Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-06-09

IN the DOCK OF common prayer, OF do unto
others as others do unto you" would be lit-
orally observed by your running pen
through the name of Mr.. Wells, and writing
the name of Walker Immediately over the
black scratch
Mr.. Ellis read an amusing newspaper ex-
tract of some half column or SO, which seem.
ed to put the thinking cap on the colored
persons present, as evinced by their mods and
smiles of evident satisfaction.
DR. Harris himself seems to "smell rat, or,
to use more classical figure, perhaps begins to
"see niger in de fence" for in the New
York Tribune's report of the late colored con-
vention in Richmond, where they made DR..
Bayne president, in the vain hope of keeping
his mouth shut, l find the following cdr.
Harris, the colored candidate for Lieutenant
Governor, addressed the body, and expressed
his suspicion that the white Republican
voters intended striking his name from the
ticket on ACCOUNT OF HIS COLOR" Now, if
DR.. Harris, who is mulatto, is to be struck
from the ticket on account of HIS COLOR,
what do you think they would have done
with real common "nigger," like DR.. Bayne,
who is so black that charcoal will make
white mark on him.
But, to return, fellow~citizens, from slight
depression, there is one thing certain, and
that u.s. either the Walker ticket or the Wells
ticket must be elected. 1t occurs to me that
the choice is not a difficult one to make.
There are some sore-headed people, of Bour-
bonic tendencies, who affect to think, and
even to say, in the presence of friends who
pity their nfirmities and therefore, keep
their tempers, that they can see no difference
between the two candidates; that both of
them are Yankees and both Republicans. If
nothing worse can be said of either of them
than that they are Yankees and Republicans,
then, in my estimation, neither of them de-
serve to be sent to the penitentiary, to be
hanged, or put into the pillory. am free to
say that under the old Bourbon regime it
would have been rash in me to express such
an opinion; but "tempor0 naut0ntur ct nos
mutanaur in allis :" "The times are changed,
and we are changed with them" l fatter
myself that as there are no democrats now,
and no wings, and no know-nothinos and re-
publicanism has become fashionable, and
taken possession of all the high Places as
well as all the money, that outside of the
Republican party there are nothing but
SCOTS, and blows and kicks, and absolute
starvation; and hat inside of the Republican
party there is plenty and to spare for all
those who have faith. Why, under such
circumstances, fellow-citizens, | feel as though
| aoas q Republican! l may be bettered by
the change I'll swear cannot be any worse
Oft, unless they refuse me a decent burial.
But, if am Republican, l will be a Walker
Republican, will not be Wells Republi-
can No, not even if he would pay me more
than he paid for the nomination at Peters
burg. If l should sell myself to him, l
wouldn stay with him; would desert him ust
as he did the Petersburg platform, and run
away, as he did, and try to hunt up some
white company.
/ will vote for Walker because he has la
bored until his efforts, with the aid of other
good men, have been crowned with success,
to strike the shackles from the white people
of Virginia. He is in favor of the freedom of
the black man, but true to his Anglo-Saxon
blood-he will not see the Negroes heel plant
ed on the white mans breast. The white
man who deserts his race, and for the sake of
political plumber would excite the animosity
of the African race against it, should be, and
mark what say, he will be, the abhorred and
and detested of both races. He is the enemy
of the white man and the black man. He will
cheat both if he can, but he cannot cheat the
white man, and the poor negro will have to
suffer | know Col Walker personally, and
know him we'll. There is no man, North or
South, in my deliberate opinion, that is better
entitled to the respect and confidence of the
people of Virginia than Gilbert G. Walker
'Tis true, he was not born on the 'Sacred
Soil" but he would have been, no doubt, if
he could, and he came anyway, as soon as he
could makei it convenient. have never heard
anyone object to him on account of his foreign
birth, who wanted to borrow his money?
AS to Mr.. Wells, fellow citizens, l know
him-not much. do not think he has ever
been in these parts. If he ever came to Nor
folk, think he must have come at night and
left before morning. Personally, he has not
the honor of my acquaintance. | have no Oh
lection to him as a man, but [ do not like his
ways. l like man, fellow citizens, whose
ways are ways of pleasantness. and all his
paths are peace" They say that Wells has
great many little WINNING WAYS that make
men hate him. | have no personal knowledge
of the subject matter. His LATE FRIENDS say
that politically speaking, he is tortuous and
some go so far as to say that he is corrupt
But those who say So have abandoned his
cause; and there VERY FEW LEFT who
say to the contrary. We must make allow
ance for the accounts given by rats who are
leaving sinking ship.
No doubt they think that they are leaving
u vast heap of rottenness behind them when,
in fact the ship is sinking from some other
cause. My own impression is, that Wellss
ship has been lying with her bottom turned
up to the sun so long, that her seams have
opened and the oakum has dropped out. She
appeared to be very staunch and strong Just
before the Committee of Nine went to Wash
ington. Perhaps 'Ongress and the President
are little to blame for her leaky condition.
We must kick upa high sea, and blow
strong gale, between now and the election
day, and think the 9th of July will see the
old craft settle down among the mermads
and the coral groves.
You will vote, my fellow citizens, l most
ardently hope, for the Walker ticket. You
will VOTE as I think and hope, for good aud
honest men for both houses Of the Legisla-
ture. Much. very much, depends upon the
executive and legislative branches of the
State government, no matter if the Constitu~
ton, shorn of it's worst features, be still
faulty. A good captain and good mate,
good engineer and good crew, can do Won
weather Storm and by skillful navigation,
proper setting and trimming of the sails,
oiling of the engines, feeding the furnaces,
= and judicious and careful watering of the