Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-12-14
SATURDAY, DECEMBER IA, 1878.
RNOwNOruINGIsm REVIVED.

Our foreign population have no sympathy
with those who would prolong sectional agi-
tation. The Irish cast nearly solid vote for
the Democratic party, and since the war, the
Germans who, as a race are naturally con-
servative, have opposed Repubicanism on &C
count of its hatred of the south. This fact
has arrayed the Republicans against the
foreigners. The stalwarts are bowling over
the wrongs Of the negro. and are deeply dis
tressed at his exclusion from the ballot box;
but have no tears to shed over the outrage OF
imprisonIng in New York naturalized
citizens for attempting to exercise the right of
suffrage-John l. Davenport, a Federal
official in New York, arrested and imprisoned
naturalized citizens for attempting to vote
on their naturalization papers. These ar
rests intimidated thousands OF other
Foreigners. The Republicans who are she'd
ding so many hypocritical tears over the
wrongs of the blacks are at the same time
attem pting to denahonaiize and disfranchlse,
sixty thousand Foreigners in New York.
Ben Butler has charged that in the
New England States, and notably in
Massachusetts, factory operatives were in
undated by their employers and forced
to vote against their convictions or pre-
vented from voteing altogether. Hon. Fer
nando Wood has charged on the floor of the
house of representatives that thousands of
naturaizad citizens, who had been voters for
ten or dozen years, were disfranchised
through the arbitrary and despotic action of
the Federal supervisors Of elections, under
the direction of the notorious United States
Commissioner John l. Davenport. 'In the
q city of New York, on the fifth of Novem-
" ber," said Mr.. Wood, -four thousand legal
I" voters were dragged to prison by govern
a. mant Off :ials; where hundreds of them
" were plunged into the vilest dens as COM
g mon prisoners, and besides those who had
d" been arrested ten thousand other voters
Z" had been intimdated, thus making a off
a. ference Of at least fifteen thousand votes
" in the city of New York in the last
" election. The ground of Davenport's
proceedings against naturalized citizens has
already come up incidentally for review
in both State and Federal courts, and
been condemned. Ga Monday, in one of the
State courts, NJ. Emile Gauter, whose natur
alization had been decided by Davenport to
be fraudulent, thus denying his citizenship,
was suuuuiUtv'a n0I jog duty. H. I>~I:--~I
to serve on the ground of Davenport's decl-
sion that he was not citizen. Judge NJ
Adams at once decided that Davenport's as
sumption and action were of no consequence,
a. Judge Freedman had previously de cided
in the superior court In the United States
court, before Judge BlatchfJrd, in. the case Of
Peter Coleman against Davenport, which
came up on the return to writs of certiorari
and habeas corpus in the matter of his appli-
cation for discharge from imprisonment I'M
der one of Commissioner Davenport's COM
mitments, the judge, upon hearing the facts
of the case, and before the counsel for the
prisoner had even presented it on the merits,
promptly decided that Coleman never should
have been taken into custody. His immedi
ate discharge was ordered. These facts
demonstrate the antipathy of the Radicals to
naturalizsd citizens. If they can exclude from
the baIlot-box sixty thousand foreigners by
arrests and intimidation, they will have no
trouble in carrying New York, for the Re-
pubhcans. While Blaine and his party are try
ing to protect the negro from imaginary
wrongs the Democrats Will see to it that the
foreigners are protected frcm real outrages.