Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1868-02-20
Shall Migratory Manic DIS"
Lose Their Votes?

IA FRIEND TO JUSTICE AND EQUAL
RIGHTS" so-called, publishes a letter in
Forney's (Wsshihgton) Chronicle, the or
gan of Thad. Stevens, addressed ITO the
He reminds them that, BY the regu-
lations now existing, the registered voters
of the State of Virginia are required to
vote in the districts where their votes are
registered, and if this is not changed, Ell
Their by law or the district commander, the
friends of the Union will be beaten by
$4,000 votes on the question of adopting
or rejecting the Constitution
members of the Republican Party in the
two Houses of Congress, in which he
urges them to pass an act for the special
benefit of the rowing bands Of idle negroes
to be found in almost every section of the
State.
He also tells them that, THE Demo
cratic party, calling themselves the Con-
servatlve party, never was SO thoroughly
organized as it will be on that occasions"
and that, Every man whose name has
been registered and can be induced to vote
against the adoption of the Constitution
will be carried to the polls" We would
fam hope this may be so
lie then tells his radical brethren in
Congress that 1T is rare thing to find
white voter who has not a fixed and per-
manent residence, whilst it is equally rare
to find a colored man who has-and espe
cially in the rural districts" The reason
of this is, there are no government soup
houses in the rural districts" such as
they have in Richmond, to feed the idle
negroes He says 1.-The colored people
are of migratory disposition; they are
naturally fond of change, and it is rather
an uncommon thing to find them willing
to remain at the same locality for any
length of TIME, no matter how comfortable
and desirable a home they may hare. y
Hence. says he, "they are shifting about
from place to place, from one district to
another, and from one county to another,
nearly all the time"
To secure the votes of these migratory
lambs of the radical fold, the writer sug-
gests ''that Congress shall provide that ev
cry registered voter shall be permitted to
exercise his right of suffrage in the county
and district where he may reside at the
time OF voting. upon his making oath, un-
der heavy penalties for false swearing. that
ne was duly registered according to Law in
such county and district during the late
registration authorized by law He saws
III this is not done either by Congress or
the district commander, let all make up
their minds at once for most inglorious
defeat On our part; when the whole work
OF reconstruction will have to be gone ov-
er again. :" A contamination most de-
voutly to be wished.
Human ingenuity and rank party bitter
ness, intensified by desperation engen
dered by prospective defeat, could not in
vent more diabolical and successful
scheme for defeating the wishes of large
majority of the voters of the State, than
that proposed by this pretended friend to
justice and equal rights"
Under the miscaled reconstruction acts
as they now stand, frauds may be, and
IN some instances have been, perpetrated,
as the investigations in Richmond have es-
tablished; but if the change proposed by
this writer shall be adopted, the radical
party in Virginia can ratify the constitu-
ton by at least one hundred thousand ma
jority. The migratory" voters can be
multiplied indefinitely
It will only be necessary to keep the
polls open long enough to enable the me-
groes to migrate" from zone district to
another, and from one county to another"
to secure the desired result Ten thous-
and could be transported to Richmond and
other cities, by railroad from distant coun-
ties, under the management of yankee
keepers, where they could be fed on
government soup until they can vote un-
der as many aliases as there are names on
the negro registers. .
The proposed "heavy penalties for false
swearing will not deter one single voter
Who will enfore them, even if the frauds
are discovered and made manifest Who
'shall guide the shepherds" of these black
lambs