The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1882-09-20
THE AFRICAN IN POLITICS.

Nashville World.
In the celebrated debate o
Brownlow and Prync at Philadel
phia, in 1858, on the question "Ough
American Slavery to be Perpetua
ted" the argument of Mr.. Brown
low was that the curse of God wa:
on the negro. He maintained thai
the negro was the lineal descendant
of Ham and under the curse which
Noah declared against Ham and his
descendants. He argued that the
wife of Ham was a ineal descen-
dant of Cain, the first murderer
that the mark which God placed
upon Cain was a black skin, and
that the black man of to-day in
herited from his ancestors, Cain and
Ham, all the curses which had been
denounced upon these bad men and
their descendants.
Even after the war, in which mill
tary necessity brought about tho
abolition of slavery, he still stoutly
maintained the incapacity of the
negro for self-government and only
at last admitted him to the ballot
upon the ground that ga loyal negro
was n good as a rebel white man" !"
The negro in Tennesse has been
free ever since the latter end of the
war, and has enjoyed the ballot fif-
teen years. These years of free
dom have developed habits of in
dustry in some of them; quite q
number of them avail themselves
freely of the conveniences which
our free school system afford, TO ac-
quire the rudiments of education.
Some of them, by means of Fisk
University and othor institutions,
have made considerable advance
ment in the higher branches of or
namental education.
4 minority of them have made
some advances in the arts of civili-
zatiOn, but the bulk Of them, TO all
human observation, are rs ignorant
as they were on the day they were
emancipated.
In the Republican State Conven-
ton, which assembled at the Capitol
last April, there were a number of
cOlOred delegates. In their style of
dress they were more gaudy, if not
more elegant, than their Caucasian
associates. Their speeches were
long and more fervent and their
elOcution more showy than that of
their white brethren. But when it
came TO business il was evident the
whites furnished the bosses, whose
nod controlled the business of the
day.
Each sable orator, after he had
said his say, seemed content to sub
side into Obscurity and leave Houk
and Butler to boss the substantial
business of the assemblage. Ed
Shaw alone showed some will to
have his own way; but he was
elected, and then all was unani-
nous.
1t is to DO regretted that the |
colOred voters have taken so little /
pains 10 acquaint themselves with
political affairs. When Ne reflect |
that after fifteen or twenty years of
freedom the bulk of them are herded |
like sheep and voted under the die
tation Of their bosses, we are forced /
to exclaim, allow long! Oh, Lord,
how longp
There are about eighty thousand
colOred voters in the State, com
prising about a fourth of our voting
There is some division
Of sentiment among these as vet.
But the work of the Republican
bosses from now till November will
be directed to these and the time
Of the election few will be found
that viii Withstand the beck and
nod of their bosses. A few may
vote for whom they please; but
these will not be numerous. A num-
Der probably, through indifference,
will stay at home.
After all due allowances Hawkins
will get sixty thousand cOlored votes
If he can in addition to these get
forty thOusang white vnteg, and
Fussell and BeREley can get twenty
or thirty thousand Democrats each
Hawkins would be the Governor.
The difficulty in the above calcu-
lation is that the cOlored vote for
Hawkins may fall off more through
than we haye allowed
above; and we don't think Fussell
and Beasley will get half the votes
as possible in this estimate.
In any event it is a melancholy re-
fectiOn that the craft of the Rings
may 50 direct the passions of the
whites and the ignorance of the
Africans, as to defeat tho will of an
honest and intelligent but criminally
careleis people. Let men of thought,
ponder on tho situation and place
their votes and their influence where
they will do most good.