The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-04-10
The Last Veto.


To the House Of Representatives
have considered the bill entitled can act supple
mentary to aes to provide for the more efficient
government CT the rebel states passed March 2 1867,
and to facilitate restoration, and it to the
/ House of Representatives with my objections.
The bill provides for elections in the ten States
brought under the operation of the original to
whctit is supplementary. Its details principally
directed to the elections for the formation of the
State constitutions but by the sixth section Of the
bill all elections in the States occurring while the ori
gina act remains in force brought within its pro-
| visions.
Referring to the details it will be found that first
of ALL there is to be registration Of the voters No
one whose name has not been admitted on the list is
| to be allowed to any Of these elections. To
ascertain who is entitled registrations, reference is
made necessary by the express language Of the sup
plement, to the original act and to the pending bill
| The fifth section of the original provides to the
voters, that they shall be male citizens OF the State,
twenty-one years old Or upwards, of whatever race,
color previous condition, who have been resident
in said State for year. This is the general quail
! fcation, followed, however by many exceptions. No
one can be registered, according to the original act,
who may be d>franchsed for participation in the
bcion-a provision which left undetermined the
question to what amounted to disfranchisement,
and whether without Judicial sentence, the act itself
provided that effect.
This supplemental bill superadds oath, to be ia
every person DelOre his llatle can
upon the registration, that he has not been dstran
chised for participation in any rebellion civil war
against the United States 1t thus imposes upon ev-
cry person the necessity and responsibility of deciding
for himself under the peril of punishment by a mill
tary commission if he makes mistake, what makes
disfranchisement by participation in rebellion and
what amounts to such participation Almost every
man-the negro as well as the whte-above twenty
one years Of age, who resident in the ten States
du5irg the rebellion, voluntarily Or nvountarily at
some time and in way, did participate in resist
ance to the lawful authority of the general Govern
ment. The question with the citizen when this oath
is proposed must be fearful one fer while the bill
does not declare that perjury may be assigned for
false swearing, fix any penalty for the ofense
must not forget that martial law prevails that every
person is answerabe to military commission, lthou
previous presentmen by grand jury, for any charge
that may be made against him, and that the supreme
authority of the military commander determine the
question to what is to be the measure of punish
ment.
The fourth section of the bill provides that the COM
mandng general of each district shall appoint many
boards of registration may be necessary, consisting
Of three loyal officers or persons The only quaiica-
ton stated for these officers is that they must be loyal;
they may be persons in the military SERVICE civil
ian residents of the State, srangers yet these per-
sons are to exercise importlet duties and in
vested with unlimited discretion. They to decide
what names to be placed upon the reg lister, and
from their decision there is to be no appeal they
to superintend the elections and to decide all the gues
tons which may arise they are to have the custody
of the ballots and to make return of the persons
elected; whatever frauds they may commit
must pass without redress. All that is left for the
commanding general is to receive the returns, open
the same, and ascertain who chosen according to
the return of the officers who conducted such cleo
tOns.
By such means and with this sort of agency are the
conventions of delegates to be constituted. AS the
delegates are speak for the people, common justice
would seem to require that they should have author
ity from the people themselves No convention SO
constituted will, in any sense, represent the wishes OF
the Inhabitants of the States; for under the al-em
bracing sections Of these laws by construction which
the uncertainty of the clause to dlsfranchisement
leaves open to the board of officers the great body of
the people may be excluded from the polls and from
the opportunity OF expressing their own wishes or vot
ing for delegates vino will faithfully reflect their sent
ments
do not deem it necessary further to Investigate
the details of this bill No consideration could induce
me to give my approval to such an selection law tor
any purpose and especially for the great purpose of
tramIng the constitution OF State. 1t ever the
American citizen should be left TO the free exercise OF
his oyn Judgment it is when he is engaged in the work
of forming the fundanenta law under which he is to
live. That work his work, and it cannot properly
be taken out ofhis hands. All this Legislation pro-
ceedS upon the contrary assumption that the people OF
each of these States shall have constitution except
formed under the restraint of military rule. A plain
statement of facts makes this evident.
In all these States there existing constitutions,
formed in the accustomed way by the people. Con-
gress however, declares that these constitutions
not loyal and republican, and requires the people to
form them anew. What, then, in the opinion of Con-
gress is necessary make the constitution OF State
loyal aud republican? The original act answers the
question. 1t is universal negro suffrage-a question
which the Federal Constitution leaves to the States
themselves. All this legislation machinery-martlal
law military coercion and political disfranchisement
is ayOwcdly for that purpose and none other. The
existing constitutions Of the ten States conform to the
acknowledged standards of loyalty and replbicanism
Indeed if there degrees in republican forms of
government their constitutions more republican
than when these States, four OF which were OF
the original thirteen, first became members OF the
Union Congress does not now demand That single
provision of their constitutions be changed except such
as confne suffrage to the white population 1t is ap-
parent therefore, that these provisions do not coatorm
to the standard of republcans which Congress seeks
to establish. That there be mistake, it is on
ly necessary that reference should be made to the
original act which declares such constitutions should
provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by
all such persons have the qualification herein sta
ted for electors delegates. Which class OF persons
is here meant clearly appears in the section;
that is to say the male citizens Of said State twenty
one years old upwards of whatever race, color or
previous condition, who have been resident In sId
State for one year previous the day of such election
Without these provisions no constitution which can be
formed in any one of the ten States will be OF any
avail with Congress.
This then, is the test Of what the constitution OF a
State OF this Union must contain to make it repubh
can. Measured by such standard, how few OF the
States composing tie Union have republican con
sttutions. Ii Congress, in The exercise OF the const
tutional guarantee that it snail secure to every State
republican form of government, shall require unlver
sal suffrage for blacks well as whites as sine qua
non, the work of reconstruction may well begin in
Ohio as Virginia, in Pennsylvania as in North Car
olna.
When contemplate the millions of Our fellow-cti
zens Of the South with alternative left but 10 i'm
pose upon themselves this fearful and untred expert
ment OF complete negro emranchisement and white
disfrancisement Git may be almost complete) or sub
nit indefinitely to the rtsor of martial law, whout
single attribute Of freemen deprived of all the sacred
guarantees Of Federal Constitution and threatened
with even wrongs, it seems to me their coudi-
ton is the most deporable to which any people can
be reduced.
1t is true that they have been engaged in rebellion,
and that in their attempt to bring about separation
of the States and dissolution of the Union there was
obligation resting upon every loyal citizen to treat
them as enemies and to wage against their cause.
Infexiby opposed to any movement lmperlllDg the
integrity of the Government did not hesitate to urge
the adoption of all measures necessary for the