New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-02-03
THG CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND
mENT-UILI. ar PEEyiELs

The graycst, and in our view the most beneh-
cent measure ever adopted BY Congress Is that
which initiates an Amendment to the Federal
Constitution prescribing that, from and after the
hour of It's due ratification, no human being
shall ever be enslaycd or held in Slavery IN any
part of tho United States, except as punish
rnent for crime by him personally committed.
At no time prior to the battle of Run Run did
we hope to see our Constitution thus amegded;
and even now there are those who say, :" This
Amendment is a mere Pope's bull against the
CONFETTI can never be ratified" We believe
these are in error, and proceed to give our rca-
sons for this conviction:
The Constitutional provisions governing this
subject are as follows:
Arr. VI. The Congress. whenever two.thirds Of
Loth IIorses shall deem II necessary, shall propose
Amendments Of this Constitution. on the application
TO the Legislatures Of twoihrds oil The several STATES
shall u u Convention for proposing amendments;
which, in either ease shal DO Nad 10 aiI n,ones Anu
purposes pant Of this Constitution when ratihed by
the Legislatures fihTcefOurt Of the several States
or by In thrceourhs thereof as ne one or
the other mode Of ratification may be proposed bi the
Congress- provided that no amendment which may be
made prior the year thousand elgtt huhlrel ana
eight shall in any manner AFFECT the mt ana ourth
no State without its consent shall be deprived OF ITS
equal suffrage IN the Senate.
The two clauses indicated above are Us fol-
lows:
l The migration or importation Of such persons
any of the States existing shall think proper to nd
NIT shall not be prohibited by Congress prior to TIE year
one thousand eight hundred and eight; but lax or duty
NAV be imposed such importation not exceeding ten
A. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid
less proportion TO the census or enumeration Ht!ch
before directed to be taken.
1t will be seen that neither Of these clauses
at all qualify or affect the power to amend as
exercised in this case, and that-Congress
having initiated the Amendment in strict con-
formity to the Constitutional needs but TO be
ratified by "the Legislatures Of thrce-iourths Of
the States" to render it a part Of the Constitu-
ton. Can that assent be hadl
No Limitation Of time be it observed, is even
suggested. Congress having done its part, the
ratification Of one State per annum until the
requisite number shall have been obtained would
satisfy the requirement. Nay: though twenty
States were now to reject the Amendment, the
future Legislatures Of those very States might
ratify it, and their ratification would be valid.
Only let The Amendment stand unrepcaled by
Congress, and "the Legislatures OF three-lourths
of the States" might ratify it half a century
hence, though every State had previously
refused TO do so. Whenever the ratification of
"thc Legislatures of three-fourths of the States"
shall have been accorded, it will have become a
part of the fundamental law Of the land.
We have at present hirty-siz States, whereof
hcenty- srsn must ratify to give effect to this
Amendment I,renty-tico WILL beyond all rea-
sonable doubt, do so within tho present year.
If (as is assertcd) Senator Guthrie Of Kentucky
wrote to Washington TO urge its passage, we
may confidently add Kentucky TO the number.
Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana will each
and all, through their loyal Legislatures, doubt
less make haste to DO likewise. Here, then, are
the number required, lacking one, without a
vote from the States that are now predomnantly
in disloyal hands. That We shall, unless our
arms should meet with unforeseen disasters, soon
add to their number, is scarcely disputable. We
presume no well-informed Confederate doubts
that. were Gen. Sherman at Raleigh to-day,
North Carolina would be palpably Union and
an ant-Slavery State within month. Apart,
then, from all hopes based on a general pacii-