Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-07-25

Thought of 1t. 50 <'
In the Convention to form State Con-
stitution for Ohio, to take the place of that
of 1902, the question of Negro Suffrage
naturally had place. Many of those who
then made speeches and voted against
striking the word White from the Consti-
tuition, are now among its advocates, and
the sons of many of those dead, are now
advocating the union of the Negro and
the White on terms of political equality,
which their fathers repudiated as heresy,
The vote on striking out the word White,
so as to give Negroes the right to vote,
stood-yeas II, nays 66, as follows:
.-YEAs-Messrs. Andrews, of Cuyahoga
Cook, of Portage; Farr, of Huron; Gray,
of Lake; Humphreyville, OF Medina
Perkins, of Trumbull; Swift, of Summit
Taylor, of Erie; Townshend, of Lorain,
and Woodbury., OF Ashtabula--all from the
Western Reserve counties of Ohio.
NAYs-Archibald, of Monroe; Barbee. Of
Miami; Barnet, of Montgomery Barnet
of Preble; Bennett, of Tnscarawas:
Brown, of Athens; Brown of Carroll; Ca
hill, of Crawford; Chambers, of Muskingum
CLANCY, of Fairfield; Curry, of Union
Cutler, [late candidate for Governor be-
fore the Negro Suffrage Convention,] Of
Washington; Dorsey, (G. Volney) ol
Miami Ewert, of Washington; Flor
ence, of Pickaway; Forbes, of Mahoning
Gillet, of Lawrence; Greene, of Defiance
Gregg, of Columbiana; Hamilton, of Union
Henderson, of Richland; Hitchcock, Of
Geauga; Holmes, of Hamilton; Holt, ol
Montgomery; HOFFMAN, of Ashland V
B. Horton, of Meigs; Hunt, of Lucas
johnson, of Coshocton; Jones, of Hamil.
ton; Kennon, of Belmont; King. OF But
ler; Kirkwood, of Richland, (now Negro
Suffrage .. S. Senator from Iowa.; Law
renee, of Guernsey ,Larwill, of Wayne
heech, Of Guernsey; Leadbetter, Of
Negro Suffrage State Senator) of Cler-
mont; Manon, of Licking; Mason, OF
Clark; Mitchell, of Knox; Morehead, OF
Harrison; Mccormick, of Adams; Nash,
OF Gallia; Peck, of Belmont; Quigley, OF
Columbiana; Reemelin, of Hamilton; Rid
die, of Hamilton; Sawyer, of Auglaize
Scott, of Harrison; Scott OF 1Age Aqglaiae
Stanberry, (now Attorney General of the
U. ST. of Franklin; Stanton, Qate Negro
Suffrage Lieutenant Governor of Ohio,) of
Logan; Steb bins, of Henry; Stilwell, of
Muskingum; Stickney, of Seneca; Thomp-
son, of Stark; Vance, of Butler; Warren,
of Delaware; Wilson, of Wayne; Worth
ington, of Ross; and (Medill, of Fairfield }
President-66. (See pages 554 and 900,
Vol. 2 of Constitutional Debates.)
On the next day the convention met,
monday, February 10, 1851, REUBEN
of Cuyahoga, asked and OBJ
tanned leave to record his vote in the affirm
ative, and Messrs. JOHN A. SMITH, of
Highland, THOMAS j. LARsH, of Preble, and
JOHN II. BLAIR, of Brown, had leave to re-
cord. their votes in the negative, which
made the vote stand-yeas, II; nays, IL.
[See page $780,
On the same day that the above vote was
taken, Mr.. TAYLOR, of Erie, moved the fol-
lowing as an additional section:
Sec.7. The General Assembly shall have
power TO extend the right of suffrage to
inhabitants of this State Negroes] not
hereby qualified as electors, which was
defeated-yeas, IL; nays, 6s, there being
no changes from one side to the other from
the former vote. o. re- 1919
This list presents goodly array of men
who, in the better days of the Republic,
when reason sat enthroned, opposed negro
suffrage, but now, when it is necessary for
the Radical Abolition party to "stoop to
conquer, 'are bound to swear by the negro
race, as if they were the only persons in
the Republic who had rights that the laws
and the Constitution were bound to respect.
Among the speeches made on this sub
ject, we find some worthy of the space
they win occupy in our columns. General
JAMES T. WoRTHINGToN, of Ross, now act
ing with the negro suffrage party, is thus
[see vol. 2, page $780,. Constitu-.
tional Debatesl:44 = . : =
ssMr wORFHINGTON said that in re-
gard TO the question of negro suffrage, he
was glad to observe the spirit in which it
had been treated, by the gentleman from
Cuyahoga, MIR. Andre%S). To the part of
the State which he had the honor to repre-
sent. the residence and especially the i'm
migration of blacks is serious practical
question and serious grievance, and we
are better acquainted with the condition
of the colored population in the State, than
he MIR. AZ possibly can be-. He would
ask him before he finally decided upon the
propriety of striking out the word '.white,"
to listen patiently to few reasons which
which he would render against it.
s.The gentleman first contends that the
term 'white" is vague in its signification
and has no practical meaning. Such might
have been the case, If the word had not re-
ceived practical construction for near so
years, but there is now no question that
may, with more safety be submitted to any
of our tribunals, from the Supreme Court
to the Justice of the Peace. Of all the
races in the world, these two are the most
distinct and unlike, as well morally and
as physically, and there could be
no doubt, but of all the causes of discord
that could exist to render q political COM
munity divided and unhappy and unfortu-
nate, this was one of the most prolific and
enduring, Divisions in caste, owing to
differences in race, have existed for three
years, among the people of India,
and they remain to this day as distinct, as
were at the beginning.
ssNow, if there is any form of government
which would seem to demand in order to
ensure It's perpetuity, an entire social
equality among its citizens, that form is
the republican, ana this because the rights
of each citizen are greater. 1t was stated
by Plato as reason why political and So
cial equality existed among all the citizens
of Athens, that all who were entitled to a
vote were OF the same race, and 1 cannot
remember an instance III history where
two widely differing races preserved for
any length of time, even an approach to
social and political equality, in countries
where political privileges existed at all.
ssThe gentleman says that at the time of
the Revolution, there was less prejudice
against the black race than there is at
present. That is undoubtedly true; and it
is also true that the prejudice. if you will
so call it, has increased at each successive
period of time, and the irresistible inference
from such a-state of facts is, that the long
er the two races occupy the same soil, the
greater will be their repulsion, and the
stronger the prejudice; and the gentleman
who would seek to fasten them still more
strongly to this land by comforting upon
them the privilege of citizenship, may be
very kind friend, and ve.y warm friend
for questioning if he be very enlightened
friend.n 7osaH s.s. t.--t IL.
The rentleman from Auulaize Mr. Carr-