Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-10-25
pailp 4en',ebet Sournal.
Augusta, Saturday Morning, Oct rs, 1879
The Suffrage.
from Mr.. Evarts' Speech. |

From Mr.. Evarts speech.
Now, suffrage, gentlemen, is the life of
our institutions. is not the mere deposit of
votes. The suffrage is live institution.
1t is free and intelligent power in the
country it is the greatest educator of the
people; it is the greatest conciliator of
the people to obedience to laws, that the
ingenuity of man or the assertion of their
rights has ever contrived- What becomes
of that in these Southern communities?
Are they being conciliated to the laws by
that method of suffrage9 BY no means.
It is substitution of violence and Of ter
ror. and the suffrage decays; dearth of
free schools, desuetude of free speech,
and the decay of the free suffrage 60 hand
in hand, and if those people will save
their own suffrage from being subjugated
by this dead mass Of violent and despotic
suffrage. they must bestir themselves to
see that free schools, free speech, free
suffrage shall pcrvade every corner Of this
land. [Applause.] don't wish to over
estimate the gravity of this political con-
sideration. The same reasons and argu-
ments are used that are used to band the
shareholders together against the freemen
Of the North-State rights, that prevented
legal interference, and State pride, that
won't tolerate discussion in the Southern
country. And Mr.. Toombs was right in
saying that in the project of their politics
the time would come when the stakeholder
could call the roll of his slaves on Bunker
Hill Is well as amid their cabins, and he
was more of a prophet than he thought
for, because he can call his roll at Bunker
Hill just as he can among his slave cabins,
and the slaves will answer as much in one
place as in another. Applause So,
too, l warn you now, if you allow the suf
frage to be subjugated. that mass will sub
jugate it next in New York City and the
other great cities Of the land, and so,
hunted, oppressed, alone. the people will
have no choice but to make the same kind
of resistance to one subjugation that they
made to another. Applause.]
Well, gentlemen, it may be asked, do
fear the triumph OF this attack upon the
freedom of suffragep No. don't; but
deprecate the strife and the calamity of
the struggle. We can bear and we can
redress this evil, but we cannot submit to
it.; we cannot foster it, and we cannot
propagate it, and we might bear it with
better patience If the people OF this coun-
try had nothing to do but to attend to
these political questions; but we have a
great many things to do. We have our
manufactures, our agriculture, our COM
merce; we have the fostering and the adj
vancement of enterprise, of religion, of
civilization, and we have the lead of the
nations Of the world il we will step for
ward and take it, and we don't intend to
be kept forever from these pursuits. Zap
plause,] by forcing upon us out of clear
sky these thunderbolts of danger from
the Southern heaven. [Applause.] Why,
gentlemen. looking at the single State of
Mississippi, it may not be worth while to
debate its ruin and its disaster, but, gen.
tlemen, hot box may stop whole train,
and we don't intend that the progress of
this nation shall be stopped by the hot
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