The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-11-21
Norfolk Landmark.
Judge Hughes Speaks.

District Court, would not, and later it
has been known that he did not, support
the Republican ticket nominated at the
convention in this city. but cast his vote
for Mckinney and the other nominees of
the Democratic party made at the con-
vention in Richmond Judge Hughes
was at his country residence in Abingdon
few days before the election, but came
to Norfolk and voted the Democratic
State ticket and the Republican legisla-
tive ticket.
AS soon as he had done this, Judge
Hughes left the city and went to Rich
mond to hear the tlrst news of the defeat
which he had confidently expected. His
being out of the city prevented an earlier
interview with him on the result of the
election.
A reporter of the Landmark called on
Judge Hughes yesterday, just after he
had adjourned his court for the day and
he consented to give his opinion of the
result, and did SO during the following
conversation:
Judge, you are understood to have ex-
pressed the opinion during the late can
vass, that the Democratic majority would
be very large. Was this fact?
l was never interviewed and never ex-
pressed such an opinion for publication;
but l always thought, and sometimes
said, in private conversation. that the
majority could not be less than 10000,
and was likely to reach thirty, forty or
fifty thousand.
What were the grounds of that opinion?
l thought the canvass between my
friend John s. Wise and General Lee in
1885 brought out the full strength of the
two parties i'll State election, and that
General Lees majority of sixteen thous
and might be safely taken as basis to
start with. l was certain that General
Malone could not gain accessions from
the other party; and therefore, that. on
the party lines as drawn in the State
election of 1885, your party, assuming
that full vote would be cast, were sure
of $1,000 majority.
There were left for consideration, there
fore, only two other questions, viz: How
many Republicans would refuse to vote
for Gen. Malone, and how much could
your party, by energetic canvassing, en-
lar.e it's own vote? My conviction was
that at least ten thousand Republicans
would refuse to vote for Gen. Malone,
most of whom would decline to vote any
part of the Republican ticket. | was
sure that good many of this ten thous-
and, probably one-fourth of them, would
vote against the General. Private init
nation came to me from many sources
that decided percentage of the negro
vote would be cast for the Democrats,
and much apprehension was expressed
lest, when colOred people once voted the
Democratic ticket in State election. they
would continue to do SO in all elections.
as had been the case in Halifax and Char
lOtte counties.
However this might be, / was sure that
at least ten thousand Republican voters,
white and black, would decline to vote
for Gen. Malone, and that two or three
thousand of these would vote the Demo-
cratic ticket. This detection would swell
the Democratic majority from $1,000 to
between %, 900 and 5000.
AS to the probable increase of the Dem
ocratic vote, | thought the obnoxious
candidacy of General Malone would pro-
duce an increase very considerable SO
large, indeed, that it would be difficult
to limit the maximum it would reach.
l recollect that early in September, |
wrote friend in Baltimore. in answer to
direct inquiry, that General Malone
would probably be beaten by fifty thous-
and majority. not much less.
Then you think that the disaffected
Republican vote increased our majority
somewhere between thirteen and fifteen
thousand?
That has been made perfectly obvious
by the returns.
You think moreover that the disaffect-
ed Republicans did not do much scratch
ing with their ticket?
No; Mahone's name upon it was spi-
der in the dumping. The voters had no
disposition to nibble at the edges of such
dish. Most of them rejected the whole
thing.
Is it your opinion that the negroes who
voted the Democratic ticket last week
will continue to do SO in future?
can't speak with confidence. l hope
they will AS long as the negro vote of
the South is solidly Republican, the So
called 'ssolid South" will continue. We
can't override nature by appeals to rea-
son or even to patriotism. As long as
the negro vote is solid, the great mass of
the white vote will be solid.
1t was an ill-advised step of the colored
preachers to call upon their congregations
to vote for either ticket as colored people.
1 wish the colored voters of the south
could be divided on great questions of
public policy. and that we could all feel
free to vote without reference to race. /
do certainly hope that on questions of
State policy, at least, a large quota of the
negro vote will continue to be cast with
entire disregard of race affiliations.
Do you think General Harrison's ad-