Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1883-10-23
Things to be Remembered and Pom
dered on.
CONSIDER THE IMPENDING DANGERS BE-
FORE YOU VOTE.

that the earnest political contest now III
progress in Virginia is simply repetition
of the old struggle which took place in 1852
Then the effort was, under the lead Of GOV
Wells, Underwood, and men Of that class
to establish negro rule in our STATE, Ire
plan then was to fasten on us the Nsess>
wood Constitution, which rendered hsae-
tenths of the adult white population Of
Virginia, not only ineligible to any Office,
but incapable of sitting on n jury or Of
voting at any election. If the oonspirstorS
had been successful in carrying out their
Infamous scheme, the whole power of the
State would have been placed in the hands
Of the ignorant negroes and their base
white confederates.
Fortunately, upon the representation OF
the better class of whites of the terrible
consequences which would result from such
a condition of things, a Republican Con-
gress, in compliance with a recommends
ton of President Grant, gave the people
of Virginia an opportunity of voting sepa-
rately on these DISTINGUISHING clauses of the
Constitution. The issue was thus fairly
and squarely presented to the voters
''Shall these clauses be retained or stricken
from the Constitution ?" 1t was as i'm
portant as the issue of life or death; for
if they had been retained, life, to white
men in Virginia, would hardly have been
worth living. 1t would have been exist
ence without the privilege Of freemen-a
base subsection to the tyranny of ignorance
and rascality The white people appre-
ciated the vital Importance of the contest,
and rose up, as one man, to save them
selves from ruin, and, by a Herculean effort,
were successful.
In this contest, the negroes, with few
honorable exceptions, voted in a solid col
umn of ninety thousand to reduce us to a
condition hardly less abject than slavery !!
After the lapse Of fourteen years, this
same old fight is renewed. 1t is true that
Wells, Underwood, and their associates,
have passed off the stage or sunk into dis
honored graves; but Malone, Cameron,
Riddleberger, and others, whose conduct is
less pardonable, because they are natives
of the State, have taken their places, and,
by the same despicable means, are seeking
to accomplish the same end These men,
for the sake of Office, have banded them
selves with the negroes for the purpose of
putting their feet on the necks Of the white
1aaorIa of U;rrinio
Let no one be stupid enough to believe
that the negroes cannot be led by artful
demagogues to vote for the vilest measures
of oppression which may be dictated to
teacher. The conduct of the negroes in
1869 is conclusive proof Of what they can
be made to do. But few days ago, Cam
eron, in his debate with Judge Christian,
admitted that the conduct Of the negroes
i'll 1869 was not only blunder, but crime !!
Yet the same Cameron and his associates
are now using all their efforts to induce the
negroes to repeat the same blunder and
crime Are they not daily seeking to in
flame the passions of the negroes against
the whites? Are they not nightly holding
secret meetings of the negroes, to band
them together in hostile array against the
whites? Are they not trying to persuade
the negroes that the mass Of the white
people are their natural enemies, and that
it is the duty of all the colored people to
array themselves at the polls against the
whites? What is to be the natural conse-
quence of this thing? Will it not tend to
array race against race, and to endanger
the peace and safety of the country? If
the whites are the enemies of the blacks,
will not the necessary result be, that if the
negroes get the upper hand, the whites
Will be treated as enemies ? Where is this
thing to end? Whittier are we drifting !?
A little spark may kindle a great confagra-
ton. A child may put q force in motion
which strong men cam OF control. Can
any man of sense fail to see that this course
on the part of Malone and his associates
leads naturally to war of races, and that
when that is fairly commenced blood-shed
must soon follow?
Is it not time for men who have an in
terest in the peace and well-being of society
to pause and reflect before they incur the
hazard Of bringing such calamities on the
country?
Our high-spirited people went to war in
1861 upon an apprehension Of an inuasion
Of their rights. Will they remain quiet
when those rights are ruthlessly trampled
on?
Can our free institutions be maintained
when ignorance becomes the ruling power?
Can any government be regarded as 1epub-
ican when the voice Of the people is stifled,
and the will of one man is substituted as
the governing power
As certain as the sun is in the armament,
dangers of an awful character lie before US
in the not very remote future ! A mistake
by the people now may be fatal. 1t is bet
ter by vigilance and firmness to turn them
aside than to battle with them after they
come upon us To turn over the govern.
ment to the negroes and their accomplices
to the ignorance and vice of the country
is simply revolution. Revolutions are
sometimes peaceable, but generally they
are followed by violence Who can fore
tell what may follow in our case?
Foolish people thought that secession"
was peaceful remedy for all our evils
Are those who pretend to think that the
domination of the negroes and their corrupt
co-conspirators will be a penacea to our
country less foolish2
The virtue and intelligence of the people
are the main columns that support our free
institutions. Substitute for them corrup-
ton and ignorance, and the noble edifce
erected by our fathers will soon tumble into
ruins
Let nothing prevent you from register
ing on or before merit SATURDAY. the 27th