National Republican., 1878-01-03
SUPPREssION or SUFFRAGE.

Representation in Accordance with the New
Amendments to the Constitution.
The chief cornerstone Of a republic Is rep
resentation-a republic without representation
Is farce. With representation comes liberty
a republic without liberty is a farce. The
two should go together. Down South before
the war they had combination of an oligar-
chy and slavery, and they termed it freedom.
II was freedom Tor the few, but despotism for
the many. The war attempted to right this
great wrong aud insult to our free institutions,
but II was only partial success; the institu-
tiOn of slavery us such was abolished, but only
in name. Nominally the colored population
of the southern States are free /; practically
their freedom only furnishes their cx masters
with greater power than ever to further all
| the aims of the OligarChy that forced the Gov
ernment to huge civil war for their special
and selfish benefit The colOred population of
the South being made freemen, swelled the
census of their locality to the full proportion
of citizens aud on this full census was based
a full representation, as elsewhere throughout
| the country. This act of increased repro.
sentatiOn to those localities was incidental to
| their advancement an recognition rs citizens.
| 1t was an act of kindness and justice that was
| thought would be the means of lifting this op-
pressed people up in the scale of humanity,
but this humane act Oh the part of the Ma
tional Government, as part of the Constitu-
| tion, instead of helping to advance this poor
people has, through the cirCumventiOn Of tho
| Southern leaders, Oilbprings of the old Olgar-
| chial power, been made mighty power
against them rather than, as 1t should have
| been, means Of advancing them in the scale
| of human progress Seeing that such is the
fact, that the cOlOred population in the South
practically have no representation, Is 1t right
| that they should help swell the local repre-
sentation in the national Congress- when that
representation is not even neutral, but di-
reCtly against themp
| In the revolutionary war we fought first for
Representations Suppose the English govern
mcnt had, either by force or otherwise, been
obliged to accord To our rst demand, yet by
subtcrlugc been able to have controlled that
representation by having Us rs u people only
represented by IL lot of tories. we would have
been worse or than before We made any de-
mands for representation, and yet Ostcnsibly
We would have been credited with rCprCsCn-
tatiOn.
In our revolutionary struggle we accused the
English government, and justly 50, of many
mean things in order to retain. her hold upon
this country, bat she never resOrted to quite
80 mean u thing Us this yet now, at this late
day. in our Government we have men of one
locality mean enough to hold their lcllow.mcn
in bondage, aud when the law Of the land
finally prevails against them and the bonds
men are made free, and being free made citi.
zens and Ms citizens they swell the reprcsen.
tatOn Of their lOcality, but practically, by tho
Odous Mississippi and Georgia plans--by au-
dacty and quiet Cunning-Aitcr their repre-
sentation is accepted they are practically de
nicd and prevented from having any voice in
the matter they are forced TO be the means
kOf sending men to represent them who, instead
of doing this do, and will continue to do. all in
their power to prevent them from exercising
any rights as freeman and citizens OF a great