The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-02-06

| III VIII lu6
position of the distinguished Senate
from Massachusetts [Mr. Sumner1, IL
his speech at Worcester, in 1865. II,
| proposed to exclude all men who haC
been concerned in the rebellion, anC
confer suffrage only on those who were
left. That would have established ne
gro supremacy by giving the negroes
an overwhelming majority in every
State; and If that had been the object O.
Congress it could have been readily
done. But, sir, Congress has only
sought to divide the political power be.
tween the loyal and the disloyal. II
has disfranchised some fifty thousand
disloyal leaders, leaving all the
rest of the people to vote. They
L,, have been enfranchised on both
sides, that neither should be placed
in the power of the other. The
rebels have the right to vote SO that
they shall not be under the control and
power of the Union men only, and the
Union men have been allowed to vote
so that they shall not be under the con
troll and power of the rebels. This is
the policy, to divide the political power
among those men for the protection OF
each. Sir, the charge that we intend
TO create negro supremacy of colored
state governments is without the slight
est foundation, for it would have been
in the power of Congress to have easily
conferred such supremacy by simply
excluding the disloyal from the right
OF suttrage-n power which it had The
clear right to exercise.
DooLITTLE's QUALIFIED NEGRO SUI
FRAGE.
Now, Mr.. President, allow me to con-
slider for moment the amendment
offered by the Senator from Wiscon sin.
and upon which his speech was made.
and see what is its etfect-I will not say
its purpose, but its inevitable effect
should it became law. 1 Twill ask the
Secretary to read the amendment which
the Senator from Wisconsin has pro
posed to the Senate.
The Secretary read as follows:
Provided. nevertheless. That upon an
election for the ratification OF any constitu
ton, or OF officers under the same, previous
to Its adoption in any State no person not
having the qualifications CT an elector under
the constitution and laws of such State pre-.
V1ouS TO the late rebellion shall be allowed
to vote, unless he shall possess one of the
following qualifications, namely:
81. He shall have served as q soldier in the
Federal army for one year or more.
- ~; he He shall have sufficient education to
and to subscribe his name to an oath to sup
port the same, or,
"3. He shall be seized in his own right, or
In the right Of his wife, of a freehold OF the
value OF $3.50"
Mr.. MoRToN-Sir, these qualifications
are, by the terms of the amendment
to apply 10 those who were not author
lied to vote by the laws of the State
before the rebellion-in other words.
the colored men. He proposes to al
low a c0lored man to vote if he has
been in the Federal army one year,
and he proposes to allow a rebel white
man to vote, although he has served in
the rebel army four years He pro-
poses that colored man shall not vote
hn huc
read the Constitution of the United
States and to subscribe his name to an
oath to support the same, whereas he
permits a rebel white man TO vote who
never heard of A and does not know
how TO make his mark even to a note
given for whisky. Laughter
Again, sir, he proposes THAT the color
ed man shall not vote unless he shall
be seized in his own right or in the
right of his wife ofa freehold ofthe value
OF $3.50, provision which, of course,
would cut off nine hundred and nine-
ty-ntne out of every thousand colored
men in the South. The colored man
can not vote unless he has freehold
OF $50, but the white rebel, who was
never worth 25 cents, who never paid
poll tax in his life, never paid an hon
est debt, is to be allowed to vote, Sir,
what would be the inevitable effect OF
the adoption of this amendment To
cut off such 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, 1 will not spend longer
time upon that.
MIR. MORTON DEFENDS HIS RECORD AND
THE ACTION OF CONGRESS-.
My friend yesterday alluded to nv
Endorsement of the Presidents policy
in speech in 1865. 1 never indorsed
what is now called the Presidents pol
icy. In the summer of 1865, when 1
saw division coming between the
President and the Republican party,
and when could not help anticipating
the direful consequences that must re-
suit from it, made speech in which
1 repelled 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 Republican party. I
said that he had not left the Republi.
can party. 1 said that he had not left
the Republican party by that act. 1
did show that the policy of that procla-
nation was even more radical than that
OF Mr.. Lincoln. did show that it was
more radical even than the Winter Da-
Wis bill of the summer of 1864. But, sir,
it was all upon the distinct understand
ing that, whatever the President did,
his whole policy or action was to be
submitted to Congress for its consider
alton and decision; and, MS I before re-
marked, if that had been done all would
have been we'll. did not then advo-
cate universal colored suffrage in the
South, and have before given my rea-
son Tor it, and in doing that was act
ing in harmony with the great body OF
the Republican party of the North. 1t
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 a hall
after that time that Congress came to
the conclusion that we could not exc.
cute the guarantee of the Constitution
without raising up new class of loyal
voters.
RETROSPECTIVE.
And, sir, nobody concurred in that re-
suit more heartily than myself confess
(and do it without shame) that have
been educated by the great events oi
this war. The American people have
been educated rapidly, and the man
who says he has learned nothing, that
he stands now where he did six years
ago, is like an ancient mile-post by the
side of a deserted highway. We, Mr.
President, have advanced step by step
When this war began, we did not con.
template the destruction of slavery. ]
remember we'll when the Crittenden
resolution was passed, declaring that
the war was not prosecuted for con-
quest, or to overturn the institutions Of
any State. l know that was intended
as an assurance that slavery should moi
be destroyed, and it received the vote
believe, of every Republican membel
in both houses of Congress-; but in a
few months after that time it was found
hY the aUants of the war thnt ,rn 90, =