New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-03-10

;,r State Legislatures from forbidding citizens
of thc limited States to vote for officers OF
tho limited States But in refusing to pass any
hill Of the kind it imposed the duty of dong
Justice upon the Republican party. We reJoice
that our Convention did not shrink from the
resnonsibility. 1t made free Constitution,
and f fine people of the State refuse to adopt
the Suffrage amendment the Republican leaders
in the Convention will not bear the blame
Honor also to Ohio, where the fight was at
least well fought, even If badly managed. But
shame upon Pennsylvania.
Mr. John Hickman, member OF the lower
branch of the Pennsylvania Legislature, intro
duced joint resolution striking the word
white from the Constitution, and imposing
an intelligence test on voters. 1t was warmly
debated, and on March brought to vote.
OF the fifty -four Republicans in the House, IL
will scarcely be believed that but thirteen
could be mustered to vote for it. Twenty
eight including the Speaker, had the superhu-
man courage to vote directly against the reso-
luton, and the remaining thirteen had the mis-
fortune to be sick or absent. 1t must not DC
forgotten that the tremendous responsibility OF
giving the ten thousand colored male adult
citizens of Pennsylvania the ballot was not laid
upon these li0n-hearted legislators. All that
was asked Of them was to submit the question
to a popular vote. If this is the stuff the Re-
publican party in Pennsylvania is made of, we
arc not surprised that the Democrats are jubi-
liant, and did not think it worth while, the
other day, to make a strong State ticket
Republicans in all the States had better make
I'D their minds at once that there cannot be
two policies in the party-one for the North
and one for the South. We cannot give the
ignorant millions of freedmen in the Rebel
States the ballot, and at the same time refuse
it to the educated thousands in the North. If
we attempt such jugglery, we shall find out
that we have not cheated the negro, but our
selves For it should be borne constantly in
mind that every concession made to the cow
ardly minority of the party is more than coun-
terbalanced by the effect upon the conscientious
and courageous majority. Nine-tenths of the
Republicans believe in Impartial Suffrage, and
are resolved to carry it through. Such timidity
and treachery as the Pennsylvania Legislature
has shown disgusts and discourages our Radi-
cal voters Last Fall thousands of them stayed
from the polls in that State because they had
little confidence in the local candidates. The
result has justified their doubts. If we in-
tend to move onward, to keep the ranks un-
broken, to arouse again the enthusiasm of
1864, we must have something to fight for. a
Man is not enough; we want Principle too
We are the more earnest in urging this upon
the people because the action of the Pennsyl-
vania Legislature foreshadOws desire to force
the main issue out of the Presidential canvass
What kind of a platform are we likely to got,
if men like the twenty-eight Republican repu-
diators in Harrisburg are sent to the Chicago
Convention Conservative Republican papers
like The Philadelphia Press, by their signlfi-
cant silence upon the Suffrage question, betray
their secret inclinations. The excitement upon
the Impeachment question helps to divert
attention from the danger. But we cannot
afford to palter and hesitate about proclaiming
the vital principles of the Republican party IT
there is danger in advocating justice, in not
advocating it there is certain ruin.