Douglass' Monthly, 1860-12, vol. 3 iss. 7

              MONTHLY.
" OPEN THY MOUTH FOB THE DUMB, IN THE CAUSE OP ALL SUCH AS ARE APPOINTED TO DESTRUCTION J OPEN THY MOUTH,
JUDGE RIGHTEOUSLY, AND PLEAD THE CAUSE OF THE POOR, AND NEEDY." 1st   Eccl. XXxL  8, 9.
VOLUME III.
NUMBER VII.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1860.
PRICE	
ONE   DOLLAR   PER   ANNUM.
CONTENTS OF THE PRESENT NUMBER.
Equal Suffrage  Defeated  3G9
Dr. Cheever in Glasgow..   369
The Late Election  370
The Question   of Amalgamation  371
Seventh Annual 01 im   Bake  372
White Polks Down in   Hayti     373
Speech of Rev. Di\ Cheever at Glasgow... 574
Annual Address at the Jerry Rescue Celebration, by Rev. S. J. May  377
Speech of John Hossack at Chicago  380
Southern Thunder -.-  381
Advertisements ....  384
DOUGLASS'  MONTHLY,
EQUAL SUFFRAGE DEFEATED.
The late election, so far as the State of
New York is concerned, has features of (lis-
couragement, a3 well as the opposite. The
■disposition made of the question of Equal
Suffrage was inconsistent with every profession and principle of the triumphant party,
and must surprise the enemies of equal rights
as much as it certainly disappoints the expectations of colored citizens, who supposed that
thJ3 constitutional brand of inferiority (by
which colored men must have  two  hundred
and fifty dollars of real property before they
era v jtc, while all others vote on/their simple
manhood) would be erased from the organic
law, which it has so long disgraced, simultaneously with the triumph of the great Republican party. All parties had reason to believe this would be done, if the State were
not carried for Fusion or the slavery party.
It would have been done had faith in its
principles equalled the declarations of the
members of the Republican party. They
professed to believe in the Declaration of American Indep3iideD.ee, and inserted the fundamental principle of equality which it contains,
into their platform of principles at Chicago,
but deserted that principle at the first moment
they were called upon to give it life and
form in the fundamental law of the State.—
Had the Republican party been as true to the
sacred cause of liberty and equality, as the
Democratic party always proves itself to slavery and oppression, the invidious and odious
discrimination against our equal citizenship
would have been blotted out, and the colored
voters of the State would have had some
reason for the enthusiasm with which they
have shouted their praises of the Republican
party. While the Democrats at the polls
never failed to accompany their State and national tickets with one against the proposed
amendment, Republicans-—many of them—
refused to touch a ticket in favor of the
amendment, and this, too, while- white men,
native and foreign, were brought to the polls
so drunk, that they needed support on both
sides while depositing their votes, and whose
only political princip e seemed to be injustice
to the negro. We know whereof we affirm,
for we stood at the polls all day, doing our
best for Equal Suffrage.
The moral effect of this defeat of justice
and equality will be to fix more deeply in the
public mind the popular contempt aud scorn
with which the rights and feelings of colored
citizens are regarded, and invite their brutal
manifestations wherever the colored man appears. For when men degrade and oppress
the weak, every act of that character tends to
strengthen the malignant motive which incites to such action. The vole on the property qualification is in its nature a re-affirmation of the slavery-engendered contempt for.
the rights of black men, aud is a fresh license
to all who are. mean enough (and their name
is legion) to insult the man of color wherever
they meet him. They are men who are brave
enough to trip up a man- on crutches, push
a blind man off the side-walk, or flog a man
when his hands are tied, but too base and
cowardly to contend with one who has an
equal chance of defense with themselves. The
black mau,exc!uded alike from the jury box and
the balbt box, is at the mercy of his enemies.
The blow is a heavy and damaging one.—
Every intelligent colored man must feel it
keenly. It was given without any rational
cause. No decent man could assign a motive for his vote against us-, without casting
his eyes to the ground, or looking up. with a
blush ot mingleo ;shamo and mci^roity. Not
even the desire to stand   well with   the South
could be pleaded. All knew that the election
ot Lincoln would destroy all the conciliating
power which this new injustice to the negro
might exert in that quarter, so that even this
base and contemptible motive could not be
pleaded. No, it was an act of unmitigated
pride and prejudice, intended to depress and
degrade a class which, of all others in the
State, need the ballot box as a means of self-
elevation and popular regard. Had the colored people been a large and powerful body
in the State, it might, with some show of reason, been contended that they would become
controlling if allowed to vote on equal terms
with others ; but any pretense of this kind
would have stamped the objector as a fool.
Every body knew that the scattered colored
population of the State, voting wherever their
interest or conscience might lead, would in no
wise affect harmfully the policy of the State.
We do not even wring from this vote the
poor consolation that any body was afraid of
our influence or power. The victory over us
is simply one of blind ignorance and prejudice, hardly less destitute of manly intelligence
than the kick of an ass. It was the vote of
drunken Irishmen, and ignorant Dutchmen,
controlled by sham Democrats, whose Democracy consists not in equal and exact justice to all, but in the right of brute power to
trample upon the weak and defenceless. We
saw the kind of men by whom the deed was
done in Rochester. They were the tools of
the negro-hating Democracy of this city,"many
of whom would sell their votes for a glass of
whiskey. It is impossible to feel degraded
by injustice from such a quarter.
\     *
But what will the colored people and their
friends do now that the day has gone against
them ? Will the question of Equal Suffrage
be allowed to steep ? We trust not. Our
opponents need hope for no such thing. Our
cause is just, wise, and proper, and must not
be dropped. We are defeated rather by the
supineness of our friends, than by the strength
an I activity of our enemies. We were overshadowed and smothered by the Presidential
struggle—over laid by Abraham Lincoln and
Hannibal EIamlin. The black baby of Ne^
gro Suffrage was thought too ugly to exhibit
on so grand an occasion. The negro was
stowed away like some people put out of
sight their deformed children when company
comes. We were told by some of our Republican friends to keep still—make no noise
—they would do the work. Now, the fox is
out of the well, and the goat is in it. Cun-_
ning dogs, you are not done with us yet. We
are going to follow you as the woman followed the unjust judge. You must and will
eventually settle this question, aud all others
in respect to the colored people of this State,
in harmony with the great principles at the
basis of the American Government—the professed principles of the great Republican party
of tha   Statu a-t\d nation.
We need not commpnd to our readers the
proceedings of this meeting, and the eloquent
and powerful address of Dr. Cheever. They
will be read by all with profound interest.—
The names of the gentlemen who graced
the platform by their presence are and among
the most distinguished in Scotland. Sincerely
are we glad to observe the decided and fearless tone in which Mr. Batchelor speaks of
Dr. Cheever and his mission. Glasgow, tho' .
unsurpassed for the depth and earnestness of
its anti-slavery sentiment, has been a little
tardy in committing itself to the cause and
course of Dr. Cheever. Now that she has
seen and heard the man for herself, no community, we think, will surpass her in respond*-
ing to the claims of this earnest and faithful
apostle of liberty and humanity for the dumb
millions trodden under the iron heel of slavery in this professed Christian country.—
Whatever may be the criticisms by American journals on the character and course of
Dr. Cheever, our trans-Atlantic friends and
readers may depend upon it, for we know the
men—Dr. Cheever's faithfulness in exposing
the iniquity ot slavery, and his fearless denunciations of those in church and state who
uphold the abomination, is his greatest offense. They hate him because he tells them
the truth.
H
Emigration to Hayti.—The first vessel
sent by the Haytian Bureau of Emigration,
will sail from Boston on the 22d of December next, the anniversary of the departure of
President Geffrard from Port-au-Prince, to
begin the Revolution, which terminated in the
establishment of the Republic of Hayti. A
large number of passengers have been engaged.