New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-07-30
rom the Albany Evening Journal.
The Ciyil.Rights Hill.
RCIINfnNn Inl,

RICHMOND, July 20, 1874.
In canvasslng the political situation. so far
as it relates to our representatives in I'm.
| present Congress, and to the efforts they arc
making to be returned to that body after in
tentiOnaly defeating our cause at the end of
| last session, L must confess that the aspecti,
| in no sense an encouraging one. The rea
| sons assigned by them for voting against th.
civil-rights bill are in no degree satisfactory
| to those whom the act was intended to bene
fit, nor can they be made available in the
coming Fall campaign. We ar satisfied that
| the tendency Of the American people to-day
is to guarantee to the colored people the
rights set forth in the civi-rights bill and
| all the more SO because of tins Democratic
| race-hate, kept alive more by Republicans
who palliate it than by those who profess to
| share the feeling, we get nothing of civil
rights save by special legislation And when
our representative from this district wrote
his letter to J. II. Terrell, one of his colored
| constituents, and stated why he opposed the
bill =" that its passage would destroy the
| schools of the State " = he did more To- en-
courage and strengthen Democratic opposi
ton as a Republican than anything which a
dozen hypocritical negroes could do to defeat
il, though they should talk and preach against
it from now to the end of the present ceIAury
Opposition to the bill now on the part Of its
enemies is no greater than it was to the Thir-
teenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend
ments. The Democratic newspapers resort
ed to every device to defeat those measures,
but all their roarings showed but the clearer
necessity for their enactment; and now hav-
ing received the benefits which these confer,
we cannot under any circumstances assist in
electing to Congress any representative who
has placed himself in opposition to the civil
rights bill becoming q law. TO put ourselves
on record otherwise would display the basest
ngratitude to our friends and stultty the no.
blest sentiments of our natures.
But it is alleged by some of our white Re-
publican friends that the colored people
themselves have evinced no interest in the
passage of the civil rights bill. This | am
sure is a mistake. The writer of this was
the bearer to Washington of three petitions
of over three thousand names from this COM
munity, which were presented by Senator
Lewis, and on his motion, referred to the
proper committees; and in like proportion
petitions were sent up from all parts of this
State as well as from other States, and SINH
larly referred. We employed no lobbyists
to work the bill through either House of
Congress. The business of the principles it
contained was sufficient evidence to us that
it ought to become law, and it would have
passed the House but for the Republican
influence of the Virginia and Tennessee del
egations which was given against it, with
but two exceptions from this State.) And
| now if civil rights are good and desirable for
| the people in the Second and Fourth districts
they must likewise be good and desirable
for Us of the First, Third, and Fifth dis
| tricts.
| Here let us give one reason for the passage
of the bill, leaving the rest to some future
| time: L canyassed through good many
counties Of this State in October 1872, for
the Republican party, when the election was
| OF national character rather than of State
| politics, and at time when nearly all the
leading citizens in the Democratic party
| under the circumstances seemed to have a
sort OF premonition that General Grant rather
than Mr.. Greeley should be elected Presi-
dent OF the nation, and when it was estin,a-
ted and even urged by Democrats here that
the whole cOlored vote North and South
should be given to the former, ond vet we
found but one hotel in all of our campaigns
and that one we will not name for fear of
injuring it-where a cOlored man on that
mission could get dinner or even shelter
from the storm at night. We have sat many
nights at GOrdOnsvlle. during our political
campaigns from IL Nj. to A. NJ, in the
cold waiting for the train which was TO take
US to meet our appointments, without food
or lodgings, and never until now have we
been found grumbling, hoping that in a short
time by the aid OF the men whom colored
votes mainly have sent to Congress a better
condition OF things would be brought about.
But we have hoped in vain. The very men
whom we had every reason to believe would
aid in having this barbarOus restriction
removed by appropriate legislation have
boldly stood up in the halls of Congress and
voted to have the abuse continued; and not
outstanding this fact, our sufirages are to-
day being canvassed for the purpose of send
ing them back that they may be in place to
practice the same outrage upon us in the next
Congress. If they should be elected this
fall by our votes, we will have given them
two years. lease in which to kill the bill eifec-
tually-the thing they intend to do if Oppor-
tunity permits. And have we any reason
to believe that they will do otherwise? No.
But ON the contrary the reasons they have
given why they oppose the civil rights bill
are OF sufficient import to show that if they
go back by our aid we license them to defend
their course, and our real friends will not be
able to successfully combat their position.
And now l leave to the colOred men of
this district, who are deeply interested in
this last act of special legislation which we
can or ought to ask for, aud which will ena-
BILE us to stand erect as men, to decide for
themselves what they will do--vote for civil
rights in November next or vote against it.
You are compelled to decide.
JOHN OLIVER.