The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-09-08

/
I We ask the attention Of our readers
: to the following article, on subject OF
. no small importance ut the present
: juncturc Of national affairs. II has
been prepared with care from such doc
umcnts Us arc within our reach, and 80
fur ns our knowledge extends, may be
considered reliable:
: The third section of the first article Of
the Constitution Of the United States
declares that Representatives and di-
rect taxes shall be uppOrtiOned among
the several States which may be in
cludcd in this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be- de-
tcrininrd by adding to the whole num-
Der Of free persons, Including those
bound 10 service for II term of years,
aud excluding Indians not taxed, three
tiiths Ofall other persons.
Under this clause of the Federal Con-
stitUtiOn the rcspCctiv" States of the
Union have been represented IN Con-
grcsS, since its adoption up to the pre-
sent moment. II has been a represent
tatiOn of numbers of free persons, add
ing thereto thrc"-iiilhs Of all other
persons, to wit: slaves. The COnsc-
! Quencc has been 10 give 10 the slave
States representation in Congress
unwnrruntcd by their free population,
II TO the d"trilMCnt of the free States. Thus
by the census Of 1850, Maine had u pop
ulatiOn OF G2s,279, and was allowed five
representatives, whilst Alabama, with
Il population exclusive of slave of
529, III, was allowed scvcu members.
Vermont, witha population of 3lj,E9S,
was allowed three members, while.
South Carolina, with Il population Of
3Ol ,304, was allowed four members.
Pennsylvania, with population Of .
! 0Oi, 10, is allowed twcnty-thrcc mcln-
| hcrs, while North Carolina, South
| Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida,
Mississippi and Louisiana combined,
have an aggregate fire." population of
$50, 7Sj, and are allowed thirty-ninr
! representatives. Thus the representa-
| ton runs through the free and slave
States. The numbers here given are
taken principally from the census re-
| port of lSUN, now lying on our table,
| and are substantially correct. l'ut
slavery is abolished. The Negro is free,
and the other twO-iillhS will Hereafter
br represented along with the three
| lilths us population, and will add to the
/ lllllllllNl III Nllt HltNN' Suites l1oNhs-l-I
giving to these States fourteen nhdi-
tiOnal representatives in Congress.
| Such Is the state Of affairs us things
now stand, and is worthy serious con-
sidrrHtOn.
To obvintc the threatened difficulty 1t
| is proposed hv numerous statesmen,
politicians and philanthrupislS, To cX-
| Tend to the freedmen Of the South the
| ,,s,.It ~ - 1tiS Ettltt,,.I
are greatly divided in opinion. With |
some il is settled hy prejudice, with
others rs Il matter of policy, and with |
others again us IL question Of Justice. 1t |
is commended that til" threatened diili- |
Guilty would not br met in II way TO re-
move il by allowing 10 the negro the .
right to vote, nS Il" would vote with his .
former master. The Democrats IN II
body are opposed To allowing the right .
of suffrage to the freedmen. They evil |
IDENTIFY do not believe his vote would b.
controlled by his master. They oppose
il as n matter Of party tucticS, HS they |
would oppose any sChcIn" Of rciUrIna-
tion, amy plun of human progress, any
system for the elevation Of the moral
dignity of til" human race. President |
johnson seems inclined to leave the
question with The STATES themselves,
while Congress, with II heavy prcSSur"
lrUm without in favor Of the right Of
suffrage. will hardly know what to do. |
In this emergency ten. SchCnck. off
Ohio, IL gentleman of rare abilities, and .
nrdrntIv devoted tO the Union OF tho
States, suggests an idea altogether new |
it being nothing less than to change the
basis Of representation from PoPHidtioH
10 rOirIS. In n recent speech at Ports |
mouth, Ohio, he says: III 10 other re-
preventative of the people makes the
proposition before me, pledge to you
my promise that early in the next Con-
grrSs will propose this iurthrrnmrnd-
mrnt to the Constitution, that from this
time forward, for all the States alike,
the Constitution of the United States
shall hr 81 changed as that representa-
ton shall be- founded on voters, and
not OL pOpu ntiUn.
The riltrt Of this change in the MAJ
tiOnaI constitution would hc to reduce
the representation of til" southern
States from righty-lOur to II trillc over
sixty, and to reduce their electoral vote
in the same ratio. II would place all
the States Of the 'ninn upon an equal
footing. This scheme Of representation
would leave with tho States, whether
slave or free, the right to say who shall
and who shall not vote. and what quail
ilirMti0n shall he attached to the right
OF suffrage. Such was the power held
and exercised by the States before the
rebellion. II would have II tCndCncytO
throw open the door of popular Sui-
rrugc, imnSmuch rs on the number of
voters in II State would depend its pO-
liical power. Would this in itself be
II national calamity" The position of
tile slave States under this plan would
be such ms 10 throw upon themselves
the responsibility of determining
whether or not the freedmen should .
enjoy the right to vote. Were they to
refuse the right, their political power
would hr ni"HSurAhly destroyed, Will"
nm acknowledgment Of the privilege
would greatly incrcas" their political |
influence. II Is hardly to he doubted |
which alternative would hc chosen; the
| instincts Of Sclf-pr"S"rvHtiOn, and the
ordinary GXcitcmrmtS of sharing in the
cnulum"niS and honor Of office, would
| combine iO extend the right Of suffrage
| to tn" negro.
| In amy aspect Of the ease tho free
States would br little effected. Not on"
of them would he likely to change tn"
number Of representatives in Congress
| by the proposed change In the national
| Constitution. In PENNSYLVANIA there
nrr iG,SIO free rolorcd persons, who add
that number to the population, and to-
thnt CXtcn, increase the HppOrtiOnmrnl
Of representatives., but this would
amount To II fraction only Of til" ratio
Of representation. These have no votes,
and under the proposed chang" Of basis
must hc deducted from III" number hy
which the appointment must hr made
Pennsylvania contains II larger numhHr
Of IrrC "OlUrcd persons than amy ir""
State in the Nnimi, and the effect upon
her would probably hr M great ns on
any other TIL" NnTh md WCIt mny
therefore IN considered ns out Of the
reach Of injury from tho contemplated
amendment. II might, however, result
IN granting tO the negro IN this STATE
tho right Of suffrage, and in thnt event
Pennsylvania would calmly thc change.
Ten thousand votes thrown IN favor OI
freedmen would. IN many counties
where disuniou prrpond"rnl"s, clNngr
the representation for th" hcttcr In
these observations the writer, while
throwing before his readers the facts for
their consideration, reserves his own