The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-04-04

temporary compromise, but must adj
vocate "peace" and complete recon
forgetfuluess of past
Their action in respond |
ing means that they are willing to
trust the white men Of the State and
10 support their decision in all mat
tiers relative to the new Constitution.
If any, in the ga, b of peace and with
the kiss of Judas, throw obstacles in
the way of trpstful fraternizing, they
should be frowned upon and shown
the door.
2. We all favor q qualification of
the suffrage that will cut as near the
race line as the legal obstacle of the
United States Constitution will per-
NIT, but qualification that will not
leave occasion or opportunity for un-
equal or tricky administration of the
law.
Once freely admit this, and take care
not to occupy the position Of crying
fraud for factional effect, or Of guard
ing the negro in order to get his vote,
and all our people will be found to
respond to the sentiment OF honest
elections. Heated demands of the
means to be employed in qualifying
the suffrage only hamper the solution
of the problem, and, by irritation,
may wed the people to dishonest
means. Simply consent 10 trust the
white men OF South Carolina and to
support their decision as the supreme
will of the Stale, and there need be no
fear that friendly and intelligent coun-
sci will not be needed and wise and
inst course pursued, if we have among
us wise and Just men 10 present their
views with patriotic ferYor.
8. The Constitution cannot be safely
submitted back to the people for rati-
fcation at general election, since the
negroes might, with the assistance of a
small number of white men, defeat 1t
there.
To claim to speak for white men
alone and yet advocate submission to
the whole people smacks Of disingenu-
ousness.
4. On the question of what shall and
what shall not 60 into the Con: it'll
ton, there is no sense in believing that
the Conservatives art of one uniform
opinion and the Reformers Of another
opposite uniform opinion; and there
fore factional combination or antago-
nism on past lines is wholly out OF
place here and would but serve to
smother free individual thought and
free individual voting at tine when
each voter should form and express
his mature individual convictions on
questions which vitality concern his
destiny.
3. As free men and thinking men,
who believe that a tree peoples gov
ernment should be 'of the people"
and who therefore insist on having a
voice in the framing of the funda-
mental law Of the State, we, white
men and liberal Democrats, of what
ever faction hitherto, are not willing
that the determination Ct the tunda-
mental pubic policy of the State shall
be left to chance or accident or to the
unknown opinions of 100 men; and
are not willing, therefore, that our
so.called representatives in the Censtl-
tutional Convention shall be chosen
without public discussion before the
people, without regard to the policies
they may favor and with sole regard
to how they stood on past questions
in 80, '92 and '94.
6. The white mems will cannot be
certainly ascertained except in free
and fair primary election, and cannot
be intelligently expressed except after
free canvass and full discussion, by
which the humblest mind can be awak-
ened to thought aud the attitude
Of each proposed delegate be made
known
7. All delegates should be elected in
o Democratic primary, bnt the State
Executive Committee should provide
rules guaranteeing absolute fairness
and forbidding factional conventions
or primaries.
s. While voters cannot be expected
to vote for men whose proposed meas
ures they may lot endorse, yet they
should also vote for none whose breadth
aud intensity Of patriotism, or whose
trustw orthiness can be questioned;
and where all else is equal, and only in
that case, they shsuld vote for half and
half Reformers and Conservatives, as
a gracious proof that resentments are
not cherished because of honest past
differences.
9 We should recognize that no
formal division Of delegates between
the late factions, but general accept
auce of the foregoing sentiments and
opinions, will insure Al non parii-an
convention and progressive yet safe
Constitution. We should therefore
privately aud solemuly resolve TO act
on The above lines and 10 use our i'll
fuence to induce others to do likewise.
The best work that conventions and
conferences can do is to join their
voices in heralding throughout the
State the glad tidings that peace and
good will reign. Speak il out and
help it on. JOHN J. McNAHAN.
Columbia. March q, 1895.