Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-04-10

The visible Admixtnra BilI.


careful eXaB'inatioU Of its character If
it were simply legal measure to ex-
clude a race from the franchise, Id
would De nothing but what we are used
to white there are many who condemn
the policy as unjust and irrational, III
would not be regarded as an outrage
upon law and puOlic deceucy. But this
bill goes vastly beyond that Il de-
stroys the legal safeguards Of the fran
chise of white men, upon pretense OF
pursuing "a tinge Of African blood to its
vanishing elminatio1s. Tt OPENS a
way by which envy, hatred and malice
may cast a Stigma upon the birth OF
any man, and thereby place his pOliti-
cal rights in jeopardy. It gives legal
opportunity and encouragement TO scan
dial and private malevOlence. It furn-
ishes a bar before which the vilesC parts
of society may come and cast a stigma
upon the parenbage Of its best citizens,
upon pretense Of protecting the ballot
box.
The direct purpose Of this bill is to
disfrauchise few thousand men-ppr-
maps not three thousand in ali-Who
are voters by the Constitution Of Ohio,
as expounded by the Supreme Couri
when the Judges were ali Democrats. =
Ii is a piece Of crimi-
nal legislation. The men who do il
know THAI they are committing crime
by passing an act TO compel persons to
It
on the rights of their neighbors. Th
man who stops another on the high way
and demands his purse, is no more a
criminal than these members OF the
Legislature, who legislate to compel
uen to trespass upon the legal rights OF
others, and who provide knavish con-
trivances to enable them to escape the
penalties of the law. There are many
men in the Penitentiary who are less
guilty of an intent TO break the law
and for a less criminal purpose.
But the means conGrived to carry it
out, are viler Ihan the purpose. The
Iueanesb ECOundrel IN the comm unity
may call in question any mans birth.
and publicly cast stigma upon his
parents. In lhis country, whore migra-
tion is national characteristic, and
when there is general cHreIessuess OF
family records, and no official records
of marriages or births, il is provided by
this bill that any mans rights may be
placed in Jeopardy, upon the challenge
Of any oneOf the social dregs that the
Democratic party always gathers about
the polls, if he can not produce wit
nesses to his pedigree. II provides also
d way by which malice and vileness
may vent itself by visiting the sins OF
the parents upon the children, bv ar
raigning those born out Of wedl0ck,
and by ordering that any one who re-
fuses. to answer any question about his
q N
Being a bold breakingof law, in re-
curing judges of election, under Grim
tnaI penalties, 10 reject the votes OF
persons who have bhe franchise Of the
ConstituCons-ccm mpelling them to do
a criminal act, or suffer a Criminal PEN
alty-the bil attempts to provide for
the judges Of elections way of escape
from legal C0nBeq uences. To this end
it provides that any judge of election
sued for rejecting the vote of any per
son havinga distinct and visible ad
mixture of African blood, may change
the venue to any county he may elect
in the judicial district in which he re
sides. on making an affidavit that to
the best of his belief, justice requires
saGh a chang8 to DO made"
This is a bold provision that law
breaker may shift bis trial to a county
where there is Democratic Judge /
upon the presumption that any Dem |
ocratic Judge will disregard the law OF |
the State for the sake of DISTINGUISHING |
any who might vote against the Demo /
cratic party. This is the official recUg-
NATION. made by the Democratic Leg
sla Ur 0 the standard ofjudicial integ |
rlty III Democratic Judges. We leave It |
to them but there could not be a worse /
estimate While this Legislature il
init being the last chance until this
has forgotten the hateful
ness of q Democratic Legislature
Why not provide that any Democratic
law breaker of any sort, for example,
who steals Republican horses, fires Re
publican houses, steals Republican
money. Iobs Republicans on the road.
picks Republican pockets, or perpe-
brates any criminal act on a RepUbli-
can, may change the venue to a Demo
cratic county. It would be quite as
iustifable as this bill, and strictly
Tt would be just as com I
to Democratic judges.
And when It comes to trial, there
are conditions of proof imposed on the |
injured party that might be impossi- |
BILE In the case Of great numbers OF /
purely whitemen, to make the cOnvic- /
ton of the judge Of election impOssi- /
5le In all this scandalous proceed /
ing, from the inquisition at the polls i
to the trial of the judges of election, 1t /
is carefully provided that any person
whom anybody may challenge shall be
held guilty of negro blood unless he
IAN prove by witnesses a straight ped
gree. tits a plan by which any man,
loWever respected, may be iBsulted
md degraded, by any who are vile and
enough to do it. And in ft
Of the violence of all this
aW- breaking legislation, it provides
urther for calling out posse, and
placing the polls under the control of
orce, not because of any disturbance,
lut upon previous requirement by any
candidate. Tt is simply a provision OF
orce to break the law. After all the
)utcry Of the Democratic party about
he use of force to protect the cleo |
ions in rebel districts, a cry which
hey kept up all through the war, they
rave now passed a bill in the Senate,
for putting elections 10
ohio under the control of force, upon
he request of any candidate. We can
.aeiy see what a power for abuse this
places In the hands of Democratic can
lidates in Democratic counties.
As we said at
he outset, it is not that the Demo
rats have disfranchised a race. We
re used to that. IL is what we expect
f Democracy, which means to de-
raGe. I'd is not that this bill is a l
,old breach of constitution and law /
Ne are used to that from Democracy.
When did Constitution, Jaw or the I
.atural right to liberty stand if they .
we're in the way ofany imagined Demo-
ratio party necessity? ? It is the mean L
.ess of this bill in breaking down oil
he protection which the law aud the
manners of civilization have thrown
round the political rights and the re-
utations, feelings aud family relations
f mankind in giving malice a legal 1 d
light TO pry into the secrets of FAINT q
iss and tear out their sacred myster Z
es, before a jeering mob; in making !
very white man liable to insult and !
q loss OF his political rights, under :
he pretense of pursuing the last drop a
f negro blood, to make it degrade the $
shole man 10 giving power 20 the i
regs of white sooiety-tban which
has no lower deep-to stig !
natize aud degrade citizens however !
auch th6y may be respected for intel (
.gence and moral worth. s