New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-06-06
THE NEW CONVERTS.

Although that cunning old rodent, tn
Pic, has powdered itself over with tn
meal of an "immovable neutrality"
can not permit the smallest game accepta
BILE to its antecedent appetite to pas
without putting out claw to grab it. l
is always cruising around for something
which may possibly annoy its former an
tagonists, and it presses such points with
out regarding their illogical inconsequenc
with its own past history. Here Is spe
cimen of its want of consistency and low
of mischief:
Will the REPUBLICAN be more dehnit'
and precise by answering whether l
thinks that the New York Times would o.
justified in suggesting that the suffrage IL
Louisiana should be protected by the quail
ficaton of the possession of the first stage
| in education, to wit the knowledge anC
capacity to read and write!
Does it hold that a suffrage enjoyed by
people or a class, a large majority OF whlcf
| can not read or write, is safe or proper
one-that republic can be maintained or
such basis
In a work not perhaps in the editorial
library of the Pic it is written: Surely
in vain the net is spread in the sight Of
any bird" tits sufficient to say that "the
suffrage of Louisiana" can not be pro-
tected in the way indicated, unless the
suffrage throughout the whole Union shall
be protected in the same manner. What
shall then be the guard, which, if any,
shall be thrown around American suffrage,
is question which Congress in its wisdom
must discuss and determine. We have
explained this to that foreign journal, the
Bee which, not understanding the lam
guage of America, can not be expected
to comprehend its constitutions. AS for
the amendment of the State constitution,
it would be as unreasonable for the Plea
ylne to expect as for the Republican party
to concede it. The colored majority in
Louisiana declined, some years ago.
to elect a Democratic ticket pledged
to attain the object Of repeating
the right of colored suffrage by
the suffrage of the colored people them
selves. We apprehend, therefore, the pres
ent scheme will be unsuccessful. No
State convention based on the majority
of numbers would consent to the adop-
ton of a suffrage qualification which
would exclude great number Of the con-
stituents from the polls. The REPuB-
L1cAN then RENTS the general subject and
category of suffrage to the federal govern
ment. Congress may extend that right
to women, or may impose restrictions at
its pleasure, for upon this subject it is
paramount and omnipotent. But when
did the zeal of the Pic and Of its allies,
now so clamorous for the suffrage of the
slate pencil and First Reader" arise?
When this school of malcontents was in
power throughout the Southern States,
why was not this protection to peace and
property adopted?
As for the abstract questions whether
if a suffrage be ''enjoyed by people or
class, large majority of which can not
read or write ia republic can be
maintained on such basis"-we must
be specific: A republic might we'll exist
where large majority of class can not
read or write because the ''class' might
be insignificant in its relative numbers.
On that principle we might suppose
"class' of naturalized aliens in State
would not affect its capacity as republic,
though large majority of them might
not read or write. AS for the capacity Of
a people to sustain a republic, large
majority of whom can neither read or
write, we may reply technically that
both the Roman and Grecian republics
subsisted six or seven centuries with
out the test Of the stylus and with
a large majority Of people who could
neither read nor write. We know at pres
ent of no State in the Union which under
the census Of 1870 has such a majority,
unless, perhaps, South Carolina, to which
we can not at the moment look. Adding
the $4,000 whites of Louisiana to the
number of colored people who can read
and write, there is no illiterate majority
here.
Let US, however, furnish the Picayne
With memorandum on this subject, with
some not inappropriate comments for its
sdifcation.
The following shows the number of
white persons above the age of ten years
who could neither read nor write in the
'ollowing named States, according to the
,apcrc of 1890.