Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1872-06-15

To he EtlitOr Of Hse Commercial:
The Gdzette Ring complains bitterly at the
prosecutions which have come upon its members
for their mean and wicked violation of law and
justice in disfranchising citizens who have, at
least, as good a right to the franchise as they.
1t il a we'll known fact that these reckless law
breakers have systematically and habitually dis
franchised enough Republican votes to keep
themselves in power from year to year; and un-
til the passage Of the Enforcement Act by Con-
gress there was no redress. This year, growing
boder in consequence of the immunity they have
eBjoyed they have gone into the business to a
larger extent than usual, and taking the whole
State over, have thus deprived Of suffrage at
least two Thousand voters. Now when their day
of grief has come, they groan in anguish, not in
contrition for their Sins but with the knowledge
that righteous inilietlon of punishment is
about to overtake them.
This crime is no new thing in this State. 1t
has been systematically practised for years. Be-
fore the colOred men we're enfranchised the
same vile leaders practiced the same thing OH
the young white voters, who were only required
to pay poll tax. An average of about ten in
each Hundred were in the same manner dis
franchised then, and since the negroes have
been enfranchised, the necessity upon them to
cheat thus, has been 30 much augmented that
nearly one-strh part of all he Republican Uoters
IN The State hdUe been thus cheated out of he SUI
Trdge. Republicans Would be the most pusillan-
imous babies and boobies that ever lived if with
the power to permit this wIckedness and punish
its vile authors they did not do it.
Another mean and wicked method resorted to
by these men to disfranchise their fellow cit-
zensi by slightly changing the names of citizens
as they are entered on the assessment list. Thus
Joshua Smith will be entered as Josiah Smith
or John Smith entered as John T. Smith. This
was at first thought to be accidental but on
comparing notes with gentlemen in the different
| Hundreds it was found to bewifully and system
atically done, all the State, for the purpose
of disfranchising Republican voters.
In the face OF all their wilful and syste matte
violation of law, carried on for years, they now
| have the impudence to complain of political
persecution when they find that their sins have
| overtaken them. They also complain that the
| Grand Jury that has indicted them is packed
| one of Republicans. This is not true, and IL il
| was it would only be on u par with the continual
/ practice Of the so-caled Democrats who in Kent
and Sussex rarely ever admit Republican to
i the jury at any time and il one s admitted, il
is because, they think him weak enough to be
influenced in favor of voting their ticket by thus
| noticing bin. In these counties il Republican
is found on jury, he is almost sure to be inn
| mediately suspected by his party friends. WheI
the party journals have pointed out the injustice
| Of this thing they have been taunted with the
statement that there were no Republicans to &c
| on juries but "niggers !" The Republicans have
bee me 30 accustomed to such outrages thai
| they take them as q matter of course and dom
| complain.
| But 1t ID not true that 1t ls packed up jury o
Republicans that has indicted the dishonest
county officials. There are several Democrats OF
this We y Grand Jury, and the evidence has beef
so complete and overwhelming that they hav
been compelled, against all their party pref judices
to vote for the finding of nearly all the tru
bills that have been found. The so-called Dem
ocratic Party holds this State in its clutches onl
by such systematic frauds as l have described
Hereafter they will be exposed and punished t.
the full extent of the law, and no more Con
gressmen or other officers shall hold seats oh
tanned by fraud. JUSTICE.