The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-10-17

gress has passed Civil Rights Bill under
which II q negro demands admission into
railroad car set apart for the travel ofwhite
persons by the authority Of the railroad
corporation which owns the road, the roll
ing stock and the cars, and has right To
exclude white persons II they choose, Of
certain conditions, certain age or sc,., that
negro, II elected because he IS ancgro, may
prosecute the conductor or the persons
ejecting him, and impose upon him heavy
fine and imprisonment Again, II negro
choose to enter your pew In church--con-
trolled by the trustees, who have u right to
make regulations In regard TO the admis-
sion of persons--and you eject him because
he IL "a negro, he Is entitled TO sue aud sub
jcct youto fine and imprisonment for the
election.
Now these are things which Congress
had no right, and no State Legislature has
a right to enact, but they are enacted be
cause it Is the fixed purpose Of the Repub-
lican party 10 make absolute and total So
cial, civil and political equality between
the negro and the white race. and to oblit-
crate all distinctions on account Of color,
and thus literally 10 prepare the way for
making this not white mans government,
but government Of negroes, or n mixed
government.
Nor Is this all. They have. so far "a Con-
gress Is concerned, adopted an amendment
TO the Constitution of the United States,
aud submitted IL to the State Legislatures
for ratification as a part of that instrument
to secure efficiency to this Civil Rights
Bill, lest the Supreme COurtnOw, or at some
future day. shall pronounce it unconstitu-
tional and to that amendment the Repuh-
lican party stands committed In this dis
trlct by the vote Of your representative, all
over the United States by the vote of Con-
gress, and In this state by the action Of the
Republican Convention In June last. What
does that amendment providey 1t says.
Article lln--and this Is the new cOnstitu-
tion, the amended constitution Of tie Sum
ners and the Steyensos Of the present day
"ARr. II. Al persons born or naturalized
In the United States, and subject to the iu-
risdictiOn thereof are citizens Of the United
States and Of the State wherein they re-
side"
Now, for the first time in the history Of
our Government fundamental principle
OF our Federal system is violated by an at
tempt to incorporate in the Constitution a
provision defining citizenship In the sever
al States. Hitherto that has been remittcd
TO, or rather was retained exclusively by
the several States-thc exclusive right from
the beginning has belonged to them, 20 de-
termine every question of citizenship. But
by this amendment It is proposed that all
persons shall be citizens, not only of tbe
United States, but of the State In which
they reside Why is this? Because in
Ohio we have proclaimed that none but
white men shall vote ;because we have laws
recognizing the distinction of color in sew
eral other particulars. IAN pcrsous'--now
IL that does not include the negro it is be-
cause he is not person, but bccause he is,
rs the abOlitiontists used to say lac was, the
chattel or property ofhis master Then he
was not a person, but now that slavery is
abolished he is no longer chattel, he is
person, and the amendment here proposed
declares that "all persons" shall be citizens
of the United States and of the States in
which they reside. Nor is that all. Itsays
further:
"NO State shall make or enforce"
Why "enfOrce ~ Because. already in the
Constitution of Ohio is the provision to
which have referred in regard TO colored
persons. Already in the the Constitutions
of Indiana. Illinois, and nearly every
Northwestern State, there is provision
against negro equality. Hence it is that
this amendment to the Federal COnstitu-
tion declares that no State shall be allowed
to enforce the provisions of its own Con-
stitution. mo State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of the citizens of the Unified
States" SO, hencetorward, it is not to be-
long to the State authorities to determine
any question that shall, in the Judgment of
Congress, or the courts of the United
States, abridge the immunities or privi-
leges of the colored population, not of the
South only, but of the Northwest also.
But the amendment stops not here. BY
the second section it attempts to force ne
gro suffrage upon the South as condition
precedent to restoring the Southern States
TO the exercise of the right of representa-
tiOn in the Senate and House and in the
Electoral College.
How? BY providing that while in New
England and In other States. every woman.
every minor and every alien shall be count
ed to make up the basis of representation,
though not entitled to vote, yet that in the
South, though they may refuse suffrage to
wonderland are they not quite rs much
entitled to it AS the negro ?-refuse It TO the
minor and the alien, yet if they choose to
refuse 1t TO the negro, the negro population
shall be deducted in ascertaining the ratio
of representation, thus diminishing the DO
ltical power of the South; and if she shall
be admitted to the Union, requiring it upon
terms of inequality-thus destroying the
very cornerstone of our Federal system.
which implies the absolute equality of all
the States. This is the second provision ofl
this constitutional amendment. They first
proposed to make voters the basis of repre-
sentation; but it was aScertained that New
England would lose representatives if that
plan was adopted, and so this proposition
was suggested to force negro suffrage upon
the South, under the penalty of degrada-
ton, and the loss Of her equality in the
Union. What is the consequence of negro
suffrage in the South? In South Carolina
the majority of the population is negro. To
proclaim negro suffrage there is to turn
over the State Government to the negroes.
Hence. negro legislature, negro judci-
ary, negro commonwealth, negro United
States Senators, negro Representatives
with negro judges for South Carolina in the
Courts of the United States. So. too, i'm
Mississippi majority is negro in Florida
the same thing. So we are to have at least
three negro States in the South. They
would be at once admitted into the Union
there would be no question raised at all.
lLaughter.l Indeed, Governor Cox pro-
posed, in public letter last fall, to set apart
the States of Florida, Georgia and South
Carolina for the entire negro population,
and, of course, to recognize them ms States
of the American Union. Now, if that would
not realize the declaration of General But
ler, that this is not white mans govern
ment, but part white aud part black, then
L am at loss to comprehend the effect Of
the amendment to the Constitution.
Now, gentlemen, these are the issues of
the hour. l do not propose, tonight to
discuss the reasons why the negro ought
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