The loyal Georgian., 1866-02-24
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND.
MENT IN THE SENATE.
Advertisers special dispatch.

ANNCLbA6CA opCSAuA OlOpdVSus
The finest audience of the session came
out on Monday last, to hear Mr.. Summers
great speech on the amendment to the
Constitution, Many persons were in the
galleries before the Senate was called to.
gether at noon. and long before o'clock,
the hour at which the proposition was to
be taken up, they were crowded to their
utmost capacity. The morning hour was
occupied with minor business, and it was
a quarter past one when Mr.. Fessendon
called for the special order. He of course
was entitled to open the debate, but be-
ing unwell, he yielded the floor to Mr.,
Sumner.
The scene, when he rose to speak, was
one that could not fail to touch the most
Indifferent heart. One. fourth of the
gentlemen's gallery was filed with color
ed soldiers, and the other seats and aisles
of the remaining part of the galleries were
closely packed with an intent and APP
preciative auditory, while on the floor
were large number of members from the
egn delegations resident in the city.
Mr. Sumner began by giving briefly
his ohjectionlto the proposed amenument
to the constitution, which he characters
lied as nothing else than another compro>
mise of human rights, There are five
millions of citizens, said he, now robbed
of all share in the government of their
country, while at the same time they are
taxed directly or indirectly for the sup
port of the government, and this tyranny
of taxation without representation it is
now proposed to recognise as not incon
sistent with constitutional right and the
guarantee Of a republican government.
The powers of Congress on this sub.
ject he held to be as ample as they are
benefcent. From four specific fountains
they flow, each one sufficient for the pur>
pose, all four swelling into an irresistible
current and tending to one conclusion =
first, the necessity of the case; secondly,
the rights of war; thirdly, the consitu-
tional injunction to guarantee a republi>
can form of government; and fourthly,
the amendment to the Constitution by
which Congress is empowered to enforce
the abolition of slavery by appropriate
legislation.
CHANGING at the promises of the fathers
he should exhibit first the overruling
necessity Of the times, and secondly, the
positive mandate of the Constitution,
compelling US to guarantee "a republican
form of government, and thus to deter>
mine what is meant by this requirement.
In sustaining the first branch of the arr
gument, he held that the national safety
required equality in all rights and privi-
leges, and argued that if these we're con-
| tinually denied, the freedmen would finally
resist the oppressors, the war of races
would begin, and the horrors of SausDo-
mingo would be re.enacted.
Passing from the necessity of the case,
Mr.. Sumner proceeded to consider the
guarantee OF republican form of govern
ment by the Constitution. Assuming
that there has been lapse of govern
mont in any State, so as to impose upon
the United States the duty of executing
this guarantee, then would he insist that
it is the bounden duty of the United
States to see chat such State has re-
publican government and, in the dis
charge Of this bounden duty, they must
declare that State, which in the foun-
dation of its government sets aside the
consent of the governed which imposes
taxation without representation, which
discards the principle of equal rights, and
which lodges power exclusively with an
oligarchy, arstocracy, caste or monopoly,
cannot be recognised as republican
government, according to the require
ment of American institutions
Proceeding with the argument, he ex-
amined the origin of this guarantee, and