The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-04-20

/ there We're 2,5s9 whites to 5,Sl2 blacks In
/ Orange there were 4, 4o7 whites to 8, 900 blacks
i in Nansemond, S,742 whites to 1851 blacks
in Mecklenburg there were 6,777 whites to
1880 blacks; in Lunenburg, 4,447 whites to
1857 blacks: in Louisa, q, l66 whites 10 10. .53G
blacks /; in King William, 1859 whites to 5,94C
/ blacks; In Greenesville, 1878 whites to 4,4ol
blacks in Goochland, 3,sl4 whites to 8,s42
blacks; in Essex, 1926 whites to VIA blacks
In Dinwiddie. 4,6i9 whites to 7,271 blacks
in Cumberland, 2,a4e whites 10 7,ol6 blacks
in Charlotte, 4,asl whites to s,4sS blacks in
| Caroline, $3.50 whites to ll,5l5 blacks; In
| buckingham, 6.041 whites to 9, III blacks !; in
| Brunswick, 1898 whites to ISIS blacks; in
Amelia, 1884 whites to 1859 blacks, &C., sc.
TEST OATH
It was thought an extreme measure to eman-
cipate In an instant four millions of negroes.
! It was done at a moment when the North was
| reckless of the consequences upon the social
| organization of the South and with manly
fortitude it was submitted to by the South, and
| an honest disposition cherished to make the
best ofit. Then came the Freedmen's Bureau
and the civil rights bill. Soon after, the idea
Of qualified negro suffrage was cautiously
broached ut the North. Then, in March, 1867,
with little note of preparation, the Congress
Of the United States issued the edict of uni
1 versal negro suffrage. It absolutely appalled,
every heart in the South.
| The formula in which this bold and nnpre-
| CeueHL Leu InettSuTG WAS ucleuutu iL lll6 NOTLll
was " Universal Amnesty and Universal Suf-
| frage."
The Convention of Virginia have given us
the universal negro suffrage without the am
nesty. They stopped not ut negro suffrage !;
they have made negroes, and all negroes, ELI
| gible TO Office, and required neither property
nor intelligence qualification of the incum-
bent. Any male twenty-one years old lthe
| Governor must be little older) can hold
Office. The Convention did not stop here.
| They then excluded from the ballot and from
Office not only all whites prescribed from office
by the constitutional amendment, but they
added to that long list. Then upon this they
| engrafted their county and town organiZa-
| ton, providing for the election of all local
officers with two exceptons) by the people !;
while by the apportionment OF representation
they have provided for 4 negro majority in
both branches of the Legislature.
| Had the Convention stopped here, it would
only have been negro supremacy. But it re-
manned TO give the finishing touch to this
almost incredible revolution. They determined
to Slut the 1Dhites altogether from all Offices in the
State. Accordingly, they have incorporated in
the Constitution the famous (" iron clad y
cath, by which all persons, before entering
upon the discharge of the duties of any office,
are required to swear as follows: 81 do So
lemnly swear Tor affirm) that have never
voluntarily borne arms against the United
States since have been citizen thereof; that
| / have voluntarily given no aid, coun tenance,
| counsel, or encouragement, TO persons en-
gagged in armed hostility thereto; that have
never sought nor accepted, nor attempted TO
exercise the functions of any office whatever,
under any authority, or pretended authority,
| in hostility to the United States; that have
not yielded a voluntary support to any pre-
| tended government auth oriLy, power, or COIL
| stitution within the United States, hostile or
| inimical thereto. And do further swear Tor
af1irm) that, to the best Of my knowledge and
ability, will support and defend the Consti-
tuition of the United States against all ene-
,raip and In 10 hot will hpa
| true faith and allegiance to the same that
| take this obligation freely, without any men
tai reservation or purpose of evasion, and
that will well and faithfully discharge the
duties of the Office on which am about TO en-
ter. So help me God"
| This applies TO all officers, county, munich
| pal and state. 1t reaches from the Governor TO
| the overseer of 4 road or the trustee of pub
| lie school; and includes members Of the Gen
ernl Assembly and of any future constitu-
| tional convention.
| 1t is we'll known that there is not one white
man in q thousand in the State that can take
this oath. 1t gives the State absolutely to the
| negroes. The theory of Congress was to give
| protection to the negro by giving him the bal
| lot: by DISTINGUISHING large number Of
whites, by making all negroes eligible to
office, by electing all county and township
officers by the people, by gerrymandering
the State with reference to representation in
the Legislature; the negroes would have gone
so far beyond this as to have been the con-
LrOlilQR power III CLutc. 4ucJ NOuluj
we have said, have gotten possession of the
State government and of the local administra-
tion in q large majority of the counties east of
the Blue Ridge: they would have dominated.
But this matter of the test oath has swept
away all opposition. They will now fill every
place; they will now hold eue1y Office. The
exceptions will be too rare to deserve atten-
ton. We have Negro Rule, and Unmitigated
Negro Rule.
a black attorney for the commonwealth
1ry;fp m ,r,iSad GRAND
jury, who will send back their indictments to
be tried by a mixed petit jury. A black sheriff,
or his black deputy, will take the white and
black jury in charge, to eat ut q common table
and sleep in the same chamber. a black trea-
surer will have the custody of the taxes levied
in the county. n black superin tendent of the
the poor will dole out the charities OF the
public 10 the white paupers in the county
poor house. A black trustee will visit and
make laws for the village school. Black super
visors will fix the amount of the county levy,
which will be assessed by 4 black assessor, and
gathered in by a black collector. A black COM
missioner will lay Off the public roads. A
black magistrate will dispense justice; a black
constable will preserve order; black clerk
will keep the records of the township.
The Governor and his aids will be black
(after the first term). The Lieutenant
Governor will be black. The Secretary of
the Commonwealth will be black The
Board of Public Works will be black. The
militia officers will be black. The Legislature
will be black. We shall have black represen-
tatives in Congress. The Visitors of the Uni
yersity will be black. The State proxies will
be black.
BASIS OF REPRESENTATION AND APPoRTIoSMENT.
In furtherance Of their plan of entrenching
themselves in power in every possible manner,
the negroes deemed it worth while to take even
another precaution. As negroes only Tor in
comers from the North) are eligible to the LS-
gislature, it might have appeared unnecessary
to tamper with the apportionment OF repre-
sentation for the Legislature. But as the
whites Excluding the disfranchised class are
allowed to vote, it might have resulted that
the whites might have sent a majority Of ne
groes to the Legislature under white intiu-
ence For the whites excluding the disfran-
chised) have majority in the State of some
So, 900 votes. Accordingly, by the article in the
Constitution entitled "Basis of Representa-
ton and Apportionment," the State has been
gerrymandered, and the blacks will have ma
iority of tWenty-o -one on joint ballotin the two
Houses of the General Assembly. The major
ity of the committee on this subject were Rad
icals, and they brought in q report which gave
their party about nine on joint ballot IN the
Legislature. This was partly effected by
adopting the registration of 1867 as the basis-of
REPRESENTATION and apportionment. The COM
mittee declined to adopt rs this basis the CEN
sus returns Of 1850, or to correct the registra-
tion lists by these census returns; although 1t
was well known that large number of white
persons had neglected TO register at the late
registration.
But the party leaders in the Convention
were not satisfied with the majority thus Sc
cured. They sanctioned the general prinei-
piles on which the report was based, which
were (as regards the House of Delegates)
these: That as far as practicable each county
should have separate delegate; that there
should be one delegate for each 500 register
ed voters "and where the fraction over, in 4
county. exceeded 900 voters, to give another
delegate and to every county in which the
number of voters was between 900 and l, 800, u
delegate each"