Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-03-11
Jones, Of Nevada, on a White Mans
Government.

elusive evidence klaly IN the OplnAOA u
the higher house Of the Federal Leglsla-
ture, it should. We have already
alluded briefly to the remarks of Senator
George, of Mississippi, on this subject,
and now desire to call special attention
to the speech of Senator Jones CRepub-
lican). from Nevada, on the same line.
Before noticing the main significance
Of the Nevada Senator's remarks, how
ever. that portion Of his speech in which
he stated that OWNS to the presence Of a
servile race in the South there existed
dearth Of intellectual activity in this sec
ton in every department save one-that
II politics-is worthy of more than pass
ing notice. If by the term politics
toe Senator meant ''the science of states
mauship, it mus: be admitted that his
exception is a very vast and comprehen
sive one, and We would like to
call his attention TO the long array Of
southern statesmen who have shed
honor and lustre upon the Republic from
its inception even to the present day.
1t was q Southcrner, and a rebel at that,
who was most conspicuous in achieving
independence for this country, and en-
abled it to enjoy the blessings of free
dom and civil liberty which to-day
form the surest protection for the vast
wealth which the fortunate Nevadlan Is
credited with possessing. They were
SOutherners who made the most etIec-
tive lieutenants Of that Southern rebel
when he was engaged in his great work.
1t was a Southerner who was the father
OF the Declaration of Independence and
the Constitution of the United States,
and as we glance over the pages
of American history we find that
the names Of Southern statesmen whose
splendid talents and abilities have done
Sd much for making the Federal
Republic Of the United States Of
America in its earliest days to be
highly honored among all the nations Of
the globe are in a decided majority.
And be it borne in mind all this was
| accomplished while there was literally
servile race in the South, and when that
race composed the slaves Of those distin-
| guished gentlemen. The imperishable
fame which they achieved, it must be
further remembered, was acquired at
time when mental accomplishments
held a higher place in public
regard than in these money-wOrship-
ing days, and when something
more than the mere possession of rich
silver mines was needed to make a man
a statesman. They were days when
Presidents and ex-Presidents Of the Uni
ted States would have considered it the
extreme of contemptibility to have used
their high Office for the purpose Of foster
ing corrupt rings, and Of advancing the
interests Of party alone, or to have con
sented to the organization Of gift en-
tsrprises for their benefit in compensation
for their services. Even if the names of
Southerners are conspicuous by their ab
sence from the Patent Office, the country
has no cause to bewail the dearth Of in
tellectual activity IN this section.
But the most significant portion Of the
Nevada Senator's remarks are to be
found in his words regarding the negro
race. He would not" said he, "wel-
come Africans. Their presence is not
blessing to Us, but an impediment in our
way" And when he further admitted
that the experiment of making the Afri-
can the dominant race in the South chad
been dismal failure, because laws way
above human laws have placed our race
superior to and far above the other, his
remarks reached the climax of signif-
canoe. But a few years ago and the
South expressed to the very people Of
which Senator Jones Is now the repre-
sentative, and among which he was then
a prominent man-though not so prOmi-
nent as now, perhaps, for he had not
then struck it so rich"-this identical
sentiment, and earnestly pro-
tested against the enfranchisement,
at one fell swoop, of hundreds of thou
sands of ignorant and newly emancipated
slaves as tending only to the degradation
of the Republic. Yet the people Of the
West scoffed at the idea, and insisted
upon placing the Southern white and his
late slave upon the same political level.
To-day, however, the tables have turned,
and now it is the people Of the West
who stand forth more conspicuously
than those of any other section as
the champions of a white mans
government. Strange to say, how
ever, they do not, If the Nevada Sena-
tor may be taken as their spokesman,
base their argument in favor of such
a government altogether on the grounds
| of the superior intelligence of the white
man, as did the South, but rather on
the ground that intelligence may be too
great, and that the negroes are less dan
gerous as citizens than the Chinese,
because the skill of the latter make
them more formidable competitors than
negroes" In other words, in their opin-
ion, the Chinese are too smart, and the
negroes are not smart enough to be citi-
zens of the United States.
Despite the manifest crudity of this
argument, it is, nevertheless, en-
courag1ng to see that the people of
the West are, at last, having
their eyes opened to the Importance
Of the great social and political problem
to which the Southern people have
always endeavored to direct the
thoughtful attention Of the people Of the
whole country. II this aati-Chineseq ues-
ton shall result in preventing hereafter
the solidiacation Of the North and West
against the South because the latter sec
ton will not consent to be dominated by
the African race, the country will have
no occasion TO regret its agitation.
An interesting suit at law, involving
husbands right to his wife's wedding
presents, has recently been decided by
Lord Chief Justice Coleridge. Under an