The semi-weekly messenger., 1901-05-24
I &e ATTENDS THE BANQUET OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY.
fhO HUNDRED PERSONS PRESENT
North Carolina's Governor the Chief
Speaker-He Defends the Recent Suf-
frage Amendment to Constitution.
James w. Osborne and George Cor
Judge Van wyck's EuIoGy on North
Carolina-Other Prominent Person
ages Present.

New York, May 20.-Judge VanWyck
presided tonight at the annual dinner
al the North Carolina Society held at
the Waldorf-Astora. At his left sat
Governor c. B. Aycock, of North Caro-
wa, whose neighbor on the right was
Ex-Governor Hugh P. Thompson, Of
South Carolina. There was about 200
present.
Tt was announced that the dinner
was set for today owing TO that being
the date on which the Mecklenburg
Declaration of independence was draft
ed in North Carolina before the nation
al declaration was agreed upon in
Philadelphia
The speakers of the evening, besides,
Governor Aycock, were Assistant Dis
trict Attorney James w. OrsbOrne and
George Gordon Battle. The former
spoke on the Mecklenburg Declaration
Ion and the latter on the men who
United States senate and supreme
court
'Toastmaster VanWyck paid a tribute
to the state of North Carolina, saying
in part:
GNorth Cardinals hills bristIe with
Aktdrch spies and school domes. Her
fields TEEN with rich fruits of mother
earth while the cotton spindles and
looms and factory wheels line her wa
ter courses Her mountains glisten with
rich metals and peciOuS gems. In her
lovely daughters are sweetly blended
culture, grace, refinement, Intellectual
ity and purity of character which al
ways elevate mankind and give lustre
to nations history. In all the ad-
vanced movements of the human race
her sons have kept fully abreast of the
front column"
Governor Aycock spoke of the new
conditions in the south, and the duties
Of the southern people toward the ne
gro race, saying, in part:
In 1900 we made good the determi-
nation of 1898. We adopted in that
year the constitutional amendment
(which based suffrage upon intelligence
and renders the future of the state Sc
IRE. That amendment has provoked
much discussion in the north. The at
tack upon us is based on the assump-
ton that we have done an injustice to
the negro. Our amendment does no
such thing. We have recognized the
power of the influence of heredity. We
think that those who have exercised
the privilege of suffrage and those de-
scended from such people are more
likely to exercise that suffrage benefi-
fage has been cast as a gift The
amendment to the constitution of
North Carolina provides that no man
shall vote in that state after 1902, who
cannot read and write, but eXempts
from this inhibitory clause those who
could vote on January l, 1867, or at any
time prior thereto, and those descend
ed from such voters. This provision
applies alike to white and: black. Until
1885 the free negroes were entitled to
Fkte. In 1900 there were, and there
Wv are, those who were slaves who
. cannot read and write, who can vote
6under the provision of our cOnstitu-
ton because they were voters in 1885
and there are many thousands of ne
groes descended from such voters
who can exercise suffrage although
they cannot read and write. Those
who come of age after 1908, white and
black, must be able to read and write,
or they cannot vote. Our amendment
is not aimed at the negro as an indi-
Vidual. 1t is mass voting that we seek
to Destroy
Among the prominent persons pres
ent were Colonel Keneth MurchisOn,
F. TennySon Nicely, DR.. James ]. Phil
lips, Professor Logan d. Howell, form
erly suerintendent of the Raleigh, n.
c., public schools; Leonard c. Van
Noppen. Thomas d. Toy, Robert z.
Follin, Talbot Sharp, and the presidents
of the other state societies in the city.