Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-09-07
THE BAs1s OF REPRESENTATIVES,


One Of the main points at issue between
the Copperohnsonites and the Republicans
is the second section of the Constitutional
amendment which restricts representation
to enfranchised population The South
deny that negroes are citizens, and refuse to
allow them to vote, hold Office, sit ON juries,
or testify in the courts where not compel
led by Federal power But the rebels of
the South insist on holding thirty-two extra
seats In Congress and thirty-tWo votes in
the Electoral College by virtue of the pres
ence of this disfranchised negro population
among them. The Republicans of the
North reject this demand as wholly mad
missable extravagant and supercikous. The
Republicans say that the late slave states
may be g II EeREsssntsa in GaRgEf9 ne febels s
and Copperheads demand that they be rep
resented on the basis of the disfranchised
negroes as well as enfranehised whites
They deny that the negroes are citizens or
voters nevertheless they insist on offset
ting them against four millions of Northern
white voting citizens Reduce the issue to
figures and see how it comes out The
whole number Of representatives in full
House is 24l On the basis of enfranehised
population the House would stand thus:
Old Free States I66
Old Slave States....... rs
On the johnson Rebel plan of counting
the disfranchised negroes, the two sections
would be Represented as follows
Old Free States 100
Old Slave States..... ........ 81
Loss to the North, 80 votes.
The Republicans offer to let the South
into Congress with seventy five membe-s in
the House and thirty-two members in the
Senate butthe Coppe1ohnsonites declare
that ten States of the South will not come
in unless the South shall have ninety-one
seats in the House as well as thirty-two in
the Senate.
The ten States yet cut Of Congress con-
tain rather more than three millions of
negroes and less than FIVE millions ofwhites.
On the voter basis they are entitled to forty
five seats in the House, but they insist on
having ffty-seYen seats. They can t get the
extra twelve seats except by taking them
from the North liz the North surrenders
twelve of its seats to these Bebel States,
the loss of legislative power is tWenty-four
votes to the loyal section ofthe Union. The
Republicans say to the late rebels Of these
insurgent States, eve will consent to let
you have forty-five seats in the House of
Representatives johnson steps forward
and swears that they shall have 6fty-scven
seats, and shall notenter the Capitol until
they get that number.
The Republicans in behalf Of the North
ask the question AS forty five seats com
pletely represent all the enfranchised popu-
lation of these ten rebel States, who are to
elect the twelve extra members IN case the
North surrenders that number2" The
reply is the white rebels But as the white
rebels win be fully Represented, who are to
be the constituents of those twelve extra
members Answer The, three millions
the negroes be allowed TO seivuv chi. s---sl-.
representatives -? Answer No +; the white
rebels will select them for the negroes. VIII
they select twelve white reconstructed feh-
els to represent the loyal blacks, who, in
Congress, will vote against the wishes,
interests, and principles of the negroes on
every question I? Yes, certainly. Very
well, say the Republicans, In behalf of the
North, we can not afford to give UP twelve
of our seats in Congress to the rebels of the
ten excluded States to be filed andtused in
any such manner IF those States refuse
tocome into Congress on the basis of en-
franchised population, they may stay out
until they change their minds.
But mark well the fact that they are not
excluded from representation by the Repub-
HcanS, but by their own act, In refusing to
enter Congress on the same basis of repre-
sentation on which the North is represent
ed, viz on the bases Of enfranchised popu-
lation. Andrew johnson persuades them
not to come in until he bullies and scares
the North into compliance with his mon
strous demand He and his Copperhead
allies win have good time of it in dragoon-
ing the loyal North into surrendering six
teen of its seats in Congress TO the rebels |
of the South This style of making trea-
son odious will not go down on this side of
Mason and Dixon's line, as Moses will
discover after the October and November
elections - Chicago Tribune. l