The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1866-12-21
weekly Political Review Of the
Rump Congress.

~ w w
special record of, or reference to, but it
nevertheless did something to entitle
it to that distinction.
1t passed a, bill making negroes in
the District Of Columbia voters. The
first section of the bill provides:
That from aud after the passage of
this act, each and every male person,
excepting paupers and persons under
guardianship, Of the age of tweety-one
years and upward, who has not been
convicted of any infamous crime or Of
Tense, and excepting persons who may
have voluntarily given aid and comfort
to the rebels in the late rebellion, and
who is = citizen OF the United States,
and who shall have resided in the said
District for the perion ofone year and
in the precinct where he shall offer to
vote three months previous to any cleo
ton therein, shall be entitled to the
elective franchise, and shallb be deemed
an %elector and entitled to vote at any
election in said District, without any
distinction on account Of color or
race"
The other sections of the bill merely
provide for the registration Of voters,
and impose penalties for interfering
with voters, on bribing voters, or nc.
copting brides by voters.
An effort was made,,to make suffrage
depend upon a certain degree of intel.
ligence-such as being able to read and
vrite-but it was unsuccessful An
effort was also made to include females
among the enfranchised but the Rad
icals voted the proposition down.
Mr. Sumner gave the reason for the
passage of this bill against the protest
of an overwhelming majority of the
bona fdo residents of the District. Said
he: I'VE need the votes of the Blacks
f"WO need the the example, which the
people will follow through the rest Of
the country" He virtually admitted
that unless the Radicals get the votcs
of the negros they must go down.
The next notable feature oflast weeks
Congressional proceedings was the in
PRODUCTION by Thad Stevens Of a bill
for organizing n new government in
the district compromising the former
State ofNorth Carolina. 1t provides
for a convention of 100 members, 70
meet at Raleigh, on the goth of May
next, to make q constitution and frame
and set up a new government. Tho
delegates are to be elected by voters
having the following qualifications
SEC. 2. That in tho election of
delegates to said convention, there
shall DO allowed to vote all male resi-
dent citizens Of the district formerly
comprising the State of North Carolina,
Of twenty M years Of age, without
distinction Of race or color, who can
read and write, or may own in fee real
estate of the assessed value Of 500 or
more; provided, that no one who has
heretofore exercised the right Of suf-
frage in said district shall be ~disquali.
fed from voting in said election
The delegates must be "loyal," and,
as evidence of which, they must take n
prescribed oath-a test oath. The
United States Marshal must appoint
inspectors and judges of election, and
the President Of the United States is
required to employ the military so as
to enforce the prompt and efficient TX
ecution ofthe law, and to preserve the
peace,
Yates, of Illinois, introduced into the
the Senate a bill requiring the adver-
tising of the ratification Of a Constitu-
tlonal amendmet to be done hereafter
by the President Of the Senate and
Speaker Of the House, in r joint certi-
icste, instead of by the Secretary of
State as at present. This bill is the
initial step toward declaring that three
fourths of the woyal" States alone are
sufficient for the ratification of ar
amendment.
J~ulian,of Indiana, introduced a bill tc
Territoriallze the Southern States, anc
to provide for their government a
Territories.
There we're various measures intro
duced, beside the above, looking to
reconstruction of the Southern State
but the foregoing are the main ones
: [Cin. Eng.
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[From the Rochester Union.
"DespOtlsm of "a BIinOritY."
WA vestArdaY mnde brief raferenC