Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-05-27
A BEWILDERED BOURBON.


A correspondent of the Norfolk Vir-
ginian, writing from Southampton, May
%, gives tabular statement of the reps
resentation in the Legislature, classifying
the counties as they have white or negro
majoriiies, and the number of mem bers
for each. lie is very careful, he says
but he is not particular enough to refer
to the precise base Of his calculation
we must therefore deal with his results.
His total makes 70 blacks, 50 whites in
the House. lie adds;
"By this table you will see that the
negroes will have a clear majority in the
worse me he Vote vote lanrdt the e Senate it is
white II. Out of 40 Senators the negroes
will have II majority, and on joint bal
lot majority OF SO. These, sir, are facts
as hard as cannon balls. Thus the whites
of Virginia, with a majority of at least
10000, are called upon to give the ne
groes nearly two thirds majority in
tLt LGsS5 ioIdtutC, anu W ouIlSliuoI " tl6ili
the county organization, with the power
to render property worthless in the
State"
The argument deduced from this ex-
hibt land we suppose remedy for it) is
to ''vote against the constitution" In
pursuance of its tactics the Virginian
publishes this, and endorses it as the
precise information" of which the peo-,
pie stand in need-utterly oblvious of
the march Of time, any change in the
position of affairs, or of different feel
ing and purpose in the minds of the
people. THE .expurgated constitu-
ton" says the Virglnian, twill operate
a surrender of Eastern Virginia into the
hands of the negroes, and through the
gerrymander, thus shown in detail, the
subsection of the whole State to its enc
mics -
Unfortunate Eastern Virginia! And
the only advice from Southampton and
the Virginian is, to vote against the ex-
purgated constitution
We remark, first, that this statement
appears to be based upon the vote cast
for members of the Underwood conven-
ton, when 47,016 registered voters took
no part in the election Has there been
no change in the public mind since then?
Add at least $4,000 for the number who
then refused to register, and for those
who have since come Of age, and we will
probably have at least 10000 more
white votes to poll in the coming cleo
ton, than were polled at the last. We
say WHITE votes, because all the negroes
voted who could be found in 1867.
In the second place, this calculation
being founded on that election, it be-
comes pertinent to inquire why the
negroes had 81 majority in that conven-
tion-for in this is shown the real weak
ness lin more senses than one) of our
people. Simply and only because the
white people in a great measure, let the
election go by default. They would not
work for their own interests-they re-
fused to register and vote--and thus
surrendered the control of that con-
vention to aliens and negroes. The
total registered white vote was 1870, 101.
Add to this the 10000 which we have
the strength to add to the registry and
the vote, and we have total white vote
in the State of 100, 101, against regis
tered coloreu vote of 105,852. What
is to hinder us from carrying both
branches of the Legislature, if every
man does his duty, and the whole
voting strength of the State is polled
"The gerrymander," says the South
ampton man and the Norfolk Virginian.
Well, the gerrymander WAS intended to
produce this result, and it did produce
it in the convention election--but only
because Virginians refused 10 register
and to vote and we have shown above
that, IF THEY WILL, they have power to
overcome the gerrymander. That is
our argument, What is the Southamp- |