The daily gazette., 1877-02-03
The Colored Vote.

From the Louisville Couricr-Jounal.
BY the fruitage of political system
must it be judged, not by the declara-
tion OF the good intentions of the pro-
moters. "By their fruits yc shall
know them" were the words of the
Master, and under this ruling of
wisdom he3ven-born and eternal the
party which has controlled the Govern
meut Of the United States for sixteen
yeats IS condemned 1t entered uron
Its career in the name of God and hu-
man liberty, The organization stands
before the country to-day persistent
creake: OF the laws OF God and man,
anu u the name of human liberty the
pcrpetrator of some of the most helm
GUS crimes recorded in history. II we
lake one phase OF its career. the treat
melU Of the negro, We find the Re
publican party false TO lis avowed
principles. and the logical deduction
naturally follows that if it is false in
one conspicuous profession it is false in
AL. The ardor with v hich,ihe Republi-
can leader pressed the subject Of negro
suffrage appears to-day not to have
been the outpOuring OF genuine
spirit Of universal philanthrophy Every
act o. The party during the last ten
years mas shown conclusively that the
battle Ior negro suffrage was narrow
minded, selfish, partisan outreaching
!nr votes to keep the Republican party
IN power; TO keep the white plunder
ers Of the party in position to subject
ThlteAmerican, citizens to disfranchise
nt r. L.
rage, The New Yord "Natlon" OF
last week has an able article on the
subject Of negro suffrage, in which il
shows that the avowed orig iginators and
friends of the constitutional amend
inent wilfully neglected in the first
instance to induce the negro to vote
for the best men in their respective
communities, Says the Nation :
They should have reasoned: these
wards of the nation are now peculiarly
liable to be led astray by dcmagogues
and to become the dupes of unprincip
led men; we must therefore do all il
our power to guard them against evi
influences. We must send amont
them political missionaries who shall
teach them the elements OF govern
mental science and warn them OF tn
dangers to which they are exposed
The first lessons to teach them are tha
the work of legislation can not be en-
trusted to any hands other than thos
OF educated men; that it is better t
vote for a good man opposed to ther
IN politics than for bad one on the
side. and that they must vote ACCORD
ing 10 their individual judgment {
VINO are the best men, and must loo
with extreme suspicion on men wh
assume to dictate nominations
them. They must be taught that a
the dignity of the suffrage consists
the independence to action and jud
ment which it is designed to affol
them, and that if they are discipline
and marched up to the polls like
company of soldiers they are not
whit better off than without any yo
at all.
The fate of the fifteenth ament
ment depends on the negro learnil
these lessons, and he is the friend
the amendment who most effectual
teaches them" The friends of /
negro" however, have used, up
date, the fifteenth amendment as 81
of Haiti Hamayoun, which authori2
them and them alone, the exercise
1bsolute power over the person a
conscience of the negro in the inter,
cf faction alone. Hence their decla
tions that the negro is naturally
Republican" and their furious resel
ment at the attempt exercise of
own political preferences. The i
publican party has in reality sous
to enslave the negro to party. I
negro has levolted against the il
rule. His own powers of reducti
have taught him that as party n
chine to keep corrupt men in power
has aided 10 retarding his own welfa
Notably, is this the case in Louisis
and South Carolina We comme
to the consideration of the Repul
can organs the view of the Mali,