Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-03-01
AFFAIR AND JUST LAW
General Hundley Thus CharacierlRes The
Walton Act.
ELECTION BILLS DISCUSSED.
Many Speeches Made ON the Floor OF
the House Neutrality-suspicious. WIN
atom md Cabeu Advocate Changes
I'm the Method of Voting.

The discussion OF the various electoh
hills before the House came up In tha'
bcdy at noon yesterday, and quite d"
animated debate was INDUCED In. As
soon as the question came up AIR. Huno-
ley was recognized. and spoke ior All
hour. making one OF the ablest ana most
logical and comprehensive speeches OF
ma .ess,on He alluded In the outset TO
Major Lee and Mr.. Digs, VINO spoNe
Friday. and said their conclusions were
,ll wrong. He stated that he was ior inc
Walton law. because on its face IL was
fair and Just, because II had diminlsheu
sul,sozing. and because II was the only
loo, sipca the yiva-yoce vote was taken
that enabled a free man 10 cast his baiiot
unmolested. Going back to ancient ho-
man history. he quoted Gibbon to pear
him out In the assertion that the great
,yent which marked the decline OF th9
Roman empire was the gift of suffrage
10 her freedmen. This the speaker COM
pared with the emancipation proclama-
tion. and said that since the negro had
been exercising suffrage a decline had
beer In progress here until Democracy
came TO the rescue. Speaking Directly 10
the opposition, MIR. Hundley said that by
turning the cathode y ray on ther
hearts Il would be shown that they didh
want the negro TO represent or ohilate
with them. The Democrats. he said'
were charged with all manner OF trickery
and fraud by the Republicans, and yet
the very first tissue-baliot he ever saw
was introduced under the auspices OF
their late great leader. The speaker cited
numerous instances OF fraud which had
been proven against the Republican party.
THE BILLS DISSECTED.
He discussed briefly the Petersburg bill.
the Coles, and Craig bills, and rlddled
them with hot shots poured in on their
lmperfections. lie laid special stress on
the ignorance and prejudices Oh
the negro. and asserted that he
was led TO the polls frequently
TO vote against his own interests and
those OF his employers by his preacher.
who had previously been bribed TO lead
him astray by white men with black
hearts. Under the Walton law the negro
could cast his vote without any fear OF
being turned out OF the church. The
heeler and the bulldozer couldn't get to
them, and they were. enabled TO cast their
with an eloquent appeal for the present
law, and was loudly applauded.
VIEWS OF MR.. WINSTON.
Mr.. Winston was the next speaker to
address the body. and he spoke in behalf
of his bill, which he had introduced as
a substitute. He spoke of his determine
tion to have the Anglo-Saxon remain SUI
preme, and said that instead Of 1eopar-
cizing that supremacy his bill proposed
10 perpetuate that supremacy. The fu-
ture destiny and happiness of the State
of Virginia was so closely woven with the
Democratic party as to make them in
separable. and Democratic success meant
the happiness OF the State. He thought
the Walton law was crude and imperfect
He objected. first, TO the speclal-constable
feature, as giving too much power to one
man. So much odium, he said, had been
heaped on the office that 1t was exceed
ingly difficult to get a respectable, honor
able man TO fiji it. He objected, also, 10
the provision which required an ignorant
man to display his ignorance at the polls.
He objected also 10 the interchange of
names on the ballot.
With reference TO the Parker substi-
tute Mr. Winston said the designation Of
a Judge to assist the illterate elector
would be more odious to the people than
the assignment Of a special constable TO
do the work. The speaker carefully set
forth the provisions of his bill. and. in
conclusion, made a strong appeal for his
measure.
Mr.. CABELL SPEAKS
Mr. Cabell advocated the Craig bill.
He expressed great regret at being forced
20 differ from the gentleman from
Amelia, but he said he was a Demo-
crat from principle. and after conviction,
and not party man. He alluded to
the fact that for many decades the Demo-
cratic party had been the salvation Of
this republic. and said that 1t was the
duty of Democrats 20 see that all in
whom was vested the right OF suffrage
should be allowed to exercise that right.
He wanted the fairest form of election
that could be gotten, and, while none OF
the bills under consideration were per-
feet, he thought the Craig bin Che best.
He went into an explanation of the Craig
bill, and then spoke against the Parker
substitute, asserting that II was merely
an evasion Of the objections urged
against the Walton law.
GO OVER To MONDAY.
Tho members assembled for the after
noon session promptly at 4:30 o'clock, and
Mr. Pitcher moved to postpone the fur
Their consideration of the elections bill
until tomorrow at noon He stated that
there were = quantity OF bills on the
calendar to be acted upon, and none OF
them would be taken up so long as the
elections bills were under discussion, and
no vote would bs reached on the elections
bills until the last hours OF the session.
Mr.. Saunders who had the floor, raised
no objection TO this, and IT was agreed TO.