The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-08-19

The RoA f2ks
mar fscv<ruor-,trcet contemporary V, we
.rsrcct. NOT very web sasssded that there Is
.nv capital to be made ont Of sn cutlery
against the Virginia csp'sasion tax. Ne'-
sher tho whites Of this State nor our allies
sursher north seem to be whiting TO take sny
siock Ia movement for dctsg away that
a.x. We reproduced a day or two ago what
the metropolitan organ Of the national De
mocratic party had 70 say on che subject
and We have seen Ia no Democratic icura"
an article on the other side OF the question:
though az course such articles may have es'
esprd our attention Ia our exchanges, or
have appeared la Journals not on our ex-
change list.
We were amused, u not surprised, TO
read the following In the leading editorial
in yesterdays WAis. We quote: :
"Tbc Funder memory Is very short. ~
cannot reach hack 10 the canvass OF last
wear. when Funderism made the weMin
riso with ifs demonstrations OF the ReAd-
iusfers as The niger party Anthat could
be said and urged in that way was t6en
done. aud we knew that the elect was the
reverse OF that attended" t.
We trust that our contemporary WIZ not
hereafter charge the Democrats with having
tried last year to form al alliance with She
negroes; and that 1t will never again in'i'
mate that the negroes did not last year vote
the Rekdiuster ticket. " We ksoe fAdt tht
effect ,cas the reverse of that iRte~ded.'
That Ia about % strong as language conie
make the assertion that the consequence Oh
the Democratic denuncialions whicn
"madc the weIkin ring" was TO cause the
negro voters 10 rally to the Rezdtuster
standard. Stick pin there.
By The way, let Us say that corresponds
ept reminds us that General MALONE and
nil his present allies Of the Independent
party who were Conservatives before they
were Readjusters were understood in 1876
to be In favor OF the constitutional proyi'
sion which makes the payment OF capita
ton tax prerequisite to voting. The wig
advocated that provision and as, IL was Just
az truly General MAHoNE's organ then rs II
is now, we see no reason to doubt that the
head and front OF the boiling faction-the
man without whose assistance the lndpend-
entl electors could not maintain their
position in the field until election.day-
was as earnestly in favor OF the con-
stitutional provision In question as any
other man In Virginia. General Ma
HOMES friends claim for him the paternity
OF the Conservative party. We consider 1t
an unfounded claim. But let that pass.
Conceding that he founded the Conserva-
tive party, let us inquire how 1t is that Gen.
eral MALONE had never word to say In
1876 against measure which his organ Is
now daily engaged in denouncing as not
only unwise and impoli,ic but unjust Has
the operation Of that measure been such as
to disappoint the whites Of Virginia? On
the contrary, IL has proved to be productive
only OF good results. 1t resulted in quiet
submission on the part OF the negroes TO
the rule OF the taxpayers; and this happy
state OF things would have continued until
now but for the craze which the cam
yass OF last fall produced amongst
them, and which was intensified last
winter when it was found that four
teen negroes held the balance of power
in the General Assembly OF this honOred
old Commonwealth. And but for the poll
tax it is fair TO presume that there would
have been at least twenty negroes in the
last Legislature. What such a Legislature
would have done in the way OF repudiatlng
the States most sacred obligations and put
ting negroes into official positions, nobody
knows; and it Is useless to speculate In re-
gard to 1t. Surely the events OF last year
and the course OF the insolent negroes in
the Capitol galleries and on its floor last
are now better qualified to exercise the
right OF suffrage than they were in 1876. Is
1t because they have proved themselves to
be such useful tools of the white politician
Would not the very men who now clamor
for the removal Of the present slight re-
striction upon the right OF suffrage clamor
for its restoration il the capitalists and
=" bloated bondnoIders." and other wealthy
men, should after its removal use their mo.
ney TO buy the votes OF the impecunious
negroes?
We quote the Wing again:
Re2diusters know very we'll that for all
this howl the Funders would not scruple to
pay the poll taxes for all the colored dein-
quents and vote them for Funderism II they
could. The colored grapes are sour because
the Funders can't get 'em. That's ALL"
There's another confession which we
wish our neighbor not to lose sight OF. We
have never claimed that the Debt-Payers
got the negro vote last year. On the con-
trary, we have always freely conceded that
the negroes then voted for Readiuster eau
didsies, us they would next November il
there were no Republican ticket in the field.
They know how to vote IN order to destroy
the Democratic party. ,,,., 4..s
The whites OF Virgins are not ready to
put themselves on an equality with the negro
by admitting that they can't each pay one
dollar year for the privilege OF electing
their rulers. Our neighber might as well
drop the subject.
II the Cincinnati Commercial will con-
suit the American Almanac for 1878, or the