The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-03-02
The Resolutions Adopted ut tho Grcat
Meeting I'm Washington.

NAcct1nG IN w washington.
Tho following are the resolutions re-
ported by the Hon. Charles Mason, and
unanimously adopted at the meeting held
in Washington on the 22d February:
Resoired, That on this anniversary of
the birthday of him who was ''first in
war, first in peace. and first in the hearts
Of his countrymen," it becomes IN appre-
ciative and grateful people to hold com
munion with the spirit 10y which he was
the illustrious dead by attempting to follow
his footsteps, and to be guided by his ad-
monitions; and to place in strong relief,
inviting to emulation, the outlines of a
character, whose moral grandeur and un-
selfish devotion to the public welfare, will
can patriotism through all coming time.
Resotced, That the Constitution of the
United States was the outgrowth and
crowning glory Of that great revolution
which his courage and fortitude conducted
through encouragement and disaster TO
final and complete success; and that by
our vcneration for that immortal instru-
ment, and by our determination to pre-
serve it ''pure and undefled," we can best
evince our gratitude to it's authors, and
secure to ourselves and our posterity the
| inestimable blessings it is calculated to
bestow.
Resolred, That the vitality of this great
covenant depends primarily upon the indie
structibility of the States which are the
parties thereto, and their preservation in
the full exercise of all their normal func-
tions, and that he who would eradicate or
pervert this cardinal principle, aims fatal
blow at the most vital portion of the sys-
TEN of which it is the heart and centre,
and acts in utter disregard Of the spirit
and intent of those by whom it was framed
and adopted
ReSolred, That ours is Government Of
law; that punishment for offences, how
ever heinous, cannot be dictated by arbi-
trary vengeance; that no er post .fdcto law
can be rightfully established either by
statutory enactment or by constitutional
amendment, and no more as against q
community than as against an individual;
| that as no punishment had ever been pro-
vided against State for an attempt to
! secede from the Union, none can now be
]egitimately inflicted, either by enforcing
disabilities or otherwise; that, therefore,
any delinquent State, from tho moment it
returns to it's allegiance and resumes its
| rlghtful position as a member Of the Fede-
raj Government, becomes entitled to the
exercise of all its rights under the Consti-
! tution-including that of being represent
ed in each branch of Congress-which it
| enjoyed before the commission of it's Of
fence. 1t is better that wrong should go
unpunished than that it should be redress
ed through q violation OF law.
HeSotCeu, 1nat tne only laW1ul ground
on which any member OF either House of
Congress can be prevented from taking
his seat on an equal footing with any other
member, must be that his election or the
returns thereto have not been in accord
ance with the law, or that he does not pos
sess the requisite qualifications for his
position; and that in deciding upon such
qualifications, none other can bo consid-
cred than those prescribed in the Consti-
| tuition of the United States.
ResoLced That they who illegally at
tempt to exclude the representation OF any
State from seats in the Federal Congress,
or who in ang other way endeavor to pre-
vent tho full restoration of the Union
under the Constitution, are cmphatically
| disunionists, and are equally culpable in
| principle with those who have heretofore
disturbed the harmony Of our great politi-
cal system-being accessories after the
fact Of the great wrong which has been
perpetrated, by thus aiding in its perpe-
! tration.
Resolred, That the Constitution OF the
United States purposely and carefully ab-
stains from any interference with the
qualification OF electors in any Of the
States of the Union, and that any attempt
on the part OF Congress to prescribe to any
State 4 new rule on the subject is q mani
| fest departure from the spirit and princi-
pie on which our system is founded, and
should ever receive, as it deserves, the un-
qualified reprehension of every true friend
of our cherished institutions.
Res0lUed, That the people of the District
Of Columbia. though governed by Congress
under the Constitution, are still citizens
and not subjects; that the fundamental
principles of Republican Government are
just as applicable and just as sacred hero
as in any of the States, though not pro-
! tected by the same sanctions: that the will
OF the people should be equally the guide
| Ynr ha 1aOJ S1 fny 11o 10 l. al
concerns; and that, therefore, the late
action of the House of Representatives in
passing bill giving the indiscriminate
right Of suffrage to the African race resid-
ing IN the District, IN opposition to the ex-
pressed and almost unanimous wish Of the
| people, has been in palpable disregard Of
what we believe to be the manifest duty of
the legislator in Government like ours
Resolred, That the sudden elevation of
inexperienced, uneducated negroes in
those States where they constitute any
considerable portion Of the entire popula-
ton, to the full privileges Of American ci-
| tlZens, would be fraught with the most im-
minent danger to our whole political fabric;
that whether that race is capable Of ever
| becoming qualified for the exercise Of the
| great and delicate trust, discharged through
the elective franchise or not, they are Ger
trlnly not so at present, and that the
hasty and indiscriminate bestowal upon
them Of this high prerogative is calculated,
if not intended, to bring the whole system
of popular institutions into disrepute, by
practically demonstrating the incapability
OF the great mass Of mankind for intelli-
gent self-government.
Resoered, That the grand old declaration
that call men are created equal" was
never intended by it's authors, nor under
stood by the people for whom it was made,
as placing the African race in this country
on civil, social or political level with the