Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-10-28
Wilmington, Thursday, Oct. %, 1880

The Fraud in the Cry OF Negro Dis
franchisement-W What the Census
shows.
The plan of the present campaign in
this State in behalf of the Republican
party, as developed in the very beginning,
was for the politicians to work on the
feelings and prejudices of respectable
citizens, and get them excited to partisan
activity. First clamor was raised over
the inadequacy of the assessments and
business men, without regard to party,
were besought to petition the Levy Court
for full assessment with view to light
ening the burdens on property, and men
were induced to go into this movement on
this plea who must have known
that they were the very people
who would have to pay through their
party committees the whole OF the taxes
levied on any negroes assessed. But the
managers could not keep up their pre-
tence that their object was fair distribu-
before they were through they were petit
tioning the court to find some means to
strike some three hundred names of white
men from the lists on the ground that
they had been delinquents and ought to
have remained of the lists.
The perfect openness of the first false
pretence did not, however, shock any of
the truly good and they have been
clsmoring constantly ever since over the
awful injustice of the Acknowledgement of
the negroes, and it is the burden of the
cry Just issued in the city and OF the Re
publican County Committee.
We have suspected for some time thai
there has been great deal of exaggeratior
about this matter, and that, though there
may be a number of negroes left off the
lists, they are pretty fairly balanced
by the number improperly placed OF
under a system which permits singh
man to vouch for the identity and resi-
dence Of more than a hundred negroes
We have just succeeded in securing thu
number Of adult negroes in this city a
reported by themselves, and our suspicion
that there is not much foundation for a.
this clamor are entirely justified.
The whole number of colored men il
the city OF Wilmington oger The age o
to0snty years, as reported by themselve
to the census enumerators, was l4I7
This, 1t will be seen, includes every on
who possibly can be qualified to vote
either on age or the payment of tax
Yet the collector of county taxes inform
us that the taxes of thirteen dUntiret
negroes have been paid, and, of course
there are some negro delinquents. But
there were none, this would leave but
margin of III for negroes between twent
and twenty one, some of whom may hav
come of age, though a considerable humble
of them must, of course, be under twenty
one. 1t would be very moderate to est
mate the number between the 800 who's
taxes are paid and the total number {
1,417, that is III as the number betTee
20 and 21. Where, then, is the room fc
the hundreds the Republican politician
are shouting are not assessed We thin
it quite possible that there are a numb,
unassessed, but it is very manifest fro
the figures given that there are a great
number improperly assessed. Democrat
politicians are by no means immaculat
but their Republican competitors can gi'
them odds and beat them at this game
the negro in politics and delude tie be
men into the most righteous wrath, so Ii
they will watch and denounce ''the wick
Democrats, while the Republican wor
his little guns. Despite all these stori
of Acknowledgement, and despite certa
amount of truth in them, there will in
probability, counting those who vote
age and all, be mare gotes east By aegr,
in tbs city at The election ae1t neek tA
Tie census M0us there are aunt m,
negroes IN t,e city, Maybe the political
will call a meeting OF highly respectful
business men after the election to explG
how they accomplished this noble res
for the good of the cause, but it is mt
likely they will not