The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-05-09


We publish in another column the re-
port ofthe committee on reconstruction,
proposing certain amendments to the
Constitution.
The first amendment proposed is in
tended to secure to all citizens Of the
Uuited States, including the colored
population, the same privileges and i'm
munities, and the same protection under
the law to life, liberty, and property
This is not intended to include the right
of suffrage, but suffrage is left to the
individual States, to be determined as
they may choose.
Members of the House of Represen-
tatiyes shall be based on numbers, but
if male negroes are denied the right to
vote they shall not be counted in APP
portioning representatives.
Until the 4th day of July, 1870, all
persons who voluntarily adhered to the
late msurrection, giving it aid and com
fort, shall be excluded from the right to
vote for members of Congress and for
electors of President and Vice Presi-
dent. This is intended to secure the
control of public affairs to the sunmis-
thkably loyal men," BY the second
section of the first article of the present
Constitution, it is provided that
"The House of Representatives shall be
composed of members chosen every second
year by the people of the several States, and
itications requisite for electors of the most
numerous branch of the State Legislature y
1t is also provided, in article second,
that "cach State. shall appoint, in such
manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, number Of electors &c, fol
President aud Vice President. 1t there
fore follows, if the above amendment
should be adopted, that the electors OIL
voters for members of the Legislature
must be the same as those for members
of Congress and President and Vice
President; and none who participated
voluntarily in the rebellion can vote fol
the latter This fact seems to have
been overlooked by our contemporaries
of the press.
1t is provided that whenever the pro.
posed amendments shall become part Of
the Constitution by the ratification Of
three-fourths of the States, and any
State lately in insurrection shall have
ratified the same and modified it's laws
and Constitution accordingly, its Sena-
tors and Representatives, on taking the
required oath, shall be admitted to the
Congress.
1t is also provided that persons be
longing to certain classes shall never bt
eligible to any Office under the govern
ment of the United States. 1t will b,
seen that members of the Confederate
Congress are not among those whom il
Is proposed to exclude from Office. :
Nearly all of them, however, will bt
excluded from voting and holding Office
until 1870, on account of their voluntary
participation in the rebellion.
The following statement by oul
nelghbor of the Sentinel is clearly un
founded:
The report of the Committee proceed:
upon the vicious and inadmissible idea, thai
the States lately in rebellion effected ant
made good their ordinances of secession b,
their revolt, and that they are consequently
out OF the Union, beyond the pale of th,
Constitution, if, indeed, they admit that sucl
an instrument is now in force at all.' -
The most cursory reading of the re
port will convince any one that ou
neighbor is mistaken. The States ar,
all treated as States, and provision il
made for " the restoration of the State,