The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1870-02-11
The Adoption Of the Fifteenth Amendment

The Adoption Of the Fifteenth Amendment.
The most important event of the past week
is the ratification of the Fifteenth Amend
ment by the State of Georgia, which makes
the requisite number of twenty eight States
that have given their sanction to that article
so that it will now be declared by Congress
part of the organic law of the land 1t is
useless and in vain to urge that its adoption
was procured by duress, and by the votes of
States that were not authorized to make laws
for themselves even, because of their status
as being without the Union, according TO the
theory of Congress, and whose votes yet i'm
pose the obnoxious amendment upon theil
sister States; for such reasoning will have
but little weight to thwart pet scheme OF
the present Republican Congress, however
consistent it may be with the reconstruction
measures adopted by them. How they will
be able to keep the record straight in this
matter of the Fifteenth Amendment, and
yet hold to the theory of the Southern States
being out of the Union and requiring recon
passes the bounds of logic to satisfactorily
demonstrate. But the fact is an accomplish
ed one, and that is, perhaps, their main pur-
pose after all.
Maryland will, of course, be kept under
strict surveillance, to see that she acts up to
the line of political procedure thus marked
out for her in common with her sister States
by the powers at Washington. But we do
not believe the new regime will revolution
ize her politics to the extent hoped for by
some in our midst. That the negroes will at
first vote in q solid body, or well nigh so, for
the Republican party, is very generally conce-
ded; but that they can be manipulated and
managed by that party for any considerable
length of time is extremely problematical
That they were enfranchised through its
agency will of course be urged with effect for
a while upon them, but the force of an alb
stract moral idea, such as gratitude for a
particular favor, will not be sufficient to bind
them for an indefinite length of time to any
particular party, unless their interests also
point in the same direction If it shall, it
will be an anomalous case in the history of
politics. Our duty, to be true to ourselves
and to maintain intact the principles Of the
Democratic party in this State is, meanwhile,
duty more than ever before Imperative
Neither have we cause to despair of the final
issue.
Taking the statistics of the vote at the last
Presidential election, we may approximate to
what may be the result in this State under
the rule of negro suffrage:
The total vote cast for Gen. Grant in 1865 3O,442
Seymour @ 62 1856
Total 9279S
According to the last census we have the
white population of the State 515,91S, OF
about one voter to every ST persons. The
negro population, slave and free, according
to the same census, was III ,131.
The negro voting population, according to the
same ratio, would therefore be 3l,1l5
Add to this the Republican vote cast for Grant 3Oi!
Total sl,557
This, taken from Seymour's vote Of 1885,
would still leave majority in favor of the
Democrats of 100 votes
These are but approximate figures, but we
submit that, taking all things into con-
sideration, they are more likely to vary in
favor of the Democratic strength than in
favor of the Republicans. Beside which, in
many counties, as for instance in our own
the negro population is much below what
the average of the State would assign to
each county. The above calculation also
gives the vote in solid mass to the one party
80 that every vote not cast in that way-and
there will be some variance-will count
in favor of the Democracy. We think there
Is every reason to suppose that Maryland
will continue to be Democratic, notwithstand-
ing the adoption of this Fifteenth Amend
ment; and although the figures may be close
that will declare her adherence to these prin-
ciples, it only behooves every one now the
more zealously to endeavor by his vote and
influence, to keep our record straight
through the troublous political times upon
which we have fallen.
THE EGIS b INTELLIGENcER.
We give below the titles of some of the
best journals in the country which we are