The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-05-12
COLUMBIA.
Tuesday Morning. May II, 1868.
Passage OF tho Bill for Admitting
Arkansas.

1ho hOuSc VI lsepISSouIitIlfCo, OA
Friday, passed, under the whip and
spur of Thad. Stevens, its master and
rider, the bill for admitting Arkansas
underl its new negro constitution.
We insert the preamble and bill:
"Whereas, The people of Arkansas,
in pursuance of the provisions of an
act entitled AN act for tho more
effective government of the rebel
States,' passed March 2, 1867, and
the acts supplementary thereto, have
framed and adopted q constitution of
State government which is republican,
Al form, and the Legislature of said
State has duly ratified the amend
ment to the Constitution of the
United States proposed by the Thir
ty-ninth Congress, and known as
article fourteen; therefore,
''Be ii enacted and ii is hereby en-
acted, That the State of Arkansas is
entitled and admitted to representa-
tion in Congress as one of the States
of the Union upon the following fun
damental conditions: That the oonsti-
tuition of Arkansas shall not be SO
amended or changed as to deprive
any citizen or class of citizens Of the
United States of the right to vote
who are entitled to vote by the con-
stitution herein recognized, except
as a punishment for such crimes as
are now felonies at common law,
whereof he shall have been con-
victed."
MIR. Stevens. as will be seen by our
telegraphic dispatches, introduced
a similar one for South Carolina and
the other Southern States. The New
York World says the Republicans
seem to suppose that when all the
States are thus admitted, the success
of their reconstruction scheme will
have become go fixed fact" and that
the ascendancy of their party will be
insured for many years. If Demo
cratic President and O Democratic
House of Representatives should be
chosen next fall, they fancy their
negro policy will nevertheless be safe
against subversion, by reason of their
assured control of the Senate for the
coming four or six years. The Sc
nate, at present, stands forty three
Republicans to eleven Democrats If
the ten Africanized States are admit
ted before the session closes, the Se-
nate will be composed of sixty three
Republicans to eleven Democrats;
and the great length of tho Senatorial
terms will keep tho Senate Republi-
can until after the Presidential cleo
tion of 1872. The Republicans are
therefore planning to make the Sc
nate tho citadel of their strength. BY
their certain control Of one branch of
Congress they expect to prevent the
repeal Of the partizan legislation of
the past two years, since no law can
bo repealed without the concurrence
of tho Senate. The bulwark which
seems to its constructors SO solid and
lmpregnable, is really very frail.
True, the reconstruction acts cannot
be repealed without the concurrence
Of the Senate, but demonstrations
laws need no repeal. They are COM
pletely abrogated from the moment
that the Supreme Court adjudges
them rcpugnant to the Constitution.
It is we'll known that the Supreme
Court regards the reconstruction acts
as unconstitutional, and would have
pronounced them so in the McArdle
case, if the decision had not been
postponed until the next term of the
Court If the Democrats elect the
new President in November, the
judges will have courage enough to
meet the question in December,
which they lately cvaded by post
ponemcnt. A decision OH the recon-
struction acts by the Supreme Court
will be even better than n repeal of
them by Congress. The Republicans
arc therefore acting under halluci-
n0tiOn in sDpOOcino tboi fbou NON