The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-03-25
The Negro Constitution.

We copy the following on this subject
from the Charleston Mercury: >-
They call this thing, tegotten in illegitl.
macy, constitution. and have the impu-
deRce to ask white men to vote for it.
4 like combination OF, folly, fraud ana H.
csntiousness was never before submitted
to the. judgment of civilized people.
They propose to inaugura.e govern
ment on a triangular foundation Of igno-
rance, population and miscegenation.
The political power Of the State is to be
thrown into the bands of the uneducated
and depraved. Bona tide sales are to be
repudiated, debts denied, and property
stolen is to be property lost White
children, boys and girls, are to be hud'
dledtogether in the school room with
young negroes, and there is to be no Law
;againS. the intermarriage Of whites and
blacks. The consequences Of the adop-
1ion and enforcement Of such constitu-
ton are inevitable. All the negroeshav'
ing the power to vote, while many of the
white men are disfranchised, the negroes
can put whom they please in Office, and
there can be no doubt that their choice
viii fall on those of'their own race. 1t
is true that the convention, to avoid Of
tending the prejudices Of white Radicals
ut the North, has nominated only white
men to Congress and to the principal
State Offices, bHs when it comes to the
local Offices it. will be quite another affair.
Il Is not to be supposed that the white
Radicals can huubug the negroes into
giving all Of them Offices, and even If
they did. their number is so small that
every white Radical in the State might
have nm Office, iandi yet there be- many
places left to be filed by negroes. There.
will be negro legislators, negro sheritfs,
ncgre conssables, negro tax collectors,
negro ordinaries, negro judges, negro
mayors, negro aldermen, negro police.
In Short every petty office in the State
will be filled by negroes And IL is just
in those Offices, that they will come
most in collision with the white people.
A negro GongressmaH. negro Governor,
a negro legislator may be only . good
subject of ridicule. but negro judge to
decree away life or property, negro po-
Iicenan With clab in his hand, and a
negro mayor, with the power f56ne and
imprisonment, are, much more serious
affairs We mistake the character and
temper of our white population, if they
will long submit with patience to the
'annoyanceS, insults, and expressions to
which these things VIII give rise. In
regard to. edaea,iaa. most white people
will keep their childrea from the public
schools, but white people too poor to have
their children educated. otherwise are to
be compelled to send them to the public
schools. Will the poor white men Of
this State submit to such co,npulsion !?
Ne, indeed. Tie adoption of this con.
s,itution and the attempt to enforce it,
will produce evil, aud may end in anar-
chy. In our Judgment, the white race
in South Carolina, should have nothing
to do with any Of the elections putting
such a government over them. They
should consider 1t a nullity, and bide
their time to make It so. 1t is set up By
the s.sord and it does not become them,
to aid the sword, in their own ruin and
degradation. 49,: -; SWIFT.