The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-03-12


But the question may be asked, why
not apply the same tests TO the white
men OF the South ? The answer IS
plain and Lwofold. First, by the con-
stitut;on and laws of those States the
right of suffrage is already secured to
them, and we havo no rightful power
to take it away. TO do 81 would
trample under our feet one of tho most
sacred rights reserved to tn @
States. 1t is extending suffrage TO the
negroes chat Congress is overturning
the constitutions of those States. In
my opinion, this is n usurpatiUn, whlch
its advocates justify upon the ground
ofnecossity alone. lnoither admit the
power nor tho necessity; but granting
both, no reason can be given, ard no
necessity but that of party 0scendency
can be urged, for going any further in
this revolutionary WORK than to admit
to suffrage the classes of negroes ma
med in this amendment.
The second answer is, that white
men have Tor centuries been accustom-
cd to vote. They have borne all tho
responsibilities and discharged all tho
duties of offrccmon among frermen and
1t ia q very different thing to take
away from n freeman privilege long
exercised by HIM and by his ancestors,
from what 1t is to cOnfor ono mover be
fore enjoyed upon ignorant, halfcivil-
lied AiricansjIstrolcascd from slavery.
Three generations back many Of them
'voro canibals and savagcs Of tho low
est typo Of human kind The only
civilization they have is that which
they received during their SLAYER y in
America.
To confer this great privilege upon
the more enlightened negroes might
tend TO elevate the mass IN tho end.
But to confer it now upon their igno-
rant hordes can only degrade the bal.
lot and the republican institutions
which rest upon 1t.
No answer to this Wow has over been
given, no answer can be glvon, by tho
friends of universal negro suffrage
except this: "The ignorant foreigner
is allowed to vote, why not lot the ig.
norant negro vote p Thus to com.
pare the civilized European, accustom-
cd TO free labor, to solf,support, and
sclf-government, to all the duties and
responsibilities of q freeman, and who
wlthal, before he Is allowed TO vote in
most the States, must appear in open
court, and, after five years residence,
prove by tho testimony ot'Iwo citizens
q good moral character, and that he
is well disposed toward the Government
and institutions Of the United States
70 compare hIm with the poor dcgra-
dod mass Of Africans, plantation slaves
just set free, is an utrocious libel upon
ourselves, upon our ancestors, upon
the results of Christian civilization,
and upon that Causasian race which
for thousands orycars has ruled the
world.
But suppose it to be true that too
many ignorant foreigners Of our own
race are admitted TO suffrage already,
IS that any reason or any apology even
for admitting six hundred thousand
hnlf-civIlizcd men Of another race
men whose natural home is in the
tropics, who are eXotics hero, trans
planted, not by the natural laws of
emigration. not by their own free Will,
but by the cupldIty Of Old and New
England, as slaves; and whose whole
education and civilization, so far as
they have any, have been derived from
slavery to tho white man ? do not
say there are not somo ignorant whito
men, foreign and native born, who are
not qualified to vote but they are OK,
coptions TO the general rule. do not
say there arc not some persons of In,
dian, of Chinese, OF Of African descent
who are qualified; but they are except
ions TO the general Tule also. Society
must, in tho man, be governed by gen
eral laws While the general is that
white men arc capable, and therefore
suffrage may be made universal among
them, on the other hand the general
rulo IS that Indians, Chinese, coolies,
and negroes arc incompetent; and os-
pecially is this truc Of tho negroes in
the plantation States. Therefore the
general rule should exclude them from
suffrage. At all events it should be nc
further relaxed than to admit the ox-
ceptod classes mentioned in this amond
mont.
Tho effect Of tho adoption Of this
amendment would be to allow all who
have the qualifications required by the
constitutions Of those States before the
rebellion, not specially dIsfranchlsed
to vote; that is to say, the mass o
white mon, and at tho samo time il
would allow the most liberal negro
4 . -
maintenance of civilized government
in those States.
Let Congress now pause, and modi-
fy its course in accordance with the
provisions Of this amendment, and
havo every reason to boliovo tho peo
pie of those States would at once take
part in tho work Of reconstruction, {
solution Of our difficulties would be at,
tancdSand peace restored to the coun
try.