Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-10-09
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SPEECH OF 'THOS, c. THURMAN,

uo -iidvlsH 9Il nj hiGlb oi lgraHf1ms sGJ
Delivered at DuIolIny y,FTankIin
no County, on FrIdaY Evening,
,p October B, 1856.
t- 10 sroilu'os1T ofl 30 yra 20 1on1. NJ
gH:Viirg1i -snT, ,T1T -iri io9uboltri hid
The Constitutional Amendment and
.g1 % .ia Negro Suffrage .i,oqns
"a rnoI i,a9 Of o2 nol n9hr ,aomgohG
a. .yHb-ol ~
IExtracts fromtbe Speech -COpclgdipg pVTtippl
In this connection, / will l,call your atten-
tion to the Constitutional amendment,
which is ostensibly brought forward to
equalize representation in Congress. You
ali remember that Congress, In order TO
carry out their theory Of reconstruction,
appointed a committee of 10, members. of
both Houses, whose special duty 1t was to
inquire into and Judge of the qualifications
OF the Southern States for admission into
the Union, and to report plan for such
' admission. Ihave yet to find q Republican
who claims that this committee OF ID was
4 legally constituted body, with any author
ity under the Constitution to exercise the
powers conferred upon It. 1t was an un-
IL
ton. Yet aftereight months of hard labor,
they made report. and that report is this
proposed amendment. Now, the most that
can be said of this amendmehtih point of
law is, that is the result, the motherless Off
spring of the Illegal connections of fifteen
amorous Radicals, whose love Of country
was only equaled by their efforts at repro
duction. Itisa monstrOus political bastard,
without mother to nurse it, and whose
very life depends upon itsddOptiOR.y There
is no doubt about its parentage-lille the
daughter of the regiment, it is blest with
regiment of fathers, and Shellabarger is one
ofthem. But what is worse than all, shall
endeavor to show you, by an examination
of some Of its provisions, that the chap is
q nigger-black as ebony. '.-F q.
This amendment provides that the ba
sisof representation shall be population;
but whenever any State shall fail to in
clude negroes in such basis, the represent
tation of such State in Congress shall be
proportlonally diminished. There are two
objects in view in bringing forward this
amendment. The first, is to give warrant
force and effect to the rights and powers of
citizenship conferred by the Bureau bill
and Civil Rights bill-to provide for an ac-
knowledged Constitutional defect of those
bills. But the grand object Is, to bring
about universal negro suffrage in this coun-
try. 49,.
But how is this to be done? How is this
s,unnluna Jonunl of philanthropy-negro
suff'rage-to be secured? BJ the Bureau
bill, which affects the Southern States prin-
cipally; all classes enumerated are placed
upon an equal footing with the white man
In all civil rights of persons and property.
By the Civil Rights bill all classes enum
Grated are. Throughout the United States,
declared to be citizens-with equal rights
of persons and property. Now, how is
this remaining right of citizenship with
out which the title amounts to nothing, in
republic-ttis right Of sufrdJe-to be ac-
complished? Under the Constitution the
States have the exclusive right to say who
shall be electors. 1t Is a matter over which
they have undoubted control. New York
and Kansas can exclude their Indian popu-
lation. Louisiana could exclude ev-
cry Frenchman within her borders. The
right to say who shall exercise the elective
franchise ever has been recognized as
one of the original rights of sovereignty,
- Now, sirs, bef,re universal negro suffrage
can be established In this country this fun
damental right. must be done away with.
1t must be stricken IRON the Constitution
or by counter legislation, rendered Of no
force and effect. To say bya sweeping
act of Congress that such persons shalIvote
would not do; snch flagrant trespass on
this right of the States would not be coun
,tenanced by the American people. How
is iC to be done? Without it is done Radi-
calism will have but imperfectly accom-
plished her mission OF equality. This
amendment tells us how this is to be done.
New York aud Kansas by this amendment
may exclude their Indians from the basis
, of Representation; Louisiana her French.
Yet the strength ofeach State in Congress
will remain the same. But should either of
these States be so unphilanthroplc, SO dead
to all the honorable emotions of the heart,
. as to exclude negroes from such basis, that
State is sOlemnly notified by this amend
ment, that her representation in the halls
ofCongress is correspondingly diminished
cut down in proportion to the number of
negroes so excluded. This Is the way it is
to be done. Not directly by a sweeping
enactment, for with all the vandalism of
these II ldicals, they dared not openly tram
pie on this right Of the States; but indi-
reetly, cOvertly, under the guise Of an cir
reversible guarantee,n 1t Is sought to de-
grade the power Of the Southern people. In
the affairs of the Government to that point
of weakness and sltbserviency, that
from motives of public pluuder and
profit, which, its passage secures It's
friends, they will be forced to enfran-
chise the negro. This IS the way 1t Is to
be brought about, not by a manly, open
avbwal to the people-that, this race is en-,
f; titled to and should have all and singular
the rights of citizenship, and demand a
change in the organic law of theland to that
effect. No, sirs; such an issue would not
do. Such an issue embodies, d little too
much eoIoring matter to be, handled before
this people, without gloves. They knew
also that the great mass of the Northern
people who have been for the last five years
following obsequiously in the ranks of RAD
icalism, are in fact opposed to negro equal
ity and negro suffrage. The best yidence
Of this IS the fact, that throughout the en-
tire Northwestern and MidaleIStates all the
rights of citizenship, with that of suffrage,
are not conferred)uponthe negro. Where
ever the negro is allowed to exercise the
elective franchise, hel does it by a conn
plianoe withth law, by removing certain
Specified disabilities0 nWith this idea of the
inferiority OF the negrD+4Ii might say re-
ligious belief among the hpebple+-these
philanthrOpists saw that it was essential to
the success 0ftheir scheme, ,thatit be brought
about In some mannerthat would not c6m-
promise their standing at home, or peril
their chances of re-electlon.i Couseqnentlyl
they resorted to this amendment, lug
ging in three other clauses, for, moi other
purpose than to coverup, If possible, from
the public eye, the real object in view. But,
suppose welook at it In another light, and
one that concerns the poor white man.l is
1t not a discrimination In favor otfthe me-
i Al a Al. IA -