The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-07-10
Opening Their Eyes.

Numerous Northern Republicans since
the overthrow of carpet bag, rule in the
South, and the enforcement of honesty
and intelligence where corruption and ig
norance were fortressed in the seats of au.
! t;ihority, seeing the situation as it was,
have frankly confessed the wrongs of
their party against the South and the
Justice of the retribution which has over
taken it in this section. Among others
who have declared their opinions to this
effect, is the Lebanon, New Hampshire,
Free Press, whose editor has visited the
South and examined the situation for
himself. His conclusions are stated in
the following extract:
New Hampshire has population of lit
tie more than 3l5,000-all white, and less
than three per cent. in the class termed in
the census tables "illiterate.' Eighty thous-
and of these are voters-the largest propor-
ton of voters to population of any State in
the Union. Now put into our midst 100000
illtterate negrOes-Of whom 100000 shall be
vOters--without property, without proper
ty, without character. with hardly the fain-
test conception of the duties and privileges
of citizenship-the easy dupes of the noisi-
est and most unprincipIed demaoOrues
Let them do the nominating in your caucu-
ses, and being the majority, elect their own
men mainly to office. Let them fill your
legislature with men who cannot write their
names, to say nothing of being utterly ignu-
rant OF the first principles of political econ
Omy-with men who value office only for
the opportunity it affords them to steal, and
utterly obliviOus of sense of moral guilt in
stealing from the State-men who will not
allow respectably-dressed stranger to sit
in the galleries OF Representatives hall an
hour without trying to find out ifhe has
some scheme to put through the house, and
offering their services for a consideration
Let them fill your jury-bOXes with the same
material-with men who hang round the
courthouse by scores waiting for an oppor-
tunity to serve on jury for the petty pitt
ance which the State pays to iurymen, and |
ready TO sell verdict to the highest bidder. |
Let the place ON the bench men from slave |
RIP, scarcely knowing the simplest rudiments |
of law, and who, having instructed a iurV |
more ignorant than themselves on a point |
of law, Will recall that jury and reverse that |
instruction on the payment OF a palfry fee
Let them, having no property of their own
to be taxed, and no interest in keeping taxes
low, paying only uniform and fixed poll
tax of one dollar, and generally avoiding
even that-let them increase the expendi-
lures year. ruin the credis of the State, re-
duce its accounts to absolute chaos, and in
sicise LAY es I'LL property, real or personal,
becomes almost absolutely unstable, be-
cause nobody can afford to take it as a gift |
and pay the taxes. What would the people
Of New Hampshire do with such a condi-
Jon of affairs? How long would they
stand on their traditional reverence for law,
Ind their respect for personal and political
lights? We know what they would do.
n less than two years all other political
distinctions would be ignored, and the en-
ire white population would act as unit
lsing all those arts which politicians know
low to use, to give to superior intelligence
he guidance and control of public affairs
Yet this was the condition of South Caro-
one whit overdrawn.