National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1876-07-27

any colored person lin the exercise of his
right of franchise, and the attempt ''to in
"jure, Cypress, threaten or intimidate any
"citizen in the free exercise of any rights
cor privileges secured to him by the Con-
"stitution aud laws of the United States"
The law is minute in its description of what
constitutes bribery. threats or intimidation;
declares that in addition to the usual mean
ing of those words, that any declaration of
an intention to deprive a person of his
ordinary occupation shall constitute threat
and that any promise to provide this ordinary
occupation, in the event of voting or not
voting in particular way, shall constitute
bribery.
Should the President, Gin his discretion"
believe that anywhere, in any of the States.
portion of the people are prevented from
voting by either bribery or intimidation Of
this kind he is authorized by the law to
protect the men thus inundated. 1t was
wise conception of the law makers to thus
provide. The elective franchise is only
valuable in its use. If a man or body of
men are deprived of the right to exercise it,
no punishment inflicted on the wrongdoers
can restore the lost right. Like misspent
time, the privilege of voting at an election
once lost can never be recovered. 1t was
therefore just and proper that the law
should provide that when there was reason
to believe that this crime was about to be
committed the President should have power
to prevent its commission.
Is there reason to believe that anywhere
in the United States men will be kept from
voting as they desire by intimidation OF
any kind? Mr.. Hill, in his article, asserts
that the very kind of bribery and intimida-
ton described in the law which he quotes
exists in all of the late slaveholding States.
He has examined the subject with care,
and has deduced many reasons to sustain
this assertion. But we need not rest upon
his arguments alone. The public history
of the country, the reports of committee
after committee in Congress, the appalling
list of the men murdered in the South for
opinions sake, all show that MIR. Hill IS
correct and that intimidation does exist,
anu tDdL ny IL VI - "A-NS
and colored men are prevented from voting.
MIR. Hill, himself Southern Republican,
in his articles of the 9Th and 18th instant,
has shown how many are thus virtually
disfranchised He has also shown the
remedies. For there are two things neces-
saw, as be. shows. One is for the
President to do, the other for the
Republicans of the North. We feel con-
fident that both will be done. The public
sentiment of the North has changed Won
derfully on this subject within twelve
month. Men who ashort time ago scoffed
at 1.-THE bloody shirt" are to-day most
earnest in their advocacy of strong meas
ures to protect the Republicans of the
South. Those who denounced, and some
of those who assisted to defeat in the last
Congress what they termed 1.-THE force
BILL" would now advocate even stronger
law. The boasts of the Southern Democ-
racy, the bloody election in Mississippi
last year, the Hamburg massacre-these and
the attitude of the ex Confederates OF the
House of Representatives have convinced
many thousand Republicans that only the
strong hand will keep down the demon OF
"Southern rights" and that its fires burn
as brightly to-day as they did in 1861.