The weekly Anglo-African., 1860-04-28
Our Albany Letter.

ALBANY, April IL, 1860.
DEAR ANGLo:-Our Legislature is still
in session, though it has passed its one
hundred days, and is now working for nc
pay ostensibly, though the back appropri
ations, &c., which members vote them
selves amount to a neat little remunera
ton; but it has done for US in these extra
days that for which we all have so anx.
iously looked, and for which we now re.
ioice. AS will be remembered, men.
toned in my last letter that there was a
defect in the original bill as it passed both
Houses, inasmuch as it gave no authority
to the people to vote, and appointed no
time nor manner for the election. This
was an oversight on the part of the Re
publicans, you may know, for they can i'll
afford to lose those thousand votes year
after year; but believe it was piece of
political machinery en- the part of the
Democrats, as, strange to say, Spinola, of
Brooklyn, who looks for John Brown in
most every bill, and hardly permits sin
gle bill to pass without opposition, nor his
fellow Democrats who voted against the
resolutions, had word to say; but when
the bill came up on Thursday perfecting
the amendment, appointing the time and
manner of such election, this same Spino-
la fought most desperately, as he saw the
oversight was about to be remedied, know
ing as he did that without this bill the
resolutions would be useless. In spite of
the combined Democratic opposition, how
ever, the bill passed the Senate by vote
of II ayes to 3 nays, the latter being all
Democrats. On Friday last the bill was
put through the house, through the deter
mined efforts of some of the colored mans
friends, (who, by a vote to suspend the
rules, gave it the precedence of some forty
six others, and that by the decisive vote
of 70 ayes to 33 nays, one Republican
(Mr. Dorsch) voting against it, and one
Democrat, upon whom all eyes were set,
(Mr Arcularius, of New York, voting for
it. Thus have we triumphed, the Legisla-
ture having done all in their power, leav-
ing the work of fully placing it before the
people to us, who are specially interested.
AS an initiatory movement to this end,
meeting was Immediately called for last
evening, to take immediate steps towards
and show to the people that
Albany, as she ought 20 be, is ready and
prepared to take the start in appreciation
of the boon rendered us, as it is through
Albany, in the personal and persevering
labors of Stephen Myers, Esq acting as
its representative, that success has crowned
our efforts. Mr.. Jones S. johnson was
chosen chairman, and r. Franklin McIn-
tyre Secretary. The following resolutions
were presented for action, which, after a
full and free discussion, were unanimously
adopted:
Whereas, the concurrent resolutions proposing
to amend the State Constitution by striking out
the property qualification for colored men, as
passed by the Legislature of 1859, has been rati-
fed by the present Legislature and bill fixing
the time and manner of submitting the same to
the people was also passed
ResoIned, That the colored citizens of Albany
lender their sincere thanks to Messrs Ramsey,
Bell, and Hammond Of the Senate, and Messrs
Van Horn, Maxson, Johnson, Powell, and Bing-
ham, of the Assembly, and to each of the others
who by their speeches and votes aided in pressing
the amendment and bill through the Legislature,
which aimed to remove the barrier, unite our
hands, and place us upon a common level with the
rest of our fellow citizens
Resolved That the thanks of this meeting are
also due to our townsman, Stephen Myers, for the
zeal he has evinced in pressing SO
this subject the attention Of the
Legislature
ResOlusd That we appeal to EVERY voter
In the State to east ballot for the proposed
amendment in relation to suffrage, and that we
viii continue to repeat and urge this appeal in
every suitable manner and place until the close of
the polls in November.
These resolutions were offered by VIM.