The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-01-30


power of Union men only, and the
Union men have been allowed to vote
so that they shall not be under the
control and power of the rebels. This
is the policy, to divide the political
lection of each. Sir, the charge that
we intend to create negro supremacy
or eolored State Governments is with
out the slightest foundation, for il
would have been in the power of
Congress to have easily confer
red such supremacy by simply
excluding the disloyal from the
right of suffrage power which it
had the clear right to exercise. Now.
Mr.. President, allow me to consider
for moment the amendment offered
by the Senator from Wisconsin, and
upon which his speech was made, and
see what is its effect-I will not say
its purpose, but its inevitable effect
should it become a law. [ will ask
the Secretary to read the amendment
which the Senator from Wisconsin
has proposed to the Senate. The
Secretary read as follows
Erovided, nevertheless, That upon an e &C.
ton for the ratification of any COnstitu-
UfOn, or OF OI1cerS unOef the same, pre-
vipus to its adoption ia an State 10 per-
son not having the qualifications of an
elector under the Constitution and laws OF
such State previous TO the late rebellion
shall be allowed TO vote. unless he shall
possess one of the following qualifications,
namely:
/. He shall have served as a soldier IN
the Federal army for one year or more.
2. He shall have sufficient education to
read the Constitution OF the United States
and to subscribe his name to an oath to
support the same; or
8. He shall be seized in his own right or
in the right of his wife, of freehold of the
value of $3.50. .s.t
Sir, these qualifications are, by the
terms of the amendment, to apply TO
those who were not authorized to vote
by the laws of the State before the
rebellion-in other words, the colored
man to vote if he has been in the
Federal army one year, aud he pro-
poses to allow a rebel white man to
vote, although he has served in the
rebel army four years He proposes
that colOred man shall not vote un-
less he has sufficieat education to read
the Constitution of the United States
and to subscribe his name 10 an oath
to support the same, whereas he
permits a rebel white man TO vote
who never heard of A, and does
know how TO make his mark even to
note given for whisky. Laughter
Again, Sir, he proposes that the col
ored man shall not vote unless he
shall be seized in his own right. or in
the right Of his wife, of freehold Of
the value of $3.50, provision which
of course, would cut off 999 out of
every 900 colored men In the South.
The cOlored man cannot vote unless
he has a freehold of $3.50 but the
white rebel, who was never worth %
cents, who never paid poll-tax in his
life. never paid an honest debt, is to
be allowed to vote. Sir, what would
be the inevita BILE effect of the adoption
of this amendment? To cut off such a
large part of the cOlored vote as to
leave the rebel white vote largely
In the ascendency and to put these
new State governments there to be
formed again into the hands of the
Rebels. Sir, ] will not spend longer
time upon that. My friend yesterday
alluded to my Endorsement of the
Presidents policy in a speech in
1865. l never Endorsed what is now
called the Preident's policy. la the
Summer of 1865, when | saw division
coming between the President aud the
Republican party, and when | could
not help anticipating the direful
consequences that must result from
it, | made a speech in which l re-
PEELED certain statements that had
been made against the President, and
denied the charge that by issuing his
proclamation of May 20, 1865,
he had thereby left the Re-
publican party | said that he had
not left the Republican party by that
act. | did show that the policy
of that proclamation was even more
radical than that of Mr.. Lincoln. I
did show that it was more radical
even than the Winter Davis bill of
the Summer of 1864. But. Sir, it was
all upon the distinct understanding
that whatever the President did that
his whole policy or action was to be
submitted to Congress for its consid-
Grafton and decision and, as before
remarked, If that had been done
all would have been well. / did
not then advocate universal colored
suffrage in the South, and have
before given my reasons for IL.
aud in doing that | was acting In
harmony with the great body of the
Republican party Of the North. II
was nearly year after that time when
Congress passed the Constitutional
Amendment, which still left the ques-
ton Of suffrage with the Southern
States. left it with the white people;
and it was not until year and half
after that time that Congress came to
the conclusion that we could not exc
cute the guarantees of the Constitution
without raising un a new class Of loYal