Year: 1876

Inc DemOcratc party OF virginia, ever
mindful of the necessity of guarding against
any future success of the Republican party
in that State, iDaugurated and passed at the
last session of the Legislature a series of
diabolisms, under the name of constitu-
tional amendments, that have for their sole
object the complete subjugation Of the Re-
publicans now and in the time that is fast sp-
preaching, when the old Wings will have had
their eyes thoroughly opened and will seek
affiliation with their natural allies. On
any other hypothesis, these proposed
amendments would hardly seem necessary,
as the dominant Democracy already pos
sessed at the last general election large
majority, whether by fraud or intimidation
matters not for the present purpose. For
tunately for the people of Virginia, they
will have an opportunity of voting against
these iniquitous amendments at the ensu-
ing November election; whether they will
do it or not remains for the future to deter
mine We greatly fear, however, that
more than one old Virginia Wing will
awake, when perhaps too late, to realize
the fact that he has as usual been over
reached by his ancient enemy, the Democ-
racy. We say this because while these
amendments are now aimed directly at the
Republican party ofthe State, when the time
comes-as come it willard the more in
telligent and independent of the ante 6sElUna
Wings will desire to court natural alli-
ance with the Republicans, both COM
bined will be found powerless as
against the Democracy if these amend
ments are adopted in November.
With these preliminaries we propose to
refer briefly to some of the more glarlng of
these emRnations of Democratic deviltry.


First in order these amendments propose a
cspitation tax of two dollars as a pre-
requisite to voting. Now, every sane man
knows that Democratic Virginia ms are not
so fond OF taxing themselves as would be


implied by this proposition. else they
would not have allowed their State debt to


assume the sltitudinous figures Of. nearly, if
not quite, sixty millions of dollars, and


then refrain from paying the interest
thereon. The Righteousness of the propo-
sition is however made to appear when 1t
is proposed to devote this poll tax to the
literary or public school fund. This, too


after the fact was developed to the Legis-
lature last winter that the whole of this
literary fund, amounting to over four hun
dred thousand dollars, had been squau-
dered and the State officers could not tell


what had become of it, and as a conse-
quence the public schools have since been
in languishing and almost dying condi-
ton. Now, TO meet the overwhelming
public school feeling among the masses in
the State, the Democracy must needs
throw this poll tax as a: tub to the educa-
tionsl whale. Was ever political villainy
more transparent or Democratic mendsc-
Ity more shameless! Tho real purpose,
however, of this tax on freeman's right
tovote is apparent to every intelligent
mind, and the Virginia Democracy do not
seek to disguise il, that of disfranchising
the colored voter, who comprises in that
State much the larger portion of the Re-
publican party. The masses of the
colored voters are too poor to pay this
tax, and whyi Let the centuries of bond
age and ignorance in which they have been
kept by this same Democratic party that
would re-enslave them, and now resorts to
this sneaking device to dIsfranchise them,
answer. Every other artifice or subterfuge
has been resorted to Intellectually to keep
the ballot out of their hands, and even now,
as if to add insult to injury, while this very
amendment is pending that will practically
disfranchise the race in Virginia, the Dem
ocratic party are employing and sending
through the Commonwealth two or three
colored mendicants to induce the colored
people to believe that the Democrats are
their best friends, and should receive their