The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-04-24
NEGROES IN C6UNCIL.
DENOUNCING THE PRESENT AID
MINISTRATION.
They Say they are Tired Of doing the
Party Voting While the Whites get
Offices.
Rockingham Rocket

buckingham Rocket
That was significant meeting held
in Greensboro, N. c., last week by oul
dark skinned friends. 1t was con,
vention of the negro voters of Guilford
county, called for the purpose of stating
their position i'll reference to the Ma
tional Administration and white Re-
publicans in geneaal, but more particu-
larly toward their Congressional Rep
resentative, Brewer, and the course
they hereafter propose. to pursue IN
politics. There were 500 present, and
an upheaval of spleen was the conse-
quence. They came there from all
quarters to .stalk out in meeting"
and they did. Their cause of COM
plaint,a ,as set forth in eloquent speeches
and in resolutions, was that they, be-
cause they were negroes, had been
badly treated by the Administration,
Systematically neglected by their white
allies in politics, and that Brewer had
said " the negroes may go to hell, so
far as his calculations for reelection
were concerned. They denounced the
Administration for putting their color
off, when it came to official recogni-
ton, with nothing higher than "menial'
positions. They said that the Ad-
ministration, while throwing thousands
and thousands of dollars into the hands
of white office-holders, had put their
whole race off with the comparative
pittance of four thousands dollars.
They were tired of playing the part of
voters alone while the whites enjoyed
practically all the &c loaves and fishes.
They made the point with indignation
that the negroes had furnished to the
Republican party thirds of the
votes and had, in recognition therefor,
received the one hundred and one
fifth part of the emoluments. The
sixth and last resolution recommended
the call of a district convention to
meet at the time and place hereafter
determined. Before adjourning they
organized thoroughly for work by
electing an executive committee COM
posed of three men from each town
ship. During the meeting number
OF letters were read, "expressing entire
sympathy with the movement and
pledging their support AS to the
character of those composing the con-
vention, the editor of the Patriot says
" it was decidedly the brainiest and
most intelligent gathering of negroes
we ever saw" and that the assembly
was remarkable tor the temperance
and fairness which characterized its
proceedings. We rise to ask, what
will come of this movement For
years past we have been accustomed,
without miscalculation, to look upon
such periodic ebullitions from the
negroes as sthe idle wind which we
regard not" We would confidently
look forward, and were never disap-
pointed, to successful application of
the party-lash when all recalcitrant
subjects would and did promptly "bow
the knee to Baal" and vote according
ly. Now we respect the thing more.
In our judgment it means something
of real manhood and self-assertion,
and good may grow out of it. If, as
a result, the negroes shall have cut
loose from the bossism' of the class
of white people who are accustomed
to lead them like sheep to the polls,
then an improved era for their race
will indeed have davned. The ad-
vance the negro has made in enlight
enment, morality, civilization and
inspires the hope that at
last he is about to become his own
master in politics as we'll as in the
other affairs of life.