The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-14
OoNeREssIoNAL PROCEEDINGS.
The following are the Congressional proceed
iugs of yesterday, continued from our Fourth
senate.

The Suffrage bill for the District Of Columbia
was taken up at l2i5. The pending question wns
upon Mr. Dlxon's amendment, to insert as a quall.
hcatlon that no one who has not heretofore so'e1
shall be allowed TO vote unless he can reau anu
Mr.. CoWRN, Of Pennsylvania, opposed this as
unwse qualification lt , was out mocsedy, scedya
knowledge of the Constitution and laws. Inet
would At man not only for voting out ior q sea, &
on this floor, for he had heard men here VINO did
not seem TO know what an e5 post Jdcto law is. IL
he had qualification to apply, It would De that
no person should be admitted 70 this new privilege
who mad given aid and comfort to the rebellion;
for he had heard that there were negroes here who
sympathzed with the rebels IN the late war
Mr.. FOSTER, of Connecticut, differed very
widely from MIR. Oowan in his estimate Of the
rom MI Cowan's speech, that he was fresh from
reading "Much Ado About Nothing" and that ne
agreed with Mr. Justice Dog5erTy 6nas 'tI nt De "a
read and write came by nature" he hr. fosvettD
thought 1t a safe proposition that man WIZ wnO
could neither read or write was unit to exercise
the elective franchise. There were exceptions, put
very few. 1t mistake to say that thls Ioea
of qualification came from MasSaehusetts: Oon-
necticut in 1855 adopted a qualification that no
person should be allowed to vote who Yves unable
10 read the constitution or any section OF the laws
This was copied by Massach usetts in 1857 In ISIS
the State of Connecticut adopted constitution,
making the possession of good moral character a
condition of the exercise of the elective franchi'e
In 1855 1t added the reading and writing qualih-
cation and ne thought this was step in the right
He (Mr. Foster) was surprised to hear the Sem
ator from Massachusetts Mr.. wilson, say that
from 1889 to the present time we had suffered no
thing from ignorance 1t was true that most of the
men who inaugurated the rebellion were educated
men; but most OF them were lamentably ignorant
of the character of northern men, and their capa-
city resist the effort at secession Inc mass OF
the men who made mp the rebel armies were igno-
rant and unIettered men. These were the men
who kept up the war. Ignorance and depraYity
He (Mr. Foster) was in favor of enlarged suf-
frage The broader the basis of suffrage the more
stable would be the goyernment He would s let
yesterday for female suffrage-not because he be-
lieved the great mass of females would vote. That
was not the question. He voted for female sur
frage because he could see no reason for denying
the right to any person who was fit to vote. To
enlarge the suffrage to increase the number OF
persons who would feel directly interested in the
government; but while he was in favor OF enlarged
suffrage without reference to race color or SEX he
was not in favor of allowing grossly ignorant
men, most of whom would be immoral because
ignorant, to exercise the right of suffrage.
He didnOs believe the interests OF society would
be safe without some test of intelligence. He
would ask the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr.
sachusetts Legislature he would vote for a man
for United States Senator who could neither read
or writer Would he confirm man for Chief JUS
tice or Judge of the Supreme Court who could
neither read or write! He supposed no man
would do that. He understood all Senators op-
posed to this amendment to vote that man need
not be able to read or write in order to be fit to
highest tribunal Of the land. The decision of the
Supreme COURT could be reversed at the ballot
box, indirectly, perhaps, but 1t could be done. II
act of Congress was unwise or injudicous, it
would be repealed at the ballot-box.
1t was proposed to allow men who could neither
read write to correct the mistakes of Congress.
1t seemed to him Mr.. Foster) absurd to say that
man who could not read nor write was not ht to
sit in the Supreme Court, and yet to say that he
was fit to sit in judgment upon the acts and deci-
slons OF the Supreme Court He could not see
what protection the ballot box was to a man who
could not read. As a general principle he sub
mitted that there was no safety in ignorant
suffrage
In conclusion, Mr.. Foster expressed the fear that
the ballot in the hands Of ignorant freedmen would
be used by the very men against whom the friends
UNQUALIFIED suffrage desired
He wished Mr.. DiXon's amen dment was stronger
He would be willing to move an amendment to it
that this qualification shall not apply to those who
have served in the Union army. He thought it
would be WELL if practicable, to superadd to edu-
cation good moral character. He would vote for
the bill If the pending amendment was adopted
Without it was, he could not vote for it.
Mr.. COWAN again took the floor, reiterating the
views already expressed against the bill and
amendments. -
piled to the argument of Mr.. Cowan that this was
an eS post tdctO law, in the punishment 1t provided
for rebels. There was a difference between abso-
lutte rights and conditional rights. mans life
could not be taken away without conviction for
crime, but legislature could take away the right
to vote at twenty -one years and fix 1t at thirty.
The Senate would not vote for this bill as pun
ishment. 1t would give the right to vote to re-
formed rebel. The nation had right insist upon
loyalty as qualification for suffrage. The people
of the south would be forgiven soon as they ex-
hibited loyalty, but the people of the loyal States
were inexoraby in earnest in their determination
to eradicate slavery and disloyalty. Whenever the
south acquiesced in terms embracing these con-
ditons, the whole difficulty would be at an end.
This law was not eS post fdco, for there was law
in the statute book since 1890 declaring all who
had given aid and comfort to the enemy to be civly
dead. Practically, said Mr.. Freing huysen, this is
white mans government would like to see the
men who could point to this fact asserted in the
Constitution. Ifthe black race was inferior, 1t was
no reason why it should be oppressed by the supe-
ior race.
1t was asserted that by giving the colored race
the right to vote we were inducing distaseful as
sociations between the races. This but the echo
OF an old prejudice. There was no connection be-
tween the two. 1t did not follow that man was
socially your equal because he enjoyed with you
the right to vote.
Mr.. f. contended for universal suffrage, and op-
posed the pending amendment. II suffrage was
qualified, there would be an inducement TO keep
the negro from learning to read and write, TO
keep him from the ballot. If IL was UNIVERSAL the
people would be driven TO the education Of the ne
gro, 70 make him an intelligent voter,
Mr.. WILSON, of Massachusetts, replied to the
speech of Mr.. Foster. He felt sorry MIR. Foster
had advocated the pending amendment. While he
(Mr. WILSON, was opposed to making reading and
writing test, he did believe that they were great
aids TO a voter. But If his amendment should pre-
vail, the cause OF education would be retarded in
this District the bitter hostility the coored
race that prevailed in this city would be continued
could read and write were allowed to VOTE the enc
mics OF the colored men would to II that there
were no opportunities given them to learn to read
and write. This amendment was proposition to re-
tard ed ucation Let the suffrage be universal and il
would be an incentive TO education. He had heard
great deal said about impartial suffrage 1t was
foolish idea, which would result in hindering
the education of the black man. He had heard It
said that the Senate should restrict instead of
larging suffrage. That idea was aristocratic, not
democratic II the negroes of Virginia got the
right 10 vote, you would ind Wise and Letcher
attempting TO prove that they had always been
friends OF the negro. They will make afhdavits
that they are related TO them that the same blood
in their veins that courses through the veins
OF the black man. No doubt the Democrats would
geta great many votes from the black men, if tue
Democrats treated them better than the Republi-
cans, and he hoped they would.