The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-03-24

each House shall be the judge of the
election returns and qualifications of
| its own members, and that each House
| shall act for itself upon the question OF
the admission of mem bers from the re-
| constructed States whilst Congress, on
the other hand, insists, although each
| House has constitutional power to act
| for ITSELF that inevitably, as n conse-
ouence of that, the two Houses have
the power to act Jointly. And think
that on this point Congress has the best
of the argument; because L think that
If you, Sir, have the power to do a GER
tain thing, aud you, Sir, have the pow
er to do a like thing, you can come to-
gether and do both things Jointly.
| Upon this ethical question-mainly
Iethical-much of the discussion in
Congress has rested. Allhagree, how
ever, that these States shall not be al
lowed to be represented in Congress
until they present themselves in n loyal
attitude, and that the men they send to
Congress, in order to be admitted to
seats there, must be able and willing to
yield obedience to every law that is
binding upon you and upon us. There-
fore the President never has said, and
in my Judgment never will say, that
unrepentant rebels like Stephens, of
Georgia-andI / mention him as the best
of them all-shall come back and take
their places in Congress to pass laws
for the loyal people of the country.
Upon one question, then have set
before you as clearly as could, the dit-
ference, If there is any, between the
President and Congress. The second
question is the basis of representation.
By the Constitution of the United States
representation is based upon the num-
Der of free inhabitants ina State, and
three-fifths of the slaves and as, by
the constitutional Amendment, there
"a N NJ mn slaves |rnnFnEnnfnt10n IS
based upon the populntion, white nud
black, men, women and children. Now
the result of this arrangement, upon
the, abolition of slavery, would be to
give to the Southern States an increase
of political power, because instead of
three eighths of the slaves being repre-
serted, fve-fifths-the whole-of the
freedmen would be represented and
thus South Carolina, with a population
of 2gl 800 whites, and AZ, 40S blacks,
would have six members, while Con-
necticut, with population of six or
seven hundred thousand, would only
have six or seven members; SO that u
white man of South Carolina would
have two and one-thirIi times as much
political power as n white man of Con-
necticut. Well, are the democrats in
iavor OF that basis of epresentation?-
They are, because they know that the
political power thus conferred upon the
white men of South Carolina, would be
so much butter in the chnrn of the
democratic party. GLaughter.li They
are, therefore, opposed TO any change
in the basis of representation. They
want the Union US it was" Laugh
teri They say they are i'll favor of a
equality. So nm /. But what do they
mean by their fine phrases? They
want n white man in South Carolina to
have two and two-thirds times as much
political power as white man in Con-
necticut, because they know that they
can trust the South Carolina white man
better tnan they can trust the white man
of Connecticut. But that, you see, is
whit they mean by white mans equal
ity. Ask one of them his views upon
the subject, and he will not give you II
fair answer. They have not said any
thing about it in their resolutions. I'm
der the present hasis of representation
white man Mt the South always had
more political power Than N white man
at the North, because he voted for HIM
self and also for three-tifLhs of the
slaves; but the democrats, seeing that
it will be for their party advantage, de-
sire to give to the Southern white man
to the white man of the North
comparatively still Less. That is
their idea of white mans equal
ity. TLaughter.1 Now upon this
point, whuT is the difference between
the President and Congress? They
both agree and affirm that there ought
to be Il change in the basis of repre-
sentation, ms an inevitable consequence
of the abolition of slavery. Both Con-
gress and the President recognize the
existence of the defect, but they pro-
pose different modes to remedy it; and
I will try now to, show you the eSnct
difference between those modes, The
F..y
sentntion upon voters, and leaving ev-
cry State free to say who shall vote. 1
may say here that there is u class of
opinions in Congress in favor oftnking
away from the States the power of de-
termining the qualifications of voters,
but the plan does not meet with much
favor. II is n power which the States
have exercised each one for itself. and
L do not believe they would be willing
to Weld it. don't believe Ohio would |
surrender it. Every Stnte has Il differ |
ent mode of determining who shall
vote. You have Il mode here which |
would not do with us ut all. In some |
of the Western States they allow un-
naturalized foreigners to vote. Then |
again in some of the Border States they |
don't let the rebels vote. That is differ |
ent from your plan; you allow your
rebels to vote here. Laughter.l Mol
one proposes to amend the Constitution |
to say who shall vote, because we know |
that three-fourths of the States would |
reject il, and therefore it would not be- |
come law. But what other plan Is there? |
This. Say to South Carolina, "You |
may fix the qualification for your vo-
tiers as You please, but just as many of
your people as you allow TO vote shall |
be counted as the basis of your repre- |
sentation in Congress, and no more.-l
That is Andrew JohnsOn'S plan. [Great |
applause.l II is the plan to which he |
has committed himself. Now, L intend |
to show You the objections to that plan
that have occurred i'll the course of It's |
and you will see then the |
precise reasons that induced Congress |
to propose another plan, and If our |
rensous are not satisfactory to you you |
will, of course, decide for yourselves. I
1t was found when we came to apply |
this rule to the different States in their |
present condition that the border States
would lose by it, because in Maryland, |
Missouri and Tennessee they exclude
rebels from voting, thus reducing, of
course, the number of voters in the
State and consequently the number of
Representatives which the State would I
have in Congress. Those States objectto to |
il, therefore. Then again, when we came |
to New York we found that there was Il |
large number of foreigners, phrticular-l
ly in the CITY of New York, and, as,
under the proposed plan, foreigners
would be excluded from the basis of
representation, New York would los3
somewhat by the adoption of that plan;
and would therefore oppose it. No
State wants to lose anything of its rep |
We wanted TO get a plan,
on the contrary, by which all could |
gain little. Langhter.l Again, when |
we came up to New England, we found |
that there was great preponderance of
ladies, and that on acconnt of your SUI