The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-02

ginia. General Imboden's friends, and
those who are now the friends of Horace
Greeley, cannot escape the odium Of those
" obnoxious provisions" do what they
may towards suppressing the proceedings
Of the "black and tan conventon,v in
which they so disreputably figured. The
fact is notorious, and will stand as the
" damning fact of history" in connection
with that convention, that the odious dis
cnfranchsing clauses were engra(ted upon
it by Conservative votes. 1t is we'll
known that there were Republican, votes
enough in the convention to defeat them,
had the Conservatives desired their defeat.
But no; the Objectionable articles Of
the constitution and the iron-clad oath
were retained by Conservative votes in
order to defeat the constitution before the
people. Even after they had been inserted
by the votes Of Eustacc Gibson and the Com
servatives acting with him, Gen. Schofeld,
in behalf Of leading Republicans in the
State, went upon the floor of the conven-
iton and used his utmost endeavors to get
a reconsideration of the obnoxious clauses,
SO that the constitution might 20 before the
people in a more Acceptable shape. The
motion TO reconsider came within a few
votes of carrying, and those .feso uotes that
defeated 1t acre cast By Conservatives. This
is fact which cannot be smothered, how
ever much it may be ignored by General
lmboden and the other friends of Mr.. Gree
ley in this State. sH a.t u@f d
The constitution of 1869, with all its
faults, is the best that Virginia has ever
bad, and the features in it which met with
the most strenuous opposition at the time,
and which the Democratic members of that
body most violently assailed were those
providing for the county organizations :"
and q free Schools" 1t was, to
defeat these that tho Democrats 1--WE
prefer the old designation to the new
manpuvered with the extreme men in the
convention to engraft the DISTINGUISHING
clauses and the " iron-clad oath'' upon the
constitution; and it was finally due to the
magnanimity Of General Grant, and not to
Horace Greeley, that the people of the
State were allowed to vote them out.
We do not propose to follow up all the
charges made by General Imboden, IN his
labored and elaborate letter, nor to 90 any
further than is Necessary TO show that the
substantial facts on which they are based
are purely fictitious and Of imaginary char
acter. If what we have said is true, the
whole Of, his deliberately constructed letter
falls plecemeal to the ground. 1t has no
basis fact to stand on. The Democrats, and
not the Republicans of Virginia, were re-
sponsible for the obnoxious clauses in the
constitution which We're finally and fortrX-
ately voted down by the people. And we
are prepared to say thatif General Grant
ever showed any hesitancy about ordering a
seperate vote on these clauses, if was rbe-
cause Of the action of the Democrats
in the convention to defeat any and all
measures of reconstruction under and du-
ring his administration. He may have
been disposed at one time to let the politi-
cal friends of General lmboden take their
own" constitutional physic"-the dose OF
reconstruction their own hands had pre-
| pared-but he finally did the magnanimous
thing, and allowed them to spew it out OF
their mouths. For this act of magnanimity
General Inboden desires to give Mr.. Gree
| ley all the credit-Generai Grant none. Is
this itself an act Of magnanimity u.