The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-11-18

The Conquered States
some days ago we published the s'5a 1oIl


The Conquered States.
some days ago we published the foilo ''ss
Ing paragraph 4, !, s., IS,
sgl s. sr,,r sso1.Yr, souTH.--n the South is
\ ;s,,,;d sf,as II liicaIs OF the North nave NO
49, Mr. .hayse ;yes 10 blame for IL Iheyj
bsrs trease1 t!lc southern people 80 harsntys
and then sland ersa them so nnceasins w, taas
III l. no wonder thai we vote Tor Deniecrats
without regard 10 any other OBJ ece than inc
getting rid OF an odious tyranny.
n occurred Ia an editorial OF some length.
The Cincinnati Commercial copies IT, ana
comments upon it as follows: .5.
The Dispatch has not assimilated It's
information. In the conquest Of the Con-
feaerate States, the States that adhered 20
the Union acquired tue right OF reeonssI W.
Ing the conquered governments. ~ i ms J. 10
aenp tnfser The constitutional amendments.
Thnsc amendments arc the articles OF the
& trsn,v ,f neace between the Confederacy an q
tba nation. The one most essential was tina.
sccnr;np the colored citizens the risht OF
snffrare. This. is 3yiolated Systematically IN
the South. CoIored voters arc not permitteu
! 10 vote the Republican ticket j ne snot-
gun prevails
There's candid impudence for you. 80
the late Confederate States are soon
ouered'' States, and subject TO the Whlns
OF the conauerors! The constitutional
amendments are the articles OF the treaty OF
peace between the two nations! wen;
that is as good a way to describe si them as
any other. They were certainly never IN
corporafed into the Constitution In the
manner prescribed in that instrument for
its amendment. They are, therefore. con-
sidered parts OF the Constitution only De-
cause the conaperors choose TO consiaef
them as such, and because the conquer
edo States choose to acqulesce in that we"
OF them.
But what sort Of republic is this il the
Commercials idea Of it be the correct one
What great many persons suppose to be q
part OF the Constitution are only articles OF q
treaty OF peace which the United States IN
tend to compel The Confederate States to
respect! This candid avowal means no
more than the whole OF the Radical recon-
struction legislation OF Congress indicated.
The law auth orizing the appointment OF
Federal officials to oversee elections; TIE
law authorizing the Federal courts to as
sumo Jurisdiction in certain contested-elec-
tion cases where none but Slate offices
are involved; the anti-KukiuX laws; and
in brief nearly aH the measures adopted by
Congress for the government or rehabllta-
ton OF the southern States were based
upon the theory that the southerners were
sinners and the northerners their duiy-au-
thorized publishers. The southern people
are not ready to humiliate themselves to this
point. They hold that the late Coniede-
rate States have exactly the same rights
as the other States in the Unon-no
more and no less; and they are not dis
posed 10 acknowledge as true any other
theory as TO the nature Of the General GOV
ernmcnt. They ocnize the amendments
as parts OF the Constitution because the
courts treat them rs such; but they do not
concede that with even those amendments
thus recognized the Constitution authorizes
or iustifies such laws as Congress has pre-
tended to base upon them. The sooner the
North makes up ITS mind that it has nothing
to do with the internal affairs 81 the south
ern States the sooner will real peace settle
down upon the country. 1t is insufferable
that the people Of one State should under
take to dictate the policy Of another State,
or attempt to interfere IN any manner with
its internal economy. It does not alter the
case because dozen States or more unite
and act through Congress. The whole thing
is wrong.
AS to the negroes, We have only to say
that in Virginia they are as free to vote
as the whites. We do not think that do
zen negroes could be found in Richmond
out OF. its six thousand or more male negro
adults who would or could say they were
ever intimidated, or that anybody ever at
tempted 10 intinidate them, so as to prevent
them from voting for the men. OF their
choice. We do not know Of single in
stance OF such intimidation. We have no
doubt in the world that the negroes in Vir-
ginia are more free in this respect than the
white employees in the mills, foundrleS, and
factories OF Ohio. But Virginia leaves that
matter to the Ohio Legislature. 1t is none
OF her business; and none but meGdlng
busybodies would wish Virginia TO do
otherwise. AS a complete answer to all
that can be said on the subject Of intimida-
ting voters in the South, we present the
testimony OF BENJAMIN f. BUTLER, Yam
kee, Massachusetts Yankee at that, Yam
kee major-gcneral, Yankee Republican,
and Yankee that distinguished himself
during tine war as friend OK the negroes.
We have had no calls from Cincinnati or
elsewhere for arrests in Massachusetts,
though in recent interview BUTLER said:
/ should have been elected il it had not
been for the most outrageous and persistent
bulldozing OF the, laboring men OF MasSa-
chusetts By their employers, which changed
thousands Of votes. In one case man had
a factory with very considerable number
OF voters employed in it. He took them
down three at time in his own private
carriage. He voted the three, and then
went back for three more and voted
them, and so on until he had gone
through with his men. In other cases,
when men asked leaye Of their en-
ployers to 60 and vote, they were told
they could so, but they need not come