Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1868-03-27
TOLEDO, TAMA COUNTY IOWA, FRIDAY, MARCH q, 1868.

The question Of impartial suffrage is now
before the Legislature and, without doubt,
will soon be submitted to the people Of Iowa.
1t is proposed to allow the colored men to vote
upon like terms and conditions as the white
PEI. Amer the great events which have trnn-
I'D, the great changes which have taken
Soe, this can hardly be regarded as an open
| ltion. The people Of the North, through
he ~kress, have conferred upon the colored
VII Of the South the right Of suffrage, who
yok esteriay, so to speak, were slaves, the
nj Of whom are wholly uneducatcd, who
| grown up in states where il was felony
I bach them TO read, and made them politic-
o4cqual to the whites. And shall they now
lie to do equal justice to the small number
kilored people in their midst here in the
3p-ysa, in Iowa-'o exercise political
=? Can you with sclfrespect, with de-
ctHs regard to the opinions Of mankind, refuse
to execute in this growing State these im,nor-
. tai principles Of equal rights and equal JUS
tice which you have asserted and enforced in
other States? You who have squared your
faith by the Declaration nofIndcpendence; of who
have proclaimed to the world the equal rights
Of men, will not, am sure, stultify yourselves
by refusing to the colored men Of Iowa that
impartial suffrage to which, by the example
Of your action in the South, they are so fully
entitled. If you shall refuse, You will then
stand naked before your enemies. 1t will then
be hisscd scornfully into yonr faces thai "your
immortal principles Of equal rights is only
for Southern consumption, and that the radio
alism Of Iowa is but cheat and sham. But
let us consider the subject briefly, indcpcnd-
ent Of all questions of consistency or policy
You admit that God created all men equal
you dom mean equal in physical or mental
, powers, equal in stature, color or appearance
i but equal in their rights. Now, where twc
!, races tor spccies) are living together in the
same State, and the right to choase all public
conficd to one race exclusively, viii You tel
me that all arc equal? And will you tell mi
BY what right one race exercises absolute gov
ernment over the other? You admit that Goo
rights that among these is the right to life
liberty and the pursuit Of happiness. Wecal
these divine, or, if you please natural rights
If we have these rights, have we not divine
or natural right to protect ourselves in their
enjoyment Can there be right which you
have not The right to protect? The right ol
selfdefense is said to be the first law Of na,
ture, and it may be exercised by your hands
or by a weapon By your friends.
| The law of nature does not point out how il
shall be done, but certainly embraces the use
Of the adequate means. 1t would be very ab-
surd TO say that self>prescrvation is the drs'
law Of nature, but that law does not give the
use of the means of preservation. 1t is moi
less absurd to say that men have divine
right to life and liberty, but have no divine
right to protect themselves in their enjoyments
Can YOU conceive of RIGHT which another
man who has q right to take away, and which
you have no right to defend? If it be admit.
ted that men have divine or natural right to
life and liberty, then must it be admitted thai
themselves in their enjoynents And if il
be admitted that men have patural right te
protect themselves in the enjoyment Of life
and liberty, that right must carry with it the
j. use Of the necessary and adequate means. Il
your right is ,rampled upon by an unjus
Constitution or unequal laws, by what mean.
can you be protected in its enjoyment? an
swer-By the right of suffrage. In this coun
try the only means by which man can pro
tect himself against the enactment Of unequa
or oppressive law, is to have voice in max
ing them or can secure the protection Of thu
laws, 10 to have voice in the selection Of thu
officers by whom they are executed.
It is true that if man is DISTINGUISHED, the
justice or magnanimity Of his neighbors, or o
another race, may protect him in his rights
but that is precal ious security, and furnish
es no reason for depriving him Of the power
to protect himself. And now l ask you, what
power the colorel people Of Iowa have to pro-
tect themselves in their lives, liberty and
property They have no voice in making the
laws or choosing the officers by whom they are
executed. Those in authority may make op-
pressive statutes against us, or deny to us the
protection Of those already made. and We have
NO means Of redress. Our natural rights may
all be stricken down and, in ourselves, We
have no power to preventit Ina Republican
form Of government the ballot is the means
by which rights can be asserted, abuses COR
rectsd, or protection secured, and whosoevcr
10 deprived Of it is at the mercy Of his neigh-
bors. But our opponents say that the white
people Of Iowa will protect US in the enjoy
ment Of all our rights; but this is the old ar,
gument in favor Of slavery, when it was urged
that the good and kind master would take care
Of the slaves, and do better for them than they
could do for themselves, SC. flour opponents
were 70 be disfranchised by the Constitution
Of Iowa, it is probable they, would be protects
ed in their other rights--but this would not
repair the wrong Or soo.he their lacerated
feelings, ss
1know it Is often said that the right Of suf-
frage is not natural right, and may be with
held from any man, class or race, without
violation Of their natural rights. But re-
spectfully submit that this makes the whole
theory Of natural rights mockery. For, if
ih'a Republican form Of government, where
sufFrAve n the only means Of projecting natu-