In this they have proved themselves to be genuine and not sham Republicans,--that is to say, Republicans from principle and conviction and not for plunder and spoils.

They have never failed to recognize the fact that the fundamental principle of the Republican party,--the one that gave the party its strongest claim upon the confidence and support of the public,--is its advocacy of equal civil and political rights.

If that party should ever come to the conclusion that this principle should be abandoned, that moment it will merit, and I am sure it will receive, the condemnation and repudiation of the public.
It was not, therefore, a surprise to any one when the white Republican members of the Mississippi Legislature gave expression to their entire willingness to vote for a suitable colored man to represent the state of Mississippi in the highest and most dignified legislative tribunal in the world.

The next step was to find the man.

The name of the Rev.James Lynch was first suggested.