Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-06-04
SUFFRAGE.

A Hlotion was made III the United states Sell
ate last week TO confer suffrage upon women in
the new Territory Of Pembina, about to be erect
Ell. We have already published Mir BAyard's re-
npths on that occasion.
The Wilmington Commercial iavors women
suffrage. but passing over that part OF the speech
it says:
1--WE did NOT, however, intend to pause long
on Senator Biyards theories to female sui
raSc, our attention heiug attracted, in the report
ot his speech, to the renewed utterantc OF that
dogm'tic defiance OF popnlar Ii-his which, in
time past, the aristocratic senator has so deli ,ht
Ell To enuncisie. lie says once more.
suffrage Is political hanchise 1t is not
night. because the word "right" !, used in refer
encc to voting ia the fourteenth amendment 10
thn Constitution that docs not make 1t right. 1t
l. IN the very nature ot government political
privlr Pe confined, according to the eXi,Cncv, the
cApemency, by the " .sdom oi thosF who control
the Government, TO certain class
Now just observe the ienstL and breadth OF
tins do,tire First, vo,iug Is "A "priN Ilcsc" Sec
"nd. il IS 10 be confined aniy tp - certain class.
Third, Tins CERTAIN class ~ 10 hr designated 10y
"thosc who control the government. l0urih,
they ho control The government are t. designate
according to "eNigeucy' and "tAlrdiency." Was
there ever a more industrious anti democratic
proposition hai absolute lngm oi government
would tajS not cover.
Now It is 50 well known ihat suffrage is estab-
'N Aii'A ~ tllrHl ~ hI A0tl'NN w
auy of thr proposition, tn, Conn,t treid} states
That paper only lew weeks since proved to It's
reader, that the Delaware Legislature had rcsu-
lated suffrage and st .hshcd a law requiring
men to pay taxes within CERTAIN period or for-
l.lt suffrage at the approaching election Wheih-
er a 'natural night or political right 1t h:s
always been regulated hy law aud y. no doubt,
be continued 10 lie so regulated
The greatest c,Itrascs ever perpetratcd at tile
polls IN this county weIc by the Radical party
clothing Suffrage with restrictions that required
men to peIjurc themselves or abstain from voting
ani submit to the most tyianncal laws. This
WIS practiccd in This State and in Maryland aud
IN all The Horlcr States Tor m?Iy years hy the
Republican, party; end Ii ha.c act, are stil
working IN the South, where the Radicals hope
10 send the Tough negro women To tlc polls i'll
order that the white people may Ice kept still
bng'r under the heel of Ignorant bi ate force
In The debate in the Senate the Republican
Senator from Maine occupied a considerable part
OF the days session in combating women sui-
imge, and denied that sura.c Was 4 "natural
ri"hI." We quote
''Mr. Molr'', of Maine -Mr. President, | shall
vote against lhl> anCndment, aud inr the reason
lhai do not consider the right OF suffrage a wo.
mans night or a nan'S lignt. do not under.
STAND 1t to hc natural right At all. ii is u pOltI
cal night and do not under stand, as applied Il
women, That 1t l. privilege at all. 1t is ak in c
sci 'icr; nnd II is yeIy rough sr.vicc 1t IS il
It's nature ahin 10 n''itia ciylce. The man vlu
exercises the ballot must be prepared to defend il
win the bLyonet and therefore the propricty o
ITS being confined IN Fl ages 10 men. That II j.
not 4 natural I2hl is apparent To anybody WHIT
rtnect' upon II; and 1t never VIZ 50 COZ idcrcC
III any country in f'ic world"
MI. Met. mon relellcd 10 tlla restrictions thai
exist upon The ilsht Of snita2r - Massachusetts,
Connecticut aud many other s't .. He hel,
That Sulltagc VS. Heta natural light.
Mr.. Edmunda, OF Vermont, another Rcpubh
Gu Hehalor, took decided .Iodnd againt III,
p1lnt Va question, and ~ has cone ncludn, remaIk
are exceedingly appIopi all t. the Gnn8it,ctaT
ths""r anutr ior II ibrhelt. hr. Edmunds sad
''h The Argument of Senators IN favor ot th
amendment to tins bill there wonld exist II,
iight Whatever in constituted society to max,
amy limitation upon the free exercise of pnlti
cal nights Ia vote and hold oihce in respect [,
age. why say man cannot be IA member o
The SENATE untl he Is thifIS yeaTSuf age " Il,
eau say that he - not Just ~ good at twenty.
nnc'
The senator froia Ia Hama says tnat common
SENSE teaches that W. must put some hntjuia-
tioh on THIS. 80 1t does and common SENSE ha
taught that IL Is left to each political commu.
hitY 10 determine what are The qualifications
anu limitations upon The privilege of eXeIcis-
ing political rights, and it has always been so
and II always vlil be SO, because when tn
senator propoa's 10 say that the othereeX ma
Vote-which admit he has a perfect right /,
say, ana society may so Say--hc does hot un-
aeftahe 10 say that ladies Of seventeen nstea,
tl8hte"n, shall vote b. cause they come oi az
III my state AT eighteen and do IN many OF ih
Statcs-lhe Senator does not propose To sal
ehat al ladies' ot seventeen shall vote; and W
IL Ii impossible 10 say that there is any dstnc
liOh III respect to Intelligence as "A matter u
HsHli any philosophical distinction between
one year and another True, as the senate
says You may luu 4 down 50 lar that at las
you have reached ii condition ,d infancy, an,
There everybody says tins child is MT wis,
enough To VO Z, - not Wist. enough To do any
ehlng vi hOut guardianship and tutelagr, But
you put L. upon The ground of natural right
the enid has Just as good "A right TO say to yo,
Mat he shall De the Judge oi II as you have I.
say u MN lllat you must be, and this show
mat lhe notion of any natural right of anybod,
vi any age 10 par iepale in the government o
society Is an absolute absuidity. 1t is one o
uioae hgmtnts of the imagination that .av,
cfawitd INTO some peoples pralnS within
very lew yraIa and Will 30 ont again n othc
deluSluns do
Now, We ask the Commercial II tho fact lhA
these lttpuG'san y, naiols, anu Others OF its par
ty' who spoke aEd voted on the same side III tn
senate make them aIisoclatic. According TO on
neishboI' tiews, the men who formed the Mode
Republic were anti-republican, and the whol
world ahd "thc rest OF mankind" have hr en- layin,
under deiu,ion ever slnce l176
The latest returns from Oregon indicate tha
the Democrats have carried the State by elect