The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-08-08

of counties coumscled' resistance TO Its
laws: elected men WHO had Just returned
from the civil and military service OF the
Southern ConfedeFacy TO offices Of trust
and responsibility In the State, and enter'
ed numORrless suits in Court to harasS and
peFsecute Union men; it was in this hour
Of peril, and to avoid anarchy and q repe-
tition Of thetroubles through which We
Ind Just passed, that It became necessary
TO nut down tho breaks. believe tile
great mass of those WHO were IN the
armies OF the Confederacy, would have 9c'
Cepted the results Of the war in good faith
upon their return, had they not fallen into
the hands Of tho "H0me Guard Demo-
cracy." They are now beginning to see
who their real irlCndsa arc. r517
The assertion that the Republicans
haVciremovCd q portion Of these festric'
tons because they werO forced to do so,
is mere assumption. -..l~ ~
AT every session of the Legislature they
have hat a~orking majority In the House
and an overwhelming one In the Senate ;
vet at nearly every session they have
granted relief, and have always manifest.
cd % willingness to do so as speedily as
the public safety would allow It. It was
not forced into action upon this mAtter,
for 1t always had in its own hands power
to retain or repeal these restrictions at
pleasure. ] M afM.at'nH ~. W ~
. The charge that persons are stricken
from the registry lists because they. refuse
to vote the Republican ticket Is still more
absurd and groundleSs, MS shall show
presently. less than year Hg0, alter
tile registration OfvoterS llad commenced,
I was waited upon by q number OF the
leaders Of the Democratic party, who In
quirGtl how 1 intended to administer this
law. told them l intended to execute
the net lust US l found It. yet Honestly and
impartially, and ut the sumo time l In:
vited these gentlemen and their political
friends, as II favor to myself, to furnish mo
the facts in proper shape Of any abuses OF
the law coming In any way to their
knowledge, and should take pleasure In
promptly correcting them; which they
promised to do 'yTlW 'sa,9 W IywsI9 ~
That there may! DO no doubt on this
matter, I will mention the names OF sonic
of these persons: Hon. John. J.HJacob,
Hon. Henry g. Davis, Hon, Daniel Lamb,
Senator Andrew Wilson, Henry 8. Walk.
or and Lewis Baker, Esqs., editors Of the
Wheeling Reqister. Now for the sequel:
from that time until the election WIS over,
I never received the scratch Of a pen or a
word OF. complaint that tho registration
law was Improperly used against any Of
these distinguished gentlemen or their
friends n4,a, p d. ...S
Attn time iMessls. !EIacob and Davis
called, they spoke 0flaIneW registration
which had been ordered In four townships
In Hampshire county, and / at once sent q
letter 10 tile Board Of Registration in that
county, instructing them not to annoy
any person whom they knew to be quail!
fed voters when making this new regis
tratiOn.5 '. f1'1 i'a'
Mr., Baker also mentioned some difficult
" about registration in Grcenbrier coun-
h y, and I Immediately wrote TO number
ofgentlemen In that county, some Of them
Democrats and some Republicans, and
after tho time fixed by law for closing
registration, received a number of atti-
davits. charging official misconduct on the
Board in the registration Of previous
years, but finding no fault with their nc
ton for that year. - thh
Tout Of the fifty-three counties in the
State 1 received complaints from but five
TINT this law was abused as against the
Democratic party, and from four counties
that It was abused as against the Republic
can party ;Gyet' Notwithstanding these
tactS the Democratic newspapers at that
time teemed with fabulous stories about
the outrages committed by Boards Of
Registration, and Democratic stump ora
tors, homemade and imported, filed the
State with lamentations about unheard-Oi
and astounding registration villainies.
The truth Is, the abuses Of this law are
in tan0r Of The Democratic party; and where
there is one man stricken off who votes
the ticket OF that party WHO Is entitled to
vote, there are nine on who vote that ticket
who ought not, aud under strict enforce
ment Of law, could not be on the registry
books. t,Ai 81 ' iuH; rslIn Nl l
~ i THE DlsFRANcmsRD. ~
Is the Democratic candidate and his
party sincere when they profess to favor q
policy that will reinveSt the diSranchised
with political privileges? II they are
tohen and hoo do they propose to do It -!
Did not their convention at Charleston
vote down, and kick out amidst the
widest enthusiasm and with indie,
cent haste the majority platform
which Endorsed the only measure
that would insure peacefully and
speedily TINT resultg There Is but one
possible way, short Of notification and re
bellion, by which this end can he accom-
plished, that Is by amending the Statt
Constitution, and tho proposition to dc
this is precisely the thing that, will
shouts and aCclRlnaiions was trampled
under foot in tho Charleston Convention
There are but two modes Of amending
the Constitution. Ono by the Legislature
passing Tie proposed amendment at two
sessions of that body and afterwards sub
hitting 1t to the qualified voters Tor ratifi'
cation or rejection. The other by thu
Legislature calling q convention thai
convention proposing the amendment ant
submitting it to the people at the polls
This plan will not be adopted for the fol
lowing reasons the political complexion
Of the Legislature, especially the Senate
is not favorable to it, and cannot be fol
years to come, II ever, and for the still
stronger reason kIat no Legislature toilt dHr,
taIO tho responsibility OfSaddIing an srpenS
on tho 1ia0J1t6 If $4,000 FIR a cOnuentto1I
.oISn Tie Tsry pWIpoSo ot'taat eonpsntIon cal
b accomplished t6ithOWt one cent additions
eepenSe byG pote in tho Legislature, ant
even lift were at all probable that such Q
convention could DO called, the end aimee
at could not be accomplished Us soon Us
by the passage Ofthc Flick Amendment
Tho first plan and tho only practicable on
Ia Ekut, INou o1