The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-05-22
The Southern People and the Cen.
tenial Show.

Those members of Congress from the
South, who have persistently voted
against an appropriation for the centen'
ial celebration at Philadelphia next
year deserve the unqualified thanks of
the whole Southern people. They very
properly assert that they cannot see the
prOpriety Of getting up grand national
jubilee in which all the States are ex>
pected to take part. while any portion
of the citizens of the Union are disfrau-
chised on account of an honest differ
ence Of opinion; and especially SO since
that difference of opinion was in regard
to questions which most of the adyo-
Gates Of the measure in question claim
were settled by the results Of the war
We doubt the propriety of the national
government assisting the centennial en~
terprise, even if there were no disfrans
chised citizens in the land, but as there
are, it Is exceedingly inappropriate.
What renders this matter tho more
anomalous is, that there are many MEM
bers of the present Congress who are
equally guilty of the same ofense for
which there are now comparatively a
few disfranchised, and whose disabilities
have been relieved by the grace of the
government. A case in point: The
chivalrous Lamar, who presented the
ordinance of secession to the Mississippi
convention, receives on the floor of Cons
gress the plaudits of multitude of every
shade of politics, while the gallant
Semmes, who defended on the sea the
action of Lamar ia a civil capacity, is still
regarded much in the light of traitor to
the government. 1t is not surprising
that southern members of Congress out
of self respect should vote against the
centennial appropriation, seeing that
remarkable cases of inconsistency are
presented
If, then, Philadelphia, or any othe.
city, desires to get up big Fourth of
July exhibition and will pay for it, the
southern people will be very late 10 in
terposing an objection, but as for them,
amid the disasters of the present year,
and in many instances weighed down by
negro supremacy and carpet-bag tyran>
| ny, they want none of it.
Ed. Shaw, the fanatical negro politi-
clan of Memphis at a public meeting
last week, reiterated his sentiments as
expressed at the colored convention at
Nashville in regard to social equality,
and boldly defended the action Of that
convention in passing resolutions sp'
proving the passage Of the Civil Rights
Bill, az draughted by MIR. Sumner. If
Shaw fairly reflects the sentiments of
his race throughout the State, and we
see no reason to doubt 1t, there is little
encouragement to the white people, who
are in the majority in nearly all the
counties to make an additional provision
by special tax to increase the school fund
already provided by the State. This poN
sition of the colOred people will have q
tendency to place the white people in
opposition to making any further provis-
ion to foster the public school system Of
the State, because while large lnejoriN
ty Of the white people of Tennessee, al
we believe, are in favor of the negroes
enjoying every political right at presen
guaranteed to them by law, they are IN
alterablY opposed to any and all meas
ures which have the least tendency t.
social equality.
The last letter Of Senator Brownlow il
clear and explicit exposition of th'
sentiments of the people of the State OF
the subject of social equality, in SO fal
as the mixed school feature is concern
ed We commend it to the careful con
sideration Of the cOlored people of thu
J State