Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1880-04-05
EULr-DOzING is DELAWARE.
More from the NeW York "TimeA''
Abont tne Disfrancb bisem OF
Republicans In Delaware.

, More from the Rev York "Timeh
Abont tne Disfranch hisement o
Republicans In Delaware.
/ The following are abstracts from
, letter written from this city to tue n
Y. "Times," the letter being too Ion
to publish in full:
WILMINGTON, Del, April Eth
Delaware disfranchissmsnt system
dates from 1871. 1t was an elaberat
and ingenious sxpedient, due to th'
partisan skill Of the Saulsburys, ant
directed against the colored votors. IL
1870, these citizens used their franchise
for the first time, under the fifteenth
amendment, and the Republicans
found themselves beaten by the loss o.
white votes under the intensity Of ths
color prejudice, and by the timidity Of
the colorsd men themselves in many
places in the State. Senator Sauls
bury--not the present one Of that
name, but Willard, his brother, now
the Chancellor--had advised his party
followers, who had come to him III
alarm when the colorsd men were On
franchised, to "go home and raise the
cry of white Mans Party" So they
did, and it, with come bull-dozisg, car.
ried the State that year.
The history Of the contest over the
matter is one curious in detail, but in
general very similar to the story Of the
bull.dczed States further South. The
plan OF making oil sorts of discrimina.
tion against the colored voters is seen
here. Thus, during the session Of the
Levy Court at Newcastle, all through
March, the colored men were present
by scores daily sometimes by hundreds.
They were treated with great injustice.
A white Democrat, desiring to be as
sessed, could get attention, while they
could not. They sat waiting upon the
pleasure OF the court, and its plea
sure was TO let them get tired with
waiting, while = pretense was kept up
Of hearing them as "other business
permitted. So the Assessors had treated
them in the hrst instance. They are
not, generally, the owners Of real prop,
srty. Like thousands Of white men in
the State, they are to be assessed only
poll-tax. The Assessors, therefore, took
their mes or not, Rs they pleased.
In some hundreds there was fairness,
and in many others there was not. In
Pencader, in this county, the assessor
honestly did his duty, and the cOnse-
quenee wRs that there were few or none
omitted and obliged to cone before the
Levy Court; IN ST Georges large and
populons hundred adjoining Peneader,
and containing many colored men-as
we'll as Ex Gov. Cochran-preoisely
the reverse was the case, the assessor
leaving of it Is estimated, 300 names,
nearly all oolore d Republicans. Many OF
these he must have known; it is in
credible that he was net well aoousint-
cd with them; some dwelt within sight
of his house, and many were rsspeota
BILE farm hands whs had long lived in
the hundred. This case shows the first
place in the law where fraud enters.
The assessors do net assess.
The lists are hung up, and by care
full comparison 1t is found that many
Of the names are Of. "What are you
going to do about it ?" In Wilmington
there was \ rush to the City Hall to
mSet the Assessors-there are two for
the city-on the day appointed, 10 add
names and correct errors. Fifteen hun.
dred persons we're found applying to be
assessed. The ball was crowded from
10. 30 o'olock-the early hour at which
the Assessors began, until they quit at
8, and not half OF the cases were dis
posed of. By earnest insistance little
more work was done on the Monday
following, aud then the Assessors quit
peremptorily, not completing their
lists at all, mot adding all the names
they were asked to add, not making
anything like full or fair assessment.
II was estimated that in the city
alone SEQ names OF persons legally en-
titled to be assessed had been thus
omitted when the lists were hurried
over to Newcastle, and the opportunity
closed, except by appearing before the
Lazy Court. At the beginning of Feb
ruAry the Republicans Of Delaware
found tb smselvss confronted with the
fact that the Democratic Assessors
there are not half dozen in the State
who are Repubicans-had left of the
assessment somewhere between 2,0C0
ana 5000 Republican names fully Ell.
titled to be OH under the plain provis-
ions of the State law. The hard work,
here, at the City Hall revision, had ad-
dsd come 700, and similar work in 9TH
er parts OF the State had alao mended
the original defects to some extent.
But, after all, here were, say :, 500 vo-
rers distranchised for the Presidential
election, unless they could be taken be
fore the Levy Court and there assessed.
This in single Congressional district;
conses emily, 1t would mean over S0,-.
900 acknowledgements in the State Of
New York.
In 1878 no Republican ticket was
nominated in Delaware, either for
county or State officers. The majority for
Tilden in 1876 had been no more than
2,629 out OF a vote of "a 135, but it was
felt to bs useless, under the circum-
stances, to contend against the disfran-
chisement system. The party, there
fore, which had pollsd l0,7j2 votes for
Hayes, and which could bring into the
field, with fair assessments, not less
than $4,000 votes, abandoned its efforts
in indignant and bitter protest. In
this city the business men are Repub.
licans. Among the manufacturers.
many, if not most, of whom are natives
of other States, and therefore "carpet
bsggers," when they venture to have
political preferences, not one in Ave is
q Democrat.