Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1836-03-24


s'' I.iiu,;nu. dour away he tY"diuy which pre-
vailed in tic o!d Constitution bet'Tren INC Jrsc 'ts'o
and the understanding No jft"oM Ila.''a'' ,I rs
the white, but denying the right "l SUM 3e !" W.; -
rrro unp.s he vas seized aud possessrh IN MS "''
riuhl Of Z fjcch0;d rs1fe OF the value OF S'o crH' "
ali incunbranc.s. When thu report came up o' ]
Jrcaliun nlr. Briggs moved 10 a'nr"n 'h 'i' :,
place. by inserting the VOID WINE. ''t 'u ,l,a,
rr,.r.ry was not the standard vi qualification 'p
j coarse ii Oanal 10: 10 Lc ST. rtM respect ~ "c 0"'"
gnV s.urc thnn 10 the mhitcS lie was therefore "I:u
To Tie pruviso, and wished 10 insert hls provision " '''
s.Cad E, =, 49,. 81 ,io
" Chancellor Kent was opposed to the motion OF tne
Gentleman from Schoare, and III favor Of tie proViSc
Trp.Ftrd BY the committee. tie l!a aFcauy
his sentiments this subject, ard lie should not o"''e
the cu.n:!tcc with repetition of i"en IL was 49,
that the jlIuks III respects degfaueu Po ION
o The community. but lie unwilling TO see the us
icac!std. and tie Ioor eernay barred tg;i'Nst Ills
TIE u.uviso would not cut them "ii from al nope, Ill"
uht in some degree alleviate the wrongs "c 'u uo'c
them Il 1ro.id hare Il tcndency IL md@e Mrm nH"St1
o.s AID tuynl oriA the prospect If participating IN lac
ri-ht Ot suffrage. 90 H.,
Mr. Van Buren, was in favor Of The plan proposed by
the select committee and opposed 10 the a'ncndneh
Gen TaIimadgc opposed To inc motion. ne
Was PREPARED 10 vote for the prorISo which Tie co'l't
tee had reported, jecnnSc he consaeFa as "copper"
mise Of conhirtiug 0nionS lie aSo i"Hg"t u he" ""1
inducements M MMtnrtnnstc class q d" PcF"'"'N ~
becO.a. Industrious and eauuJie members o. the c0mm"-
niiy. , :, , r.
Mr. Briggs motion laiIed-and then the LIST clause OF
the report embracing every male cuzen' was caFfl'u
Hi to2. .o-,
The uyorso (about the blacks, requiring of them SOU
frccholdj came up-Mr Bacon said that lie oDJecleu
to this mode OF excluding the black population fro" VOL
ing because, in the first place. 1r"S an attempt {" IL"
hinr indirec|g which appeared either u DC ashalcu
OF doing, for reason chose not TO 10 dlFrctf,
course which he thong ut every way unworthy .! US
freehold qualification is, 1t applies TO nearly all inc
blacks, practical crctGS on, ard tts 'srght II 0us"
tn &c dORc dirccitY.
Mr. Eastwood 80 said he not III favor OF letting IN
black rarabOmds vote, but felt liberal Than te
select committee; he therefore moved to strike ou
and insert 500. Lost and then the PrortS0 agreed To-
~ 10 81 MIR. Van Buren, bclag III tie affirmative
This restriction the free negro was s! objected
to-Mr. Fatt moved to cxpunycIt. lie SAID, AN not
disposed sir Enlightenment in favor OF the men
of colour. But the obigatIa's Of justice are eleTna
and indspensable and tins pruvso involves princP'e
which, upon reflection, cannot concede, or compro-
mise Il matter Of eXpcdicncy. -' Let US attain tiis
object of exclusion. by fixing such uniform standard oil
qualifications would not only exclude the great budy
OF free Of color, but also large portion OF lgho-
rant and drpravcd white men, who are as unit |" eyer
else the power OF voting as the men OF colour -
1--WE know that, with exceptions, they have not the
means of purchasing freehold and 1t would be unwor-
thy OF this grave Convention 10 do. tnGrccHu an act oil
Injustice, which unwilling openly to arow Inc
real object is, 10 exclude tie oppressed and degraded
OF Africa, &c.
Mr. Van Buren, said lie had voted against total and
unqualified exclusion for he would not draw revenue
irom thcn and yet deny TO them the right OF suffrage.
But this provso met his Appreciation lhey were OK
cpted from taxation until they had quatled themselves
TO The right not denied, ~ exclude any por-
ton Of the community who will not exercise the right
OF suffrage in its purity This hcd out inducements 10 m
dustry, and 'rOuld receirc his snpport" -.
'Mr. Young considered the prOrtSO US the result OF
compromise.
Chancellor Kent explained. lie said that slavery
existed in this State The time Of the Revolution, and
yet it not recognized i'll the constitution There
such thing known III the constitution OF me H"n-
hoiding States, with the exception Of Connecticut as
dcaii 10 the ackS IF Ose electoral prtrdtges Mat eere
cnjOycd by tic whttS.
The motion to strike the prorisO then los 33
to 7l-Van Buren,, Young Livingston, &c, voting to-
gcthcr against stlkng out the pToviso-and Davis Jay,
Kent, Clarke, Spencer, &c, Oh the other side
The shape which it ultimately assumed III The Constr
tuition, is as follows:
shall have ccn Iuhabam Il" this STATE preceding any
election, md for the last siA ""Ht' Resident Of the tow" or county
cring election, paid the state as.csscd upon
personal property shall by law b. exempted from tXu
tom being crripcd according law, shall have
formed within that military duty in the ti" o this State;
who shall DO exempted from performing militia duty III con-
sequence OF being Tema" in any city town or village IN
this slae and also every male c'Izc" OF the nse Of twenty
who shall have been for three years next pteodn
such election, nhahan, Of this state and Tor the last
vote ani .huI havo been within year, Ia
Dor upon the public Highways, and shall hue performed The amor
ward where he actually resides and not else
all officers that OF hereafter mas be, elective by
years citizen Of this state and tor year next preceding az"
mr., 6red anal fr gr orer cnd aJScc all debts
eard und shall have been actually rated and pdd tax
thereon shall be my such election And
OF subject direct aNaion unless he shall be sciAed
possessed of such real estate as aforesaid" -
Such are the chaRrcS which the right OF suffrage has
UNDERGONE in n York-wi,h the for tile same,
and tie votes of Nh Van Buren, as drawn from the
Journals of the Convenlion.We have given as lair and
full Il SYNOPSIS as We could--but we will not StOOP 10
rcry as the Whgman has done, By the certificate oil II
SIX no
Record sclf-f have misguided II, let correct us
II is due to the of TRUTH 10 state the following
additional facts We have seen Judge Kent stating that
in all The nOnSlarehOding States, Connecticut excepted,
the free negroes have the vote the whites
New York is Of course another exception Hnt,
this equality prevailed in of the Sare"dng States
cmSiccS For instance, in the late Constitution OF 'orm
CarOinn the expression SAL recmcn OF the age OF II
years" &c, sand shall! have paid public taxes &c had
an equal rigt to vote in his couaty tor member OF the
House of Commons 1t was with great difficulty this
equality was done away in the late Convention OF North
Carolina. Some Of their strongest Wings, such rs Co.
ve1nors Branch and Swain Nc, strove against dIsan-
clsng the free negroes-and believe stcklcd to the
last for giving them the Int OF suffrage, on their own
ing about $500 Of property
In The late Constitution OF 1cnHcSScC they were also
upon the same icucl ,ch the 7rh ties.
REMARKS.
ISL thus appears that under the former Constitution
of New York the free negro and the white man we're on
the same fDong-and this is the first omission we conf
plain of in the Sy,opSis IF the Why's.
I'd That the provlSo to the freehold was done away
as to the whites but retained TO the free nrgrothat
though they have both the right Of voting. certain
conditions, yet that the conditions essentially dis
understanding for the free negro clcnr trf'hod Of
S25O-wic not required of him before, and is rot
nor required Of the whcs-whe the whites have at
least FIVE modes of obtaining tie g ht Of voting, "i.ch
are entirely barred to the free negroes.
3d. That this proYiso not cXaclcd, as the Wing
aesers say solely and ''ohvnusly for the purpose Of
preventing the strolIng colocd gentlemen from coming
over from other States and voting such our runaway
slaves from Virginia for various and much stronger
reasous as appears from the above speeches. such as
unwilIingness to dives them altogether Of the rights