The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-09-24
Negro Suffrape-Its Effects.

There would be no difficulty about the
negro were it not that partisans desire to
use him as o voter to advance their ends.
In the wide world there is not q single rood
of ground, nor has there been single
chapter in history from the creation OF the
earth down to the day in which we
live, which presents respectable claim Of
the African to be trusted with participa-
ton in or the administration Of govern
ment. The maddest act a people ever COM
mitted was the taking him from the corn
field in this country and making him
voter. He was, beyond question, unfit for
the trust. Nothing but the selfishness Of
party feeling stimulated by o reckless
disregard Of the public safety and the pub
lie welfare could have led to his being
trusted with the important and responsible
privilege. If it were reasonable to imagine
him capable of participation in government
no honest statesman could have urged his
immediate exaltation to that privilege; all
truthful and wise men must have conceded
that he should have been subjected to the
trial of period of probation before he
should have been so trusted, and that upon
the indications of capacity elected by that
period of trial should have depended the
question of whether he should have even
enjoyed the right of voting.
But the Radical party ignored all reason
all justice, and committed the great crime
of making the negro equal participant
with the white race in all the matters O.
government. The negro had never civil
lied country-not even his own-hat
never invented anything-had never i'm
proved anything-but had only distin
guished himself for destroying civilized
country that had, through untoward circum
stances, fallen into his hands, And yet the
Radical party of America admitted him
when just out of a state of slavery, to 6
participation in q system of government
which the Caucasian race had been fol
many centuries endeavoring to perfect. L
was the greatest national crime ever per-
petrated.
The negro himself knows that he is MOI
tit. The philanthropists and partisan hypo
critics know he is not fla knowledge
which they are ever confessing in the con
ISOLATION which they never fail to offer thu
South in expressing the confident anticipa
ton that the white man will triumph owe,
the negro, and that the latter will find his
true level! Then why have they tanta,
hzed him with an empty privilege right
which is but to yex his life with hopes that
are never to be realized and honors neye,
to be enjoyed !?
But independent of injustice to classes
these Radical rulers have inflicted serious
injury upon their country. They may say
in reply that they have only done this
thing towards their fellow white citizen.
Of the southern States, who are rebels ant
not worthy Of forbearance; but inasmucl
as they are citizens of the United State.
an injury which degrades their Govern
ment and impairs their prosperity is an in
jury to the United States--its public char
acter and its material resources. Such al
unprecedented degradation of the constitu
emit body must degrade equally the repre-.
sentative body-taking from it respecta-
bility, reliability, and capability. The
world to the extent of the degradation loses
confidence in the State, capitalists will not
trust init, enterprise will not survive in a
land 50 degraded in its government, and all
the occupations Of man unavoidably de-
cline under the decay of the vital princi-
Piles Of confidence, capacity, wisdom, and
virtue in the State.
These views the southern people have
mai ntained and will continue to assert.