The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-02
a POLITICAL BLACK CROOK.
THE SUFFRAGE SECTION ADOPTED
AFTER A LIVELY DEBATE.

/ Tiilmnn opens the Days Battle ny
Attacking the Negro Delegates
Who Made Records In the Recon-
structiOn PeriOd-DcIegates Miller.
smaIIs and WhIppIe Make Power
ful Speeches in RepIy-The Suffrage
Section As Adopted About As IL
Came From the Committee.
Columbia, s. c., Nov. 1-At II % o'clock
| tonight the constitutional convention Of
| South Carolina adopted the essential sec
ton of the suffrage plan, putting on the
/ parliamentary clincher thereby accom-
| plshing the sole object Of the convention.
! The section was adopted in the following
shape:
Sec. 4, The qualifications for suffrage
shall be as follows:
! (A) Residence in the state for two years.
/ in the county one year. in the election
/ district in which the elector offers to
vote four months, and the payment six
months before any election OF any poll
tax then due and payable
/ Provided, however, that ministers in
charge of an organized church and teach
ers Of public schools shall be entitled to
vote after six months residence in the
state, if otherwise qualified.
! CB) Registration, which shall provide
for the enrolment of every elector once
in ten years, and also an enrolment dur
! ing each and every year of every elector
| not previously registered under the pro,
vision of this article.
GO. Up to jan l, 1898. all male persons
OF voting age applying for registration
| VINO can read any section in this consti-
| luton or understand and explain 1t when
| read by the registration officer shall be
! entitled to register and become electors
A separate record of all persons regis
tered before Jan l, 1895 sworn to by the
| registration oihcer, shall be filed, on copy
| with the clerk OF court and one in tae
| oMce OF the secretary of state, on or
| before Feb. l, 1898, and such persons shall
| remain during life qualified electors, un-
| less disqualified by the other provisions
| Of this article. The certificate of the
! clerk of the court or the secretary of
state shall be sufficient evidence to es-
tablish the right of said citizens to any
! future registration and the franchise un-
| der the limitations herein imposed.
/ CD Any persons who shall apply for
| registration after Jan. /, 1898, If other
| wise qualified shall be registered.
| Provided, that he can both read and
| write any section of this constitution, or
| can show that he owns and has paid all
| taxes collectable during the previous
year on property I'm this state assessed
(EJ Managers of election shall require
| of every elector Offering TO vote at any
election, before allowing him to vote,
proof of the payment Of all taxes, includ-
I
I'D The general assembly shall pro-
vide for each duly registered elector, and
| shall provide for the renewal of such GER
tihcate when lost, mutilated or destroyed,
IL the applicant is still a qualified electOr
under the provisions Of this constitution,
or If he has been registered as provided
in substitute section Co
There was much opposition expressed to
the plan, which many members declared
on the floor could only mean fraud, under
the understanding" feature, the super
visors being the judges of the sufficiency
of the understanding"
Most of IL melted away when II came
to the final vote, which was 60 to g. Sem
ator Irbys opposition did not seem 10
There was no end of speaking at the
night session.
At the morning session the convention
had what may be termed a Historical
day" 1t resolved itself into an historical
| society, and historical records had the
fully examined. The side how that was
in progress in the south side of the hall
during the historical society meeting may
be Untitled THE Black Crook" and II was
ALL so to speak, an attempt to prove that
"black was white" though there were
some whites who were endeavoring TO
prove that black was black, and in a few
instances very, very black. The blacks
devoted their efforts to proving the first
proposiuon-the whiteness Of the blacks.
To be more explicit, the history of the
reconstruction period was under discus
sion all day, and some interesting pages
We're added to the record OF that memoir
able period, which was stepped in fraud
and robbery 1t was all brought about by
Senator Tillman's reply to the speeches
which were made at the beginning of the
discussion on the suffrage matter. The
senator brought the careers of Delegates
Smalls and Whipper, up in his speech and
charged that they We're both members of
| the famous original BLACK Crook Com
pany," which had a continuous run IN this
state from the close Of the war to 1876.
1 Some interesting matter, new so far as
the general public is concerned, was
brought out, and Delegate Whipper, the
negro delegate from Beaufort, made
splendid speech in his own defense
Delegates Miller, Smalls and Whipper
the three leading negro members made
powerful speeches, the last two defend
Ing themselves from personal attacks on
their records Delegate Whipper conclud-
ed his speech thus: II throw down the
gauntlet now and challenge the world to
go through all the records and find one
thing against me. You would besmear
every negro who DEFENDS his race In the
lack Of argument. Such argument came
very far from coming up to what some
people consider the high standard Of gem
''They want to engraft into t'.is consti-
tuition something that will deceive the
world and themselves. You may deceive
was plaintive at first, but now l am dis
posed to become defiant. Put il there IL
you will; If you dare! You zee your
constitutional lawyers trcading on it
like they are treading on eggs. II won't
be three years ere you have another con-
stdtution TO meet the exigency. You have
a magnificent, inexhaustible water supply
in this state. 1t is going to waste be-
cause you are always hghting to chain
the negro down. You wish him to con
tinue to wear the chains that hung around
him during slavery. You can bind down
the negro, but you will make the greatest
mistake of your lives. You can even nov,
hear the rumble of the car of negro de-
velopment and progress coming laden
with negroes educated and being educaf-
ed. We are not scared. The negro Will
ere long come and claim his own l am
standing here trying to make South Car
olina feel that have lived here en- her
soil"
I The convention, after adopting the plan
adjourned at u:40 p. m. until 1880 p. m
on Tuesday next.
TIFFIN's MURDERER IN COURT.