The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-03-09
COM M u MIC ITO N.
TO MARTIN VAN BUREN-No. 6.

N
indulge in no comments. feel confident that the
reader will be- able to draw proper conclusions
after fair examination
let me now contrast the course pursued by
you in the convention which was called 10
1mend the constitution of New York, In the year
1S2I BY the old constitution all the tree ne
groes in the State were entitled to vote, ana one
great object of the convention was 10 a0rogate
this equality of political right have careiuiiy
examined the official journal now before me, and
while concede with the apologsts OF your friends
that YOU "finay agreed to compromise, whereby
no negro who was not worth $3.50 was permitted
To exercise the elective franchise, state the
fact to be that this compromise wac after you had
voted to preserve the old constitution as 1t in
respect to negro suffrage. shall quote fairly
and impartially from pages lS4, 100. and 2O2, the
proceedings and vote upon the first proposition to
amend the report of the committee, which, as you
yourself offered no different amendment, must be
regarded as your first choice That you subse-
quently agreed to a compromise, which find you
did at pages ST and 37S, is no more than natural
for man do when he cannot carry things entirely
to his notion By that time this proposition re-
specting the negroes had become so entangled
with other propositions, that there was great dam
ger of rejecting the votes of all OF them, and even
If you had not shown so unbounded a benevolence
OF feeling in the first instance, cannot recipro-
cate l0dL Tone W duulEAItOH Will WuiLH oohiC VI
your Democratic (!) friends indulge themselves
when commenting to the great right of free suf-
frage the shoe black or the waiting man who had
scraped together the pence which was to bug it !
The subsequent qualification was as anti-repub-
lican in principle az the first vote was over social
and benevolent in design and purpose But to
the proceedings: t
"WEDNESDAY, Sept. IL, l62l-page 134.
ga memorial was presented from the colored
people of the city of New York, praying that the
convention would incorporate provision in the
constitution preventing the Legislature from pass
ing any laws interfering with their rights by re-
curing them to be registered, &c. previous to
being allowed to exercise the right Of suffrage.
Ordered to lie on the table,
"Mr. N. Sanford, from the committee appoint
ed to consider the right Of suffrage, and the quail
fcatons of persons to be elected, reported that
the committee having considered the subjects re-
ferred to them, recommend the following amend
ments to the Constitution
"9 /. Every white male citizenlof the age:of
twenty-One years, who shall have resided in this
state. six months next proceeding any election,
and shall within one year preceding the election,
have paid any tax assessed upon him. or shall
within one year preceding the election, have been
assessed to work on public road, and shall have
performed the work assessed upon him, or shall
cording 10 law, or shall within one year preced-
ing the election have been enrolled in the militia
Of this state, and shall have served therein ac-
cording to law, shall be entitled to vote at such
election, in the town or ward in which he shall
reside, for governor, senators. members of the
assembly and all other officers, who are or may
be elective by the people. :
WEDNESDAY, September 19-page 100.
"The question then arising upon the first Sec
finn oriUinallU rpnnrfpd hy hp committees
"Mr. Jay moved that the word whie be strick-
en- our
"THuasDAY, September 90 page 2O2
"The question on striking out the word unite
was then taken by ayes and noes, and decided in
the affirmative, as follows:
"Ayes-Messrs Bacon, Barker, Barlow, Beck
with, Birdseye, Brinkerhof, Brooks, Buel, Bur-
Day, Dodge, Duer, Edwards, Ferris. Fish, Hal |
lock, Hees, Hogeboom, Hunting, Huntington,
Jay, Jones, Kent, King, Moore, Munro, Nelson,
Park, Paulding, Pitcher, Plat, Reeve, Richlan-
der, Richards, Rogers, Rosebrugh, Sanders, N.
Sanford, Seaman, Steele, D. Switzerland, Swift,
Sylvester J. Tallmadge, Tuttle, VAN BUREN,,
Van Ness, J. R. Van Rensselaer,, S. Van Rens-
selaer, Van Vechten, Ward, A. Webster, Wen
dover, Wheaton, E. Williams, Woodward, Woos-
ter, Yates-63.
The reader need not be informed that the eff
feet of striking out the word white" as moved
by Mr.. Jay and voted for by you was to admit
"all male citizens of the age of twenty-one
years." &c. Since the publication of these pro-
ceedings, one excuse has been raised by your |
friends who had heretofore wholly denied the |
vote-that is, you received instructions from your
constituents SO to VOTE This excuse is not even |
pretended by your biographer, and to admit such
plea from those who know nothing about it, |
and who have even denied the vote, would be to
surrender every thing to mere assertions
will now examine your conduct in relation to
the Territory of Florida In relation to the insi
tuition Of slavery
"IN SENATE-MARcH 6, 1922.
"After other business, the Senate resumed the
consideration of the bill to establish Govern
ment for the Territory of Florida.
1.-THE Committee of the Whole, on motion of
Mr.. King, of Alabama, struck out-of the bill the
following clause of the 18th section:
No slaue Or slaues shall directly or Indirectly
be introduced into said Territory, except by
cifizan Of the Limited States. removing into said