Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-02-23
WHY NEGRO SUFFRAGE is URGED.


In a recent debate in the United
, States Senate on the constitutional
amendment to establish negro suf
frage in all the States of the Union,
Mr.. Sumner said:
81 do not depart from the propri.
cites of this occasion when / show
how completely the course 1 now
propose harmonizes with the re-
quirements of the political party to
which ] belong. Believing most
sincerely that the Republican party,
in its objects, is identical with the
country and with mankind, so that
in sustaining it / sustain those COM
prehensive charities, cannot will
lingly see this agency lose the op
Portunity of confirming its suprem.
acy. You need votes in Connect
cut, do you not? There are three
thousand fellow-citizens in that State
ready at the call of Congress to take
their place at the ballot-box. You
need them also in Pennsylvania, do
you not? There are at least fifteen
thousand in that great State waiting
for your summons. Wherever you
most need them, there they are; and
be assured they will all vote for
those who stand by THIN in the as
sertion of equal rights, but in stand
ing by them you stand by all which
is most dear in the republic. Par
don me, but if you are not moved
by considerations. of justice under
the constitution, then / appeal to
that humber motive which is found
in the desire for success" 3s-a
Here, then, we have the confes-
sion boldly made that the recogni
ton Of negroes everywhere to the
right of the elective franchise is es-
sential 10 the perpetuation of Radi'
cal rule. Finding that his shallow
sophistry about "the inalienable
rights of man" was worn too
threadbare to be of use any longer,
and that a different sort of plea
must be put in to carry the measure,
Mr.. Sumner, with q candor that
approaches very nearly to audacity,
advocated prompt action on the
ground that the Republican party
wanted votes. If Senators were not
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ofjustice,"
he said, he appealed "to that hum
bier motive which is found in the
desire of success" Had he char
acterized it as "the meaner motive"
he would have spoken more cor
rectly as well as more truthfully.
lie reminded them that the Radicals
need votes in Connecticut, and that
there are three thousand negroes
there who are ready to cast their ig-
norance into the scale to outweigh
the intelligence OF the white major
ity. Pennsylvania, also, he intima-
ted, is in danger Of being lost, and
the fifteen thousand negroes in that
State can save the Radicals from
ignominious defeat. The political
complexion of other States is known
to be equally in doubt, and the negro
must be called to the rescue. The
amendment must be passed at the
present session, because it is by no
means certain that when the new
Congress assemblies it will be so
tractable as the one which is
now about to terminate its
labors, and it also amounts to
almost surety that the amendment
could not obtain a twO-thirds vote
in the House of Representatives IL
President Grant should think proper
to interpose his veto. So the thing
must be rushed through, and for the
final and cogent reason that State
legislatures are at this time largely
Radical. These legislatures, it is
assumed, may be depended on fol-
the ratification of the ObnOxiOu:
measure; whilst, if time were al
lowed for referring the negro suf
frage amendment to the people, ant
new members Of the several legisla
lures were elected on that specia
issue, the Radicals would be over
whelmingly defeated, even in man!
Of their strOngholds. 1t is only
therefore, by prOmptness and au
dacity, by bold disregard of tn
popular will, and by the crosses
fraud and treachcry, that Mir. Sum
ner and his fellow Radicals hope t
succeed in their scheme. Under tn
stimulus of the mean motive t
which Mr.. Sumner found himse
compelled to appeal, they may pos
sibly triumph for time, but as Nj
Vickers predicted, the very mean
on which they build their hope {
future power may ultimately tur
out to be fatal to their ambition
designs.
THE MISERIES OF A RICH MA
The New York correspondent of 4