The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-07-08

sailed yesterday In the steamer Russia for Europe
The Virginia Eiection-Thc Downfall Of the
Southern Radicals and Negro Supremacy.
The late Virginia election and its returns
are something new under the sun. The
general result is defeat, great defeat, of
the Southern ultra radicals; but it is not
democratic victory, nor victory of demo-
cratic principles. The contest was not fought
between the republicans and the democrats,
but between the radicals and conservatives.
Wells, the radical candidate for Governor, is
a republican and carpet-bsgger; Walker,
the conservative candidate, is republican
and carpet-bagger. But there was q broad
line of division between the supporters of
Wells and the supporters Of Walker on the
new State constitution, aud in the settlement
by the popular vote in the ratification of the
constitution of the questions involved the
victory of the conservatives is great victory.
The State constitution voted upon was
adopted by radical State convention some
two years ago. II embraced, among other
things, negro civil and political equality the
disfranchisement of large number of white
men concerned in the late rebellion and
rigid test oath Of past loyalty to the Union as
a passport to Office. In an amendatory recon-
struction law passed at the last session of
Congress, in reference to the unreconstructed
States Of Virginia, Mississippi and Texas, the
President, in his discretion, was authorized to
order separate vote on such clauses of their
new constitutions as Acknowledgement and
test oath, and the President, in the exercise of
his discretion, authorized such separate votes,
and accordingly they were provided for in this
Virginia election by General Candy the army
commander Of the State as a military district.
The radical party under Wells, including the
| bulk of the black voters and few whites,
voted for the constitution intact and for the
| Acknowledgement and test oath clauses sepa-
rately; while the conservative party, under
Walker, including nearly all the white voters
and some of the blacks, mostly voted for the
constitution, and all voted separately for strik-
ing out IFS DISTINGUISHING and test oath clauses.
| Thus with the success of Walker the con-
stitution ia ratified, shoru of its disfranchse-
|
OF DISTINGUISHED and disqualified ex-rebei
| whites are admitted to the right of suffrage
and the right to hold Office. The registered
voting whites of the State in the late contest
exceeded the registered blacks by some twenty
odd thousand The removal Of the existing
acknowledgements and test oath will give the
conservatives some ten or fifteen thousand
| additional white voters, with a few excep-
tons the most intelligent and influential white
men of the State. Thus ii will be seer
that In this late election the conservatives
have not only secured possession OF the State
but that, by the sagacious course they have
pursued, they have so strengthened tbeiI
party as TO be morally certain of holding tn,
State, and of holding the radical negroes and
their managing radical white carpet baggers
in wholesome condition Of subordnation 70,
an indefinite time to come.
This, we say, IL great and very irnpor
tant victory, in order to gain 1t the conserva
tives had to make some important concessions
! such as the recognition of the negro's civi
and political equality in the State constitution
and an ocpniescence in the condition preceden
Of Congress Of the ratification Of the fifteenth
Q | amendment Of the federal constitution, estab
fishing universal negro (manhood) suffrage
: with the power TO Congress TO enforce II
-, Now, according to Senator Stockton, of New
Jersey, in his late Fourth Of July Grafton il
| Tammany Hall, these concessions OF the vir
! ginia conservatives are shocking and revolu
! tionary violations Of 'the me-honored pru
!. ciples Of the democratic party" But III
!, people of Virginia have had The good sense
! see that '6pe words butter no parsnipa," an
. that ''your time-honored democratic primo