The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-10-05
The Constitutional Amendment.
It's Purpose to Compel the
South to Adopt Negro
Suffrage.
The Testimony Of Radicals Admit.
ting this, and Showing il Unjust
to the Wcst.
From the Dayton Empire. !

The second section of the first Article
of the Constitution reads as follows:
"Represe talives and direct tares shall
be app .rti.ned among the several State:
which may be included within thi:
Union, according to their respecr i've nam
6er8, which shall be determined by
adding to the whole number of free per
SONS, including these bound to service
for term OF years, and excluding In
dians not taxed, three-ffths of all other
persons"
: The proper basis for representation is
population. TGres should aPportioned
according te ,ceaLih, But our foretathers
compromised in the constitution.
Now that the war is over, the radicals
are tinkering a. rhe constitution with
| no less than seventy new propositions in
one winter. They don't want the old
| Union or the old constitution.
All amendments or propositions TO
amend are ont of order when ten States
are torolbly kept from representation.
And nothing can be more uncOnstitution.
al and revoIu tioDary than the keeping
out of ten. States because they will not
adopt negro suffrage, or cut down their
The radicals have laid it down as q
law that no State shall be entitled to
representation unless the five cOnstitu-
rional amendments are first adopted
Toe second amendment reads as fol-
lows.
Representatives shall be appsrtioned
among the several States according to
their respective numbers, counting the
whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed. But when
the right 10 vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, Repre-
sentatives in Congress, the executive
and judicial officers of State, or the
members of the Legislature, is denied to
any of the male Inhabitants of such
State being tweuty.one years of age and
citizens Of the United States, Or in any
way abridged, except for participation
in rebellion or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced
in the proportion which the number OF
such male citizens shall bear to the
whole number of male citiz ,ns twenty.
one years of age III such State"
The objections to this amendment are
numerous:
First-It attempts to control suffrage
in the States and to force negro suffrage
S~~es~~ S~-.harn Statas
power and add strength TO New Eng-
land.
If the basis Of representation is to be
changed by excluding any Of the non
voting population, exclude al but
voters and leave to the States to regu.
late who shall vote. But while Rhode
Island complains Of the negro popula-
| tion of the South, low stands the case
with her2 Ia 1860 she polled I9 9Ol
uotes; yet by the census of that year she
received tw0 representatives in Congress
In the same year the presout Third
District of Ohio golled over $4,000 pOtsI
to ono Representative. That is, under
| the proposed amendment, one man III
| Rhode Island has twice and o half the
power in Congress Of citizen OF Day
| ton.
But the purposes objects and working
| of the amendment are shown In the fol
lowing extracts from speeches OF radi
Gals. And it must be remembered thai
| General Schenck in trOduced a substitute
Lasing representation upon cOters, whiol
was defeated; and that he made {
speech against the present amendmen
in so far rs it decreased the power OF tht
West
EXTRACTS FROM JOHN SIBERIAN
SPEECH.
rFrom the Congressional Globe Of 1850, pag
1871, XXXIXth Congress, First Session.
Mr. Sherman-Mr. President, the rea
question Of difficulty is how this chang
in the basis of representation shall occur
The committee of Fifteen have reporte
n plan that l shall probably vote fol
but must cypress my preference for an
other, do IL now, 80 that it shall no
take up the time of the Senate hereafter
In my Judgment the true basis OF repre-
sentation in this country is voters.
know this was discussed in the HOUSE
and I have read the debate there, bu
the result was not satisfactory TO mt
; All the objections that have bsen mad
: to that system were objections tha
might be easily obviated and easily al
swered. Suppose the basis of represer
tation was the very one suggested b
Andrew johnson, that all men aooV
the age of twenty-one years, citizens
, the United States, who, by the law
Of the States, are entitled to vot'
shall be the basis Of Representatives
What thenl What is the obje ,tion
that plant 1t is simple, uniform, a.
/, plyipg to all sections without any pa
ticular interest OF particular section
1t is fair, manly and honorable IL
< true basis of representation are me
: who cast the votes.
3 so of New England. 1t is said tb'
a New England will lose something b
. cause she has a great number of bea
titul women and children, more tha
shs has men. That Is true; uut l a:
you, Mr.. President, yourself a dlstl
!. 1uished representative from New En
4 land where are the men who rePIesel
= these womenl They are the best bloc
; of your country who go westward al
v there give tone to society, aud con
hack here to repre,ent themselves al
the mothers aud sisters and klndr'
thew left behind. New England at th
. moment is not only represented by b
b twelve Senators, but by six or eig
!. more who are sons of New England, vi
:. moved to the West and carried wi
them their religion, their prlnolplt
and. in some cases, Their wives, or The
thew did BOT, we provided wives I
:. Thay caroa hsnk here as Senate