ZOO
negroes TO vote ih Ohio, with 10000
Nnlto voters 10 COulfOl bnen. w no
the people of Ohio refused to acceI
negro suffrage as n part of their ow
system, they were guilty Of TO ncor
,istency and no injustico-they had in
hicted neither prescription nor negr
suffrage on the South as far as 1T ha
been executed, it was the act of thci
public servants, and they, by this vot
refused it their SANCTION. This wG
the response of tho forty thousand ms
jority who voted against tho constitl
tional amendment. They disapproy
prescription for past political or mill
tary offenscs, and they dlsapprove
the attempt to force negro osuffrage upo
an unwilling people.
l have no doubt q large majority
the Republicans in the two Houses
Congress are conservative in the
opinions and feelings-that, as a ma
ter of choice, they would prefer f
themselves and their neigbbors, whi