Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-12-16
Now TEEE CONSTITUTIONAL
MENnMENr Is 10 BE RAILELED


~ How T3EE CONSTITUTION
AMENDMENT n TO BE RATIFIED.
The Radicals seeing that the southern
States will not ratify the proposed amend
ment 10 the constitution Of the United
States. have determined to carry their
point by a proceeding as oiisgraceful as
any thing they have yet done. Mr..
Yates, Of Illinois, introduced a bill in
the Senate on the Eth INST, which pro-
I vides that official notice Of the ratihca-
( don of the anIsndniant by die states shall
be sent to the Secretary Of the Senate
and to the Clerk of the House Of Repre>
sentatives, instead Of the Secretary Of
State, as heretofore provided by the act
of 1915 and thar upon the receipt by
these two officers Of official notice from
threefourths Of the States, that an
amendment has been adopted, the Plesi-
dent Of the Senate and the Speaker Of
the House Of Representatives, shall forth
with cause publication of the same to be
made n the newspapers authorized by
law 10 promulgate the laws with their
joint certificate that such amendment or
amendments are adopted to all intents
and purposes as part of the constitution
Of the Unte States
BY thelaw Of ISIS, the ratification Of
an amendment to the constitution is not
complete until the Secretary Of State is
sues his proolamation, basedupon Official
notification % hilp, HAT sgcA amepdlnent
has been ratified ~ the Legislatures Of
'bree-foqrths of the States When the
amendment abolishing slavery was sab
mitted TO the Legislatures Of the States,
it was feared by the Radicals that the
Southern States would not ratify the
amendment, and an effort was made by
Mr. sumner to have it declared by Com
greSs that the ratification by the Legisla.
lures Of .three-fourths Of the loyal 7
States should be held as a compliance
with the law Of 1918, but the ratification
Of the amendhent BY the Southern States
under the pressure brought to bear upon
them, superseded the necessity for the
adoption Of Mr.. Summers resolutions and
the matter was permitted to drop IL is
now demonstrated that the. Southern
StStes Will not ratify the pending amend
ment, and that il must fail unless the
policy the gosefnmeht from The adop
ton Of the constitution down to the pre-
sent day can BE changed And this
change is 90 be wrought by a proceed
ing as 5ubyersiye Of the constitution
and as revolutionary es was ever at
tempted in any government The coz
stitution provides that no State, with
out its consent, shall be deprived Of
its equal suffrage in the Senate,
and four of the States who aided in fran
ing and adopting the constitution, and
whose sanction was necessary to give it
life and the force of law, are deprived,
without their consent, of representation
10 the Senate, while six States that have
been admitted into the Union since the
adoption Of the constitution are also de-
priYed of this representation Senators
and Representatives from these States
l,,-l ,,,,,,r,.,l =, NN,,l 49,, ,,l l.
manded to be admitted to the seats to
which they are entitled, but the Radical
majority have refused to admit them, and
this exclusions is made the pretext for the
course which it is now proposed to adopt
to force upon them policy to which they
have and win refuse their assent The
Washington correspondent Of the Cincin
matt Commercial says Mr. Yates
holds that three-lourths OF the States
represented in Congress are competent to
amend the constitution, aud that this view
5fthe case necessarily follows the assump-
ton that two thirds Of their representa-
tives in each house of Congress are com.
petent to propose an amendment for rati-
fcaiion. Il Is well known that the
administration does not take this view of
the ease aud hence the necessity, accord
ing to the Radicals, of providing a new
method for its publication, ifa the
amendment now before the States |
should be ratified by tbree-fourths
of the loyal States It's not improbable |
that Mr. Yates bin will be passed by
both houses, and thus the action of the |
loyal States viii lasten upon the South |
for although the proposed amendment |
assumes to be general, it is intended to
operate upon the Southern states "a poll
icy which viii place this people at the |
mercy Of as tyrannical faction as ever
held sway In any government
The Washington correspondent Of the
Cincinnati Commercial saws "Itis be
lieved that the discussion of Mr. Yates
bill will develop the views of Senators
upon the subject OF annulllng the State
governments which have been set up in
the South by the Executive, and the es.
adjustment Of territorial governments,
wherein all the people, without respect
10 color, will have voice The terrific.
rial proposition looks to the exclusion
from the ballot-box Of every man
who took part with the Confederates or
with them while the entire
negro population above the age Of twenty
one years, viii be clothed with
he elective franchise But it has
been shown in these columns that
he present Congress has recognized
he ten excluded States as States within
he meaning of the constitution and laws
Ind that it cannot without a most ia
yrant usurpation Of powers usurpation
which the Supreme Court cannot sane
these States to the condition
If territories Herein we have an expla-