Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-05-19
NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
Senate, on the 10Th instant

In the Senate, on the 18th instant a
Mr. HARLAN called up the bill to continue, alter, and
amend the charter of the city Of Washington approved
May H. S43 and further to preserve the purity of cleo
ons and guard against the abuse of the elective fran
chse by registration of electors for the city Of Wash
ington, in the District Of Columbia
The pending question the amendment of Mr..
CowAN to insert the word white" before the words
citizen of the United States" in designating who are
qualified to be voters. ..t ta AasfA sf IA.
Mr. MORRILL, suggested an amendment a substi.
ute for Mr. CowANs to the esct that all citizens of the
United States who have been inhabitants of the city for
one year. and resident OF the particular locality where
he proposes to vote for three months next preceding the
election and who have been assessed liable TO be
assessed having taxable estate, and who read and
write with facility shall be given the rights Of an eector;
these the only qualifications he would exact.
The CHAIR said it was out OF order at this time.
Mr.. COWAN said that while the proposed amendment
of the gentleman from Maine would make the bill less OBJ
ectonable it would leave it in shape repLgnant to him,
and as he believed to the Of this community it
would yet give the negro the right Of suffrage. ~
Mr. HARLAN said he would vote for the amend
ment however much he opposed to it, he
WINGED the bill would fail in the House unless the word
white was inserted
Mr. MORRILL, advocated the principles Of his sub
stitute.
Mr. TEN EYCK said the effect Of this measure would
be like the in the House psrceng out rebel lands
which being stained by the best blood of
the country We had better wait until we had achieved
conquest before we egsae upon such matters All these
measures drive of from many who inclined to rally
to standard The proposition OF the Senator from
Maine did Simply extend the franchise to coored per-
sons but restricted 1t in certain from the whites
This not in hs opinion the time to strip the white
of any privileges though be may not be able to read
write aud much less OF his naienabe right OF suffrage
III pass this bill every relative of the nobeheared sol
der who is this very day Offering himself upon his
try altar will receive the vote OF the Senate with howl
of Indignation 1t would freeze the patriotism in the
of soldiers and cause them to stand dumb
statues. .U ~. wa H. .
a
who fighting the battles Of their country the right
of suffrage, unwilling to take it away from those who
enjoy it, and he therefore opposed both the amend
ent and the substitute which been ruled out OF or
der After relating the law OF the State Of New York in
reference 10 coored suffrage which provides property
qualification OF two hundred and fifty dollars, he argued
that such clause this qualification in this bill
would be start in the right direction.
Mr.. COWAN showed that many Of the STATES bad
statutes against negro suffrage and it would be danger
Gus to attempt it here at this time.
Mr.. LANE, Of Kansas, would vote for the proposition
without the property qualification he considered that
giving the suffrage to the property and not the He
would after three years. in which the negroes could learn
our institutions bestow free suffrage upon them.
Mr. WILEY argued against the proposition on the
ground that the right vote purely conventional and
that it rested solely with communities to bestow the priv
eyes OF the franchise. He said the Inhabitants of Wash
iogton opposed to the nearly unanimously
He depicted the evils which would flow from besowing
the high privilege upon the Of uneducsted slaves
especially in ashogton, where the population according
to the present rates OF increase would in four years be
one-half coorrd The passage of the would not
only be injurious to the coored itself but rritate
the whole country especially in the Border States Mr.
WILEY continued at length.
Mr.. SUMNER sad slavery died hard, both 10 this
chamber and the battlefield We had been compelled
before to listen 10 the vndcation, this floor of the
slave code and the slave hunter Ind to-day the exclusion
of coored persons from the franchise has been advocated
by the Senator from Western Virginia himself introduced
into this chamber by the influence Of freedom He rises
here to-day to vndcae slavery in Of it's meanes pro-
auctions
Mr. WILEY denied that he defended slavery. He
said when the Senator had liberated many slaves
had he could afford to call him friend Of slavery and not
before ...... y.
Mr.. SUMNER said the Senator had the odous preju-
Dice rising out of his former connection with slave States
in him. The head Of the beast cut of but the Senator
still chung to the tail. 1861
Mr. COWAN replied 10 Mr.. SUMNER at considerable
length. After which the Senate went into Executive ses-
son The subject has not since been resumed. m