Year: 1870




war paint and fighting tools. He is for
negro suffrage or fight. He fought SO
savagely I'm a tombproof) for negro
equality during "tbe late unpleasant
ness" and he now sees such a prospect
of losing that sweet boon, tEat nothing
short of bloodshed will reconcile him
to the defeat of the Fifteenth Amend-
ment. Be i. known, however, that he
will not strenuously insist upon furnish
ing the CORY sacrifice himself.


If negro suffrage is lost, he wants war.
To prevent its loss he is anxious to make
its final ratification a condition Of re-
construction. He wants CODgrets "to
declare that until the Fifteenth Amend
ment has become part Of the Consii-
tuition of the United States no more OF
the States lately in rebellion shall re-
sumo their powers in the Government"
One reason for this modest demand is
that the Fifteenth Amendment contains
"the life blood of Republican Govern
ment." But how about the doctrine
that the will Of the people, freely ex-
pressed, should be supremef This has
generally been supposed to represent
one essential of free Cover nment.
And yet if the people do not
voluntarily declare in favor of the
Amendment, the IntelIigencr would
coerce them into it by continuing the
disorganized condition of the country
indefinitely. The idea of that paper is
that if Congress were to make the above
declaration, the responsibility fer con-
tinued disunion would be thrown upon
such Northern States as refuse to vote
for negro suffrage. Highway robbers
take an analogous view of affairs in
their particular sphere. The knight OF
the road presents his pistol with the
condition, "Your money or your life."
You decline to hand over your ocket'
book and get bullet through the brain
But the responsibility rests entirely
with your obstrepetous self. This may
appear very fair among banditti and
other "loyap people, but we doubt il
the American people generally are pre-
pared to endorse the morals involved,
whether presented by the persuasive
repeater of the highwaymar or the blds"
derbuss of a recorstructiDg Congress.


But our cotemporary rather reck,
lessly suggests that "a majority of the
people of the United States" ale re-
solved that this Fifteenth Amendment
"shall be the national law" 1t strikes
US SIS a little queer that the men who
are so fond of assuming to have the sup,
pert of the people are afraid to risk a
verdict of the people upon their pet
measures. There are not more than i've
States in this Union whose white voters
uncoerced by bayonets and the other
appliances of free Radical Government
would decide in favor of negro suffrage
at the polls. Recognizing this, the
Radical managers have not dared to
submit the question to popular elec'
tions in all the States. When the ques,
ton was submitted to Ohio she voted il
down by fifty thousand. New York had
an opportunity Cf voting upon it last
Fall, and the result was a com
plete political revolution, that gave
the Democrats full control OF
the State for the first time in
many years. In West Virginia the peo,
pie were Eot allowed to pass upon the
Fifteenth Amendment but they have
had chance to pass upon the men who
voted for it in the last Legislature
Will the Intelligencer have the kindness
to state how many of the men who
voted for the Fifteenth Amendment in
the last West Virginia Legislature have
been returned TO their seatsf Will il
also explain why, if this measure is SC
Just and popular as it is claimed TO be,
the Republicans of our State refused to
submit it to the people, their pledges to
the contrary notwithstanding, and why
the people of other States, uniDfluenced
by coercion, have almost invariably
voted it down, when al opportunity
pressntedi There is an apparent Difficult
ty here which our cOtemporary will nc
doubt take pleasure in disposing of.


Our neighbours favorite grip in his
argumentstive wrestle, seems to be that
negro suffrage was the sole object and
result of the war. We believe that very
msDy who, like our stay-at-home CO
temporary, fought the rebellion by
bowling "coppsrhead" and fattening on
public plunder, secretly desired to brisg
about negro equality as the finalres OF
the war. But where in the history of the
war do we fnd this enumerated among
its objects by those who fought or man.
agedi No such declaration was ever
put forth. Had it been, the Union
armies could never have been recruited
The Southern iConfederacy would
would have become a fact. The doc.
trine of the Intelligencer, that the sol
diers fought to put the ballot into the
hands Of the negro, has caused thou.
sands of those soldiers to vote the Dem,
ocratic ticket. The Ioyal" men of the
rear and the fighting men of the from,
don't agree as to the object of the war


Our neighbor is going to have the
Amendment or blood. Will he not be.
fore entering on the war path explain
the fact that no National Convention oi
his party has ever dared to proclaim in
favor Of negro suffrage. Will he tell
US why the Chicago platform of e:
insisted that "the question of suffrage