The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-17
SUFFERING NEGROES.


section of our beloved country, has been
the emancipation Of four millions OF hu-
man beings; and whereas the heads OF
families of this class have been suddenly
thrown upon the charities of the world,
| without fortune, or education, or any ade-
quate means Of support and whereas ao-
| iect poverty is demoralizing and paralyzipg
to both physical and mental energies; ana
whereas one object Of the recent recon-
struction acts Of Congress was the eleVa-
ton of this class Of people; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That a committee of three
be appointed by the President of the Con-
vention to visit the city of Washington
and respectfully ask the Congress of the
United States to take some legislative &C
ton looking to the amelioration of the
deplorable condition Of this class of peo-
ple." Laid over under the rules.
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE.
@Mr. UNDERWOOD (Mr. WHITE in the
chair offered the following:
RESOLVED, That the Committee on the
Elective Franchise and Qualification be
requested to report in favor of giving the
franchise and the right to hold civil office
to every citizen of this State of full
age, of sound mind, and of good reputa-
tioD."
Upon his resolution Mr.. UNDERWOOD
vented an enlarged edition of his famous
charge, making violent attacks upon the
clergy, characterizipg the primitive Virgil
mans and their descendants in tone Of
scurillity and fanatical prejudice, and eulo-
giving, on the other hand, the descendants
of the Plymouth fathers. The press came
in for a share; and he drew highly-co-
lored picture of Sambo's sufferings, the
pleading tone of his "angel wife," his
manliness and independence, and his emf
nent qualifications for all the rights of citi
zenship. He traversed the history of
slavery from the beginning of the history
of our country. Female suffrage was also
advocated, and the vile men who opposed
it were classed, as general thing, as
drunkardS and libertines, who shrank, like
kicked dogs, from the glance of pure,
noble, and virtuous woman. He hoped
that in course Of time the light of civiliza-
ton might shine upon this benighted land,
and woman-dear woman, the light of our
lives-might be permitted to cast her vote.
When such should be, our legislative bo-
dies would not be composed, as in the past,
of drunkards and libertines.
In conclusion, he poured O.. little mo-
assos on his offensive production by advi-
sing general sweetening of dispositions.
The production-which we can call neither
a speech nor sermon-was irrelevant to
the subject it protested to discuss, replete
with bitterness and prejudice, and gave
ample evidence that its author was con-
firmed fanatic.
Mr.. MARIE arose at the conclusion Of
Mr.. UNDERwooD's remarks, and asked that
he be allowed to reply to remarks made by
the speaker concerning himself-that he
be allowed, as matter Of privilege, to re-
ply.
Mr.. CLEMENTS asked that Mr.. CURTIss's
resolution be taken up as in order.
The CHAIR decided that the resolution
was in order.
An appeal was taken to the decision.
The House sustained the appeal.
After much squabblipg,
Mr.. PORTER arose and said that he, for
one, did not wish it to go forth to the
world that his side Of the House hushed
up the gentleman's reply to the gentleman
from Richmond.
General assent being given, Mr.. MAEYE
was allowed to proceed.
Mr. MARYE said
That when he entered the hall he was in
formed that the member from Richmond
had made illusions to certain opinions eX-
pressed By him (Mr. MARYE) as to the idle
ness and thriftlessneSs Of the black race,
and had also read extracts from Frede-
ricksburg newspaper, in which the editor
| nho1
case the negro offered to vote year hence,
he would be shot down, and that he de-
served to be. Mr.. MARYE remarked that
neither he nor the party with whom he
acted were in anywise responsible for the
utterances of editors; that he would take
this occasion to define the position of him
self and of ty-nine-one- hundredths OF
the Conservatives of Virginia on this topic.
The white people Of Virginia did not
conceive that in all the conduct of the
colored race during the eventful period OF
the past seven years there was any cause
to excite ill-will or unkind sentiments in
the breasts of white men towards that race.
On the contrary, the whites recognized
that the conduct Of the negroes during the
war was in the main praiseworthy, and
that all that was evil in them came since. But
the ignorant, untutored black man was not
responsible, but those who melted him to
evil thinking and mischievous conduct by
their false teachings. Nor did the white
man, for a similar reason, cherish senti.
ments of resentment against the negro
because Of bis clamor to obtain political
franchise and favor; for it was natural and
Unsuitable that they should seek these
boons when they were stimulated to be.
lieve they were entitled to demand them.
The member from Richmond had sought
to confound and cover up the real issues
before the Convention by quoting. with
much complacency, the opinions of Jetfer-
son, Madison, and Henry, in furtherance
of emancipation, and then claiming to
educe from this the conclusion that. the
advocates of negro suffrage had these emf.
nent names on their side; and in the
course of his crude and pernicious plat.
.udes had announced the proposition that
the right to the ballot belonged ,"inhe-
rently to every human being on whom God
had stamped the impress of humanity
Now, it was truly lamentable that the men,
Der who was sent to Virginia to expound
and enforce the principles of civil and po-
litical jurisprudence could be capable of
uttering SO absurd and dangerous dogma.
For centuries past no author or statesman
who had any respect for the enlightened
Judgment Of mankind had ever uttered