Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-03-27
adopted that they will not be turned from

their purpose by anything we can say.
Negro equality has no terror for them. Negro
equality ercites no loathinq an them, fo,. the
reason that they do aaottear its 1oractica1 en-
forcenaent in their families. They think and
Minkrightty, too, thothbeir money, position and
influence eciU keep the negro ont Of their
houses. They KNOW FULL WELL THAT 1T Is IN
THE POOR MANS HOUSE THAT THE NEGRO WILL
ATTEMPT To ENFORCE HIS EQUALITY.
To the third and last class, Weakened,
craven-hearted men of property, we wish
to say few words. We are glad to think
yo1r number is small, and IN the remarks
we may make, we do not wish to be under
stood as making a fling at men of property
generally. The great argument with you
nervous gentlemen is, that g we had bet
ter take it-better take it, for if we don't,
there will be something worse-something
worse - by which you mean, in plain En-
glish, that your property will be confsca-
ted by Congress. Neither hare you any
fear Of negro equality. You knoo0 that your
broad acres aOiN keep the negro out Of your
houses. You KNOW FULL WE'LL THAT THE
NEGRO WILL FIRST ENTER THE HOUSE OF THE
POOR MAN. THE POOR MANS HOUSE
IS NEAREST THE HIGHWAY. In
your selfish greed and cowardly fear
you disregard the consequences to
your fellow citizens and think only of
yourselves, and how to " save your lands"
But will you do it by adopting this Con-
stitution Can you save yourselves at
the expense of your poorer neighbors. We
assert that you cannot that we are en-
barked in common cause in which the
life, liberty and property of rich and poor
are alike involved. If we succeed the ben
efits will flow to us all if we fail, one
common destruction will swallow us all
alike, whether rich or poor Property is
in more danger Of comttscMion, speedy and
entire c0yjscation, If tile Constitution be
adopted, than ii arW be if the Constitution be !
rejected.
We assert this in all candor, in all
seriousness and in all sorrow. If the Con-
stitution be rejected, and Congress pro-
ceeds to contiscation it can be for life
only, and then only after due trial and con-
viction in court for treason. After your
death your heirs take back your lands.
The Constitution of the United States pro-
vides for this in plain and express words
But suppose the Constitution be adopted. |
By its authority both the Senate and House
are based upon population. In the new
Legislature property will have no repre-
sentative. A member can take his seat in
either House without owning dollar in |
House may be newly washed bankrupts. |
Your broad acres will have then no Senate |
to represent them. Population will con-
troll both Senate and House. That popu-
lation consists, in round numbers, of about
one hundred and scventy-nine thousand |
voters, of whom seventy three thousand .
are landless. houseless, poverty stricken
negroes, who all vote as one man.
Under the new Constitution the Legic-
lature will be obliged to raise all its taxes
from property alone for everything save
school purposes. The capitation or poll |
tax is expressly required by the new Con-
stitution to be devoted to education and
charitable purposes. All the current ex-
penses of yonr government, all the moneys
to meet the annual and scmi-annual pay
ments of interest on your huge debt, due
mainly to Northern creditors, amounting
to probably twelve hundred thousand dol
lars per a11ntne, MUST BE RAISED BY TAXA
TON ON PROPERTY ALONE. There is
no possible means of enforcing any just
proportion between taxation in polls AMI
taxation on property to pay the expenses
Of the government. Whether they will OF
not, tie Legislature 1CiU, under Tie COnSti-
tuition, be obliged to RAISE money from pro-
perty alone. How will they discriminate
Will the representatives of these seventy
three thousand landless negroes favor your
perty as they and their leaders would natu-
rally first acquire and possess? North
Carollnians are generally land owners.
Negroes and adventurers are not so. The
negroes have property of no sort. What
property the Adventures possess generally
consists of monies, credits, investments
in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies or
other wise" Upon this they have already
taken care to provide that the taxation
shall be uniform thus covertly protecting
their own interest. Land and personal
property are left without any safeguard,
and can be taxed to any extent without
raising the tax on "monies, credits, &C."
the only injunction being to tax them ad
ralorem.
It is we'll known that each negro has con-
fdently expected to get his forty acres of
land" Suppose, now, when they have the
balance of power in their hands, that these
seventy three thousand negro voters, who
all vote as one man, require their repre-
sentatives in the Legislature to tax your
lands so high that you will be forced to sell 4.
them all, save what you have in actual Gull