The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-12-18
THE REPUBLICAN KEY Ne2s
sENArOR BLAINE sou
his ASSAULT ON THE SOUTH.

~
constitutional rights of citizens had not
been violated in the recent elections in any
of the States was taken up. and that gentle
man spoke as follows:
Mr.. PREsIDRNT-The pending resolution
was offered by me with a two-iold purpose
in view:
First-To place on record ia = oeHfii'e
and authentic form, the frauds ana outfases
nv which some recent elections were earned
by the Democratic party in the southern
States.
second-To find if there be any method
by which a repetition of thes" crihSs
against free ballot may be prevented.
The elections in some of the Southern
States to have been accompanied by Vlo-
lence in not few cases reaching the des
truction OF life; to have been controlled by
threats that awed and intimidated large
class of voters; to have been manipulated
nv fraud of the most shameless and shame
full descriotiou. Indeed, in south Caro- ilna
there seems to have been no election at all
in any proper sense Of the term. There
was instead series OF skirmi>hes over the
State, in which the polling-plaees were re-
| carried as forts to be captured by one party
| and held against the o.ner, and where this
could not be done with convenience, frauds
| in the court and tissue ballot devices were
resorted to in order to effectually des troy
the voice of the majority.
Mr. Blaine undertook To show that now,
with the colored man theoretically citizen,
but practically DISTINGUISHED, the Southern
| white man has fully twice the influence III
| National politics of the Northern Whlte
| man OF the Ice Southern Congressman thr
Democrats elected l0l or l02. Thirty-five
| of these Representatives were assigned TO
| the South on the score of the negro vote.
! 5 uth Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana
| together have the same representation-l1
as Iowa and Wisconsin, and yet the former
| have less than ors-haIf the white popula-
! ZION of the latter The same two-to-One
| state of things is true of Georgia and Ala
| bama grouped opposite Michigan, Nj IN
nesota, Nebraska and California. He then
shows substantially the same to be the case
on the broader scale Of comparing the
eleven Confederate States with the rest of
the country, as follows:
| Throughout the States that formed the
| late Confederate GSYernm en-. $4,000 whites
the very people that ebe!led against The
| Unon-are enabled To elect Il K presenta-
| tive in Congress. white in the loyal STATES
| it requires $4,000 OF the white people that
| fought tor the Union to elect Represen-
| tattVe. in levyIng every tax, therefore, in
| making an appropriation of money, IN Tx
! ing every line OF public police, in decrteing
" hat shall De the fate and fortune of the
Republic, the Confederate soldier South Is
enabled to cast a vote that is twice as pow
| trfui and twice as influential as the vote OF
! the Union soldier North.
Mr.. Blaine spoke at length in this line of
argument and concluded as follows:
Let me now remind you that the Govern
! ment under whose protecting flag we sit
| to-day sacrificed myriads of lives and eX-
| pended thousands of millions OF treasure
{ at our cOuntrymen OF the South should
| remain citizens OF the United States, hav-
| ing equal personal rights and eqRal politi-
cal privileges with all other citizens. And
l venture, now and here, to wa n the men
OF the South, in the exact words OF Macan
lay, that we will never suffer them TO be
more!
Senator Thurman offered an amendment
to the Blaine resolution covering the whole
ground OF inquiry into the purity OF our
late elections. Instead of investigating the
elections in the South only, his amendment
Is designed to ascertain To how great
tent, aud by what means, and under what
circumstances the freedom of the franchise
has been interfered with elsewhere; what
Influences have been Employed TO secure
votes what measures of intimidation have
been resorted to; what assessments for po-
Iitical purposes have been imposed under
Republican as well AS Democratic d!ctation.
Mr.. Thurman said Mr.. Blane's resolution
WAS offered in order to be made ring
upon which to hang speeches to arouse sec
tional hatred in one portion OF this Union
against an almost dcfenseless people in an
other portion of the Union. applause in
the galleries.) Why, Mr.. President, of what
is it that the Senator from Maine COM
plains? That there were not enough Re
publican votes in the South that is the
amount of it. | think L see, Mr.. President.
what is wanted. L think this is a note
which is sounded to the people OF the North
that they must retrace their steps, and this
very party which required amendments to
the CONSTITUTION to be made i'll the interest,
it was Sail, of the colored population of the
South, Is now preparing to face about, re-
trace its steps and undo what it did only
few years ago; either directly or by indi-
rection that is TO be done.
SENATOR LAMAR also spoke, say ing that
he was not surprised that Mr.. Blaine should
feel deep interest in the affairs fthe South
ern States, but was surprised that he had
not originated SOME we'll devised system of
education tor the people in whom he had |
expressed such great interest, instead of
concentrating his thoughts upon question !
of party relationship, and giving ito party |
what was meant for mankind He said |
hereafter he would produce proofs to show
that Mr.. Blaine's charges against the South |
were unfounded and warned the Senators
from New England that in agitating the |
question of representation. they would kim |
die fire whose subterranean flame will |
iiquify the very foundation on which these |
proud and free commonwealth are now |
rearing their aspiring heads.
In answer to the complaint of the |
Northern agitators against the South
that she does not send colored men to |
represent her interests in Congress, even
from the districts in which the colored |
l. Il