Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-06-10


and lightweight thousand two hundred
and fifty dollars, being a balance of
thousand seven hundred and
dollars in favor of Republi-
can legislation. Under the light Of ex-
perience, as exhibited by the above ig-
ures, Democratic economy does not
seem to be a desirable article, as they
prove that Republican corruption, SO
loudly denounced by the Democratic
press, has been less costly to the tax
payers of Ohio
The legislation ofthe Democratic Gen
eraI Assembly. instead of being in con-
formity with the spirit and feeling
Of the country as educated and purified
by the events of the last ten years, was
of character opposed to the spirit Of
progress which infuses our people While
the country was preparing TO recognize
the fact that the colored people, while
yet slaves, had heartily lent their services
and lives to our defense and thai of our
country, the Democratic Legislature.
cropping amidst the mists and the dark
ness Of hatred and prejudice. enacted
the visible admixture Law. Dy which
men who had long participated IN the
Government Of the State were deprived
of their sacred rights because their skins
showed that in their veins coursed the
blood of a people who had been true to
the country under whose laws their
brethren had been enslaved. Not con
tent with this infamous act, the Demo
cratic Legislature placed among our
criminal statutes a new law, which said
that if any man belonging to the pre-
scribed race should be convicted of
voting he should be imprisoned in the
penitentiary, and kept at hard labor not
more than FIVE years nor less than one
year. This was done while the statutes
prescribed that a white foreigner, or a
person not twenty-one yeaIs of age, gull
ty of the same crime. should be punish
ed by imprisonment in the county Jail
not more than six months nor less than
one month. According to the law Of the
Democratic Legislature, a colored man
guilty of trying to assert the right OF
which that Legislature had tried to rob
him, should be punished ten times as
long in the penitentiary as white man
who had been guilty Of crime against
the election laws should be in the county
Jail.
When the Democratic General Assem-
bly, came into power, there was an asy-
lum located near Dayton, Ohio, at which
been disabled in the war against rebel
lion were clothed, fed and cared for by
the public, and the following enactment
was upon our statute books
tsThe disabled soldiers who have been or
shall be received into the National Asylum
gOr disabled volunteer soldiers, aud who
may be citizens of the United States and
residents Of the State one year next pre-
cedtng the election, shall be held and deem
ed to nave their lawful residence IN the
= afas til
lum is, for the time being, or may hereafter
be located, and shall be entitled to vote in
sucn township and county. subject TO The
provisions OF existing laws, as to age, as to
the time such residence shall have contin-
usd, prior TO the exercise of the elective
franchise"
Itcan hardly be credited that any cit
izen of the Republic can be found who
would desire to deprive one Of her brave
defenders of a voice in her Government
yet, strange as it may seem, the Legisla-
ture which we have under review re.
pealed the above enactment, and thu:
attempted to disfranchise the disabled
veterans of the war.
| The above examples are sufficient tc
| indicate the spirit of the legislation of the
Fifty Eighth General Assembly, anC
now we come to the examination of thu
acts of the first session of the Fifty-Nintl
. General Assembly.
On less than a page of its volume c
laws, there are two enactments whic
blot forever from the statutes of Ohio tn
infamous visible admixture laws befor
referred to. In still another place. occu
pying less than one-third of a page,
another enactment which again give
the wounded soldiers, at the Daytol
Asylum, voice in the Government c
the country.
But the undoing of the disgracefu
partisan legislation of the Fifty-Eight
General Assembly was not enough. TIL
fourth resolution adopted by the Repub
lican Legislature ratified that amend
ment to the Constitution which declare
that ''the right of citizens of the Unite
States to vote shall not be denied O
abridged by the United States, or by an
State, on account of race, color, or pre-
vious condition of servitude"
This legislature also provided hOm
in which the orphans made such by tn
Z death of their fathers in the military c
naval service of the country during til
war are to find a substitute for the she
tering call of which the rebellion depri,
ed them.
From what has be9n written the super
l
publican legislation is very evident bl
these results were often not accomplishe
by the Republican Legislature withol
difficulties some ofwhich shall now be 5,
forth.
When the members of the 10th Gene
al Assembly came together in this city
was found that the Senate was con
4 posed of nineteen Republicans an
5 eighteen Democrats while the House ha
a tlftY-Seven Republican members an
ffty-hve Democratic. Persons acquain
ed with the intricacies of parIiamentar
5 law viii readily see that such large mir
/ critics as these if skillfully handled or
| the majority were unszillfully maneuve
ed would be able to cast almost unsu
mountable obstacles in the pathway
the majority. But to add to the perplex
ties OF the majority two of their member
IN the Senate and four in the House ha
been elected upon so-called independeI
tickets by Democratic votes and wer
I consequently inclined to favor the mir
orlty and had decided to give the Dem
ocracy the control Of one half of the CON
m9ttees IN the House of Representatives
The interest therefore concentrated i
the organization of the House. The Re
publican members from whom the fou
Hamilton county Republicanshel them
selves aloof, decided to support Hon. r
b. Dennis of Cleveland as their candi
date for speaker. He had been a mem
Der of the previous General Assemble
where he had acquired a good knowi
edge of legislative tactics and provel
himself a gentleman of ability. Thi
fact, together with his commanding pres
ence and genial manners Commended
him to the support of the Republican
members. The four Republicans from
hamilton county previous to the organi
/ zation of the House rendered their sun
/ port to Mr.. Dennis, but on the condition
? that the control of certain Committees +,
: pc appointed BY the Speaker should b,
given to the Democracy.
The honors of the speakership nm
doubtedly had charms for MIR. Dennis
but his own integrity had greater charms