The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-10-07

LeadcT-ahe Conservative tDiH oppose
amy attempt % deprive he Col0rcd People
Of their vOtcs.
Oandor requires me 10 say that / am
n9t willing TO aid la depnving the color.
cd voters OF the State of their present
right 70 the ballot Indeed, / will 20
farther my self-respcct will contain me %
oppose all efforts 10 deprive them of that
right speak for myself, and / trust.
may speak for all those wh1. In common
with myself, have appealed 10 them 10 AZ.
sist US IN reRaining our liberties. The
black men Of the State had no agency
whatever in our disiranchisement. Ii
was done by persons Of our own color
The blacks were made voters because our
prosecutors believed they could by thu
means more easily retain has In bondage
| As soon n this was done SIC appealed tl
the colored voters 70 save us from thc
persecution Of the hungry white corno-
rants who revealed in our misfortune. -
We made this appeal under every con-
ceiyable disadvantage. Ii was irst made
IN 1867, with poor results, admit III
the presidential election OF the next year
we had more success. They helped us t0
carry about twenty counties for Seymour
and Blair Since then. We have cuntiu
ued our appeal with constantly inrreia-
ing encouragement But Wc have t1 hook
only at the election hold three weeks ago.
What We're the results la the various al.
visions Of the StateY There are very few
colored people in Tennessee some c0un-
ties have never had more than "a hundred
of all ages and sexes. / repeat what
we're the results in East Tennessee iu
those counties where there were but few
slaves before the war, but few freedmen
now In Cooke, Sewer, Hancock. John
son, Carter, Blount, etc, etc, the popu.
lar vote was almost overwhelmingly Tor
Stokes the aggregate vote of all East
Tennessee disclosos but "A meagcr majority
for Senter. In Middle and West Tcunos-
see, where the colored population Is very
large-where, In many counties, 30 is in
excess Of the whito-we have nm urgrc-
gate majority Of near seventy thousand
Our largest majorties were generally in
those counties having the largest number
Of colored voters Haywood county, boo
West Tennessee, is the only exception 10
this rule, the majority for Stokes being
less than forty votes. We carried every
county in Middle Tennessee but Wayne,
in which, am informed, there were bu
few colored voters. But, said Mr.
Etheridge, in each of these counties we
elected Conservative members % the
Legislature. He said chat iu 1867
when he was candidate iorGoycmor, De-
made the canvass IN the interest of the
distanchised masses OF the State Every
one knew that canvass was a turulOru. "a
desperate hope but il WIS believed 10 be
of the first importance that such canvass
should be made. Lust year be Wns
placed on the Seymour electoral ticket for
the State al large In each of these con-
tests he appealed 20 the colorcd voters In
behalf of the hundred thousand disirnn-
chised white men Of the State hc has
joined in that appeal by every Consorya-
tive speaker. We were aided and sus-
tanned by the ablest and most distinguish.
ed champions Of the Lost Cause" Now,
here, said Mr. Etheridge did We deny
the black man his right 20 vOtei it was
treated a. "A torcgOne conclusion we asked
10 be eniranchi,ed, that We might protect
ourselves from the greedy cormorhnts who
had already impoverished the State. Mr.
Ethcridge said many had responded t0 our
appeal that he had assured them In every
public discourse that the eniranchiscment
of the white man would not result iu their
Acknowledgement. Said Mr. Ethoridgc,
/ made that assurance IN the utmost good
faith that faith / intend 30 keep, and /
cannot believe that others who made sim
liar promises will disregard them. Ito
said he had often made public pledges to
Wings, Democrats and other political par-
ties they could bear witness ho had never
deceived them he hud never intended to
deceive the colOred voter in any pledge
made to him. The blacks were only
small minority in the State the euiran-
chisement OF the whites had rendered
them powcless as a political organization
Indeed, said Mr.. Ethoridge, IL Dr. now dis
banded outside the large cities the
Leagues are broken up the carpet bag
gers are gone, and the native prescription
lists have lost all power for further mischief
Hereafter the black man viii not vote at
all, or vote with us IL We treat him prop
erly If we do not, be will and ought 90
vote against us. But II tho colorcd 70.
tiers, 10 whom We made these pledges are
10 be disinnchised Tor voting the Radical
ticket, what is 10 be done with the whites
who did the same thing But 10 b use
less to pursue this theme further-we
surely can keep faith with the delenselcss
few Mr. Etheridge said that we would
only have done. Of our own accord, in
preserving the black mans right b. vote,
what will soon be done in Virginia, Texas
and Mississippi, and what had been al
ready done in North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabamu,
Louisiana and Arkansas.
From the Macon (GaJ Messenger.