The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-23
THE O0LORED INTEREST IN LEGIs-
LATION.


eminent Of State must correspond in cha
acter with the average intelligence o. the PEI
PIE who constitute it by their votes In no
NAL conditions the theory may hold good, an
representatives partake largely Of the INTEL
gence as well as Of the morality of the masse
Of the people, and approximate to the everag
o both; but these are exceptions to tho rule
In Louisiana, the constitution of 1868 mad
voters Of very great number Of men who
from different causes, were in point of lntelll
gence very far below the average Of whit
voters in this or in any other State. Not NOR
than two or three negro voters in every hun
dred could read or write, while their previ
GUS condition, natural capacity and their sur
roundings, forbade the acquisition of intel'i
gence through sources by which in many sec
tions illiterate white men become we'll &C
quainted with public affairs. Their informa
ton was limited to such stories, true or false
as were told to them and were circulated will
various changes from cabin to cabin, and from
one neighborhood to another.
They were generally unable to comprehend
the simplest facts relating to laws and govern.
ment. They had not even an approximate no.
ton Of the restriction which the law puts upon
the actions of citizens. They could conceive
of none of the principles Of good government.
They could not comprehend the complex
machinery which has grown out Of the civil
cation Of thirty centuries. They could not be
taught that laborers must suffer from all
heavy taxes laid upon lands. They had but
limited conceptions of the rights of owner
ship, or Of the importance of fulfilling con-
tracts. They had but vague notions Of the
vas. and carried concerns to which legislation
applies in its protective or preventive capacity.
II barely fit to have control of their own per-
sons and labor, and to exchange it or their
wages for what they might need, they were
altogether unfit to exercise the great preroga-
tive Of selecting Legislators !. other import
ant officers.
The result has been a succession of legisla-
tors for the most part below par in point of
morality and often in point Of intelligence. SO
that the Legislatures of this State for seven
years have, in appearance, conformed with the
tenets Of theorists. Our Legislature ia brought
below the average Of the whole people, that
average having been lowered by headdition Of
nearly two parts in four Of the colored ele-
ment
Yet it is not certain that this low average is
necessary result Of negro suffrage. Left to
themselves the colored voters Of the State
would, by instinct, select for their representa-
tives the most intelligent men Of their own
color that they could find, or else defer, as is
their nature. to their white neighbors and
friends whom they know and feel to be more
capable Of transactng any business Of i'm
portance.
The low grade of men who were elected by
negro votes is imputable almost entirely to
the evil influences by which they are beset
and by the bad advice which they get These
are alien and hostile, tending to keep alive
or replant the ill feeling of classes, and es-
pecially to prevent negroes from obeying
their natural propensity by seeking the
advice and guidance Of the Honorable and in
telligent citizens of the State. These malign
and untoward imported influences will cease
in time, and then it will be seen that negroes
and white men can cooperate for the good of
both races and fill our Senate and House
with honest and capable men.
Under any government all interests should
be f.irly and efficiently represented. The
colored interest in this State Is one of enor-
nous proportions, affecting three hundred
and sixty odd thousand colored people and
majority Of the unskilled laborers of the
State. While the colored inhabitants own
but small part Of the aggregate property
they are nevertheless all directly interested
in having good and economical government.
Labor Of course has its right to protection
as well as property, and the labor Of the
negro voters constitutes an interest only
second to landed property. In some form
and through some medium, this great interest
ought to have adequate representation in the
making of laws and the imposition of taxes
But it does not follow that negroes ought to |
select for the representation of their inter-
ests one Of the ignorant members Of their
own race. If colored men, who are both |
capable and trustworthy, cannot be found,
hey will always do best by entrusting their |
and giving their votes to an honest |
md intelligent white neighbor, whose inter-
sst is really identified with their own. But |
whether represented ably and honestly, or
by incompetent and unre-
liable black or white men, or not represented
It all. the genuine legislator will not over
ook or neglect an interest Of such vast i'm
oortance.
Lieut.. Gen. Landaulet civilians, Special
Deputy Commander Of the Army and Navy
or the suppression Of Southern suffrage, has
to resign in order to resume the
practice of law.
It is well for him, for an outraged country
would. at the hands Of the incoming Con-
,ress, hav6 demanded his impeachment for
lis crimes. No man in the history of this