Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1868-09-12
The Expulsion Of tie COlOrcd Re
personalities Of GcOr0iu.

Further details respecting this trans
action only aggravate its high-handed
character. 1t was required by no law on
the statute book of Georgia, and is in
plain cOntravention Of the amended
Constitution of the United States. 1t is
the more discreditable to the Democrat
ic members of the Georgia Legislature.
from the fact that about thirty OF their
own members, who might have been
expelled for completely in the rebellion,
We're, in the early part of the session,
generously admitted to their seats by the
votes of the same colored members who
with true rebel gratitude are now repaid
with their own expulsion. This cir
cumstance is alluded to in the following
protest of the expelled members, writ
ten by one of their own number
" This House having decided by a
vote this day to expel the undersigned
members from the seats to which they
have been legally elected, for no impro-
per conduct on their part, and for no
other legal reason or pretended cause eX-
cept their color, the undersigned ardent
~ desiring the peace of society and the
prosperity of the State, and determined
to do all in their power to avoid blood
shed or war of races, have decided to suf-
fer wrongs for time, rather than at
tempt to redress them in a manner that
may, in this time of high political ex-
element, produce civil strife.
For these considerations, the under
signed will abide by the decision of this
House, and will peacefully retire from
selves legally entitled. But before do
ing so, the undersigned as the repre-
sentatives of their race, consisting of
900 citizens, and over 10000 legal
electors OF this State, whose peaceful
citizens they are, whose laws they have
obeyed, and whose white women and
children they supported and protected
when their husbands, fathers, and
brothers were upon distant battle-fields
in the service of the Confederate States.
in the name of justice and that equality
before the laws to which they are entiti-
ed, in the name of peace and humanity.
without which anarchy and confusion
must take the place ofgOod government,
stability, and protection of life and pro-
perty, and in the name of that friend
ship and good understanding, which it
is their interest and their ardent desire
to cultivate with the white race, do here
by enter their solemn protest against the
outrage perpetrated upon the race by the
action of this House and they hereby
give notice that they will appeal, at the
proper time, to the Congress of the
United States and the justice of the
American people to redress the griev-
ances to which they are subjected by the
intolerant and oppressive conduct of the
dominant party in this House, who
while part of their members were in
danger of losing their seats, on account
of ineligibility, and under the Four
teenth constitutional Amendment, met
the colored members of the House in a
spirit of Cancellation and kindness dur
ing the investigation, but who, when
they had obtained an erroneous decision
of the House in their favor, which ena-
bles them to retain seats to which, under
the Constitution Of the United States,
they are not entitled, on account of their
participation in the rebellion, forget that
Congress has power, under said Consti-
tutional Amendment, to pass all laws