Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1868-04-28
A DID X e SIS
ADD RESS
OF THE
CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS
OF THE
LATE STATE CONVENTION
to the People of Va.

purpose OF framing new constitution tor th
State of Virginia. Moved by the considera
tions which induced their constituents to par
ticipate in that election they took their seats il
the convention which assembled in Richmond
on the third day of December, animated by {
sincere desire to contribute all in their power
towards the establishment of civil order, anC
the restoration of Virginia to her place in the
Union upon the basis of the Federal constitu
| tion and fair recognition of the results of the
late civil war.
Conscious of their numerical weakness, but
sustained by clear convictions of duty and by
the concurring judgment of eminent and en-
hghtened citizens in all parts of the State, they
continued to labor during the session of the
convention to secure a constitution calculated
to protect the rights and interests Of all classes
of the community, to harmonic upon a basis,
discriminating and just the conflicting ele-
ments of society, and to confirm in manner
satisfactory to the Federal authorities the ex-
pressed sentiment of the country in favor of a
perpetual and indissoluble Union.
The convention having completed its work,
and propounded constitution adverse in it's
whole spirit to the procurement Of these ends,
and defeating by its extreme provisions the OBJ
jects contemplated by even the stringent pro-
gramme prescribed by Congress, the under
signed deem it appropriate to lay before the
people of Virginia a brief account of this in
strument, and the thorough subversion of all
existing relations which it will effect in our So
ciety.
The convention consisted of one hundred and
five members, of whom some thirty-fve were
Conservatives, some siXty-fve were Radicals,
and the remainder doubtful The Radicals
were composed of twenty four negroes, fourteen
native-born white Virginans, thirteen New
Workers, one Pennsylvania, one member from
Ohio, one from Maine, one from Vermont, one
from Connecticut one from South Carolina,
one from Maryland, one from the District of
Columbia, two from England one from Ire
land, one from Scotland, one from Novia Sco-
tia and one from Canada. Of the fourteen
white Virginians belonging to this party, some
had voted for secession, others had been in the
Confederate service, others are old men whose
sons had been in the Confederate army hard
ly one has Union record A large proportion
of the Northern men and the foreigners were
drlfted here IN sQule non COM Gibatant capacity by
the war.
The convention organized by electing New
Yorker president. A native Of Maryland was
elected secretary. A Marylander was elected
sergeant alarms. An lrishman, resident in
Baltimore was elected stenographer The as
sistant clerk was from New Jersey. Two ne
groes were appointed door keepers. a clergy
LLdi lloiH 4iiuoio E1o appoiHtEu Ci!apit:tl
Even the boys appointed as pages, with one
exception, were negroes, or the sons of North
ern men or foreigners; while the clerks OF the
twenty standing committees, with two or three
exceptions, were also Northern men or negroes.
For nearly FIVE months we have patiently sat
| in this convention listening to encomiums upon
| the negro race, to wholesale denunciations
against the whites Of the South, to propositions
and speeches levelled against property, and ad-
dressed to the cupidity of enfranchised slaves
suddenly invested with the controlling power
| In the State. 1t was our aim to secure a good
constitution, and to this end we labored through
the better part of the session until we relin-
| quished the effort in despair of getting any
| thing that was even tolerable. 1t gradually be-
came obvious to both sides of the house that
| the more violent element In the Radical party
had obtained the mastery over those who were
| inclined to more moderate measures. This was
accomplished IN tie caucus which sat almost as
regularly as the convention, and what was de-
| termined on there was pushed through under o
call for the previous question by the united par
! ty in the convention.
| 1t was the subject Of remark among us du-
ring the progress of the convention that the ne
| groes grew more and more intractable. The
| reported debates of the convention will show
how active they gradually became in the pro-
ceedings of the body-although, In this con-
nection, it is proper to observe tnat correct
| idea of the speeches and conduct of the negroes
| is only to be obtained by reading the press re-
| ports of the Richmond newspapers. The de-
| corous harangues in the official reports Of the
convention were invented by the stenographer
| Another matter which attracted QUE attention
| was the utter disrespeet which the Northern
leaders in the body paid to all that had hereto
| fore been distinctive in the fundamental law OF
/ h hx,v tod har
| selves with securing to the negroes the control
of the future legislation of the State, but In a
wanton and reckless spirit, overthrow whatever
had been consecrated under all previous consti-
tutions in the affections Of the people, or what
| ever such men as Madison, and Marshall, and
Leigh, had deemed of prime importance in lay
ing the foundations Of our social organization
Ruthless innovation was INDUCED in where
| there was no object to subserve and the plough
| share was driven over the monuments OF the
| past in the temper of confident and irresponsi-
| Bile power, and with the rudeness and heartless
ness OF a barbarous conquest.
SUFFRAGE.
We will attempt now'very briefly, as we have
proposed, to explain what will be the operation
of the new constitution if it shall become the
law of the State. The pivot of the system to
be inaugurated is, Of course, negro suffrage
| The instrument submitted provides for this on
the widest basis There is universal negro suff
| frage, without Limitation, except that the party
shall be a male, of sound mind, twenty one
years of age, who has not been convicted OF
crime, and resided twelve months in the State
and three months in the county where he pro
poses to vote We could not secure any edu-
ca t"". or property qualification whatever, not
even the pre- payment of taxes; not even tn the
prepayment of the one dollar pei! tax. we
could not even persuade tAem to exclude pau,
pers But this universal suffrage was confined
| to the negroes all whites who ever held any
Office whatever under the Federal Government,
or anv civil or military office in the State, IN,
Guiding the large list of county and municipal
officers. and who afterwards participated In - the
rebellion, are excluded not only from once,
but from the elective franchise. The OBJECT OF
this was to secure, as Mr.. Bolts expressed 1t In
an address he made to the Radical members OF
the convention, ''good working majority IN
the State, and to give decided preponderance
to the negroes in the Legislature as well as In
the county organization.
| COUNTY AND TOWN ORGANIZATION.
The article adopted by the convention on
county and town organization fearfully intensl-
fes the practical operation of this universal ne
gro and restricted white suffrage The coun-
ties are all divided into townships the smallest
to contain at least three. For each county
there is to be one county judge, one sheriff, one
attorney for the commonwealth one clerk, one
county treasurer, one superintendent OF the
poor, one superintendent of schools In each
township in the county there are to be one su-