Litchfield enquirer., 1868-12-24

! h11tbCI UitiJ DCt sbetStiie COi
 sideration of the Senate.
 I may remark. Mr President. in Il, first place, as one reason why these dis; Utilities shanIas besenlayed, that, in the or gin they were intended by Congress to b
 only temporary. The third section of tn 1 fourteenth amendmen5 provides upon it
 face that the disabilities imposed thereb may be at any time removed by q vote Q
 two thirds of both houses of Congress
 The limitations of the suffrage in tlle re
 construction acts are by their very term confined to the transition period betweel
 the cessation of arms and the full restora l ton of the Union. That the latter wer l thus intended to be temporary is eviden from the acts themselves. That the for mer was proposed to tie people with tht tho same intention appears both from th, debates Ill Congress at tilat time and iron the language of the ankadmaat itself. Fo
 the purpose of rendering this clear I bel
 cave to read brief extract from the de
 bates ln tho Senate on the 30th of May
 1866 when this third section was under consideration. The Senator from Ohio
 MT. Sherman1 in commeting upon the section remarks:
 -ssBut take it all of IS understand the meanins of the third section 1t is that for time at least al who have violated, not only letter. but the spirit O the oath of office they took when they became off cers of the United States and took the oath t. sup port the Constitution of the United States, shal not hold office .pntiia state of affairs shai come when two thirds of both houses may by a genera amnesty, wipe ont all these disabilities" '' a And this general understanding thus re. ferred to by the Senator from Ohio is clear. ly evident tbronghou; the whole of those debates. The question therefore, arises whether tle time has come for wiping out all these disabilities. | take 1t in the first place, in reference to the disabilities i'm posed by the third section of the four teenth article of amendment, that when the necessity for the existence of those dis abilities shall have passed away Congress and the people of the United States will de- s.re that the disabilities shall be removed In order to ascertain whether the time has now arrived when 1t can be truly said that necessity has passed away, 1t may be well for us to inquire into the original necessi- ty of any such amendment to the constitu- tion at all, and for this purpose it is we'll to examine the history of the fourteenth amendment, to consider tho time at which 1t was prepared and promulgated to the people, and the circumstances which sur round it. t'.i
 It was prepared at the first session of the the Thirty Ninth Congress, and for the purpose of bringing about more speedy restoration of the Union. It was prepared on account of the fact that the influential class Tn the southern communities, compo- sing the great slave-holding and land hold ing interest, and which included, also, the holders of office there for a generation be- fore the war. had, It was believed, led the masses of those communities away from their allegiance ts&salse aua.al government into lnsurrection and rebellion against the authority of the nation. It was believed that 1t was necessary to emancipate the southern masses from the influence and control of this oligarchy which had ruled them, and that by taking away that infa- ence and control the masses themselves would return to loyal allegiance 10 the Government, and communities be built up there which could be safely intrusted with the resumption of the functions of States in the Federal Union. So that the great object of the third section of the amend ment was the emanci patton of the masses of the voting population of the South from the control or the oligarchy which was be- lieved to be mainly ro; ponsible for the re- belllOn. 4zsst -si .h' ft< f' ''' 7'''1
 At that time, it must be remembered, during the first session of the Thirty ninth Congress, the idea had not yet entered in to the minds of the majority of our states men that a loyal element was to be devel- oped in the Southern States by enfranchis- ing the colored population. Tie whole theory of the fourteenth amendment dur ing the first session of the, Thirty ninth Congress, was that under the operation oi the amendment the political power oi those communities was to remain ill the old voting or white population, except SC far as they should, by their own action, consent to share 1t with the .colored citi zens; and hence tho necessity of emancipa
 ting the masses of the white population from the control of those who had led them into instruction. ..t .s...} .srl
 As such as a measure, necessary at tht time for building up loyal communities ir the recent theater of rebellion and fol speedily bringing those communities back to the exercise of their normal functions il the Union, the people acquiesced in ani sanctioned this third section of the four
 teenth amendment. Now, sir, since tha period almost three years have elapsed and the inquiry to-lay is whether the ne l cessity which then existed for such disa bilities exists any longer? If taat necessi 1 ty has ceased, if the restoration of the Un
 ionswhich was sought for, then, by this spe
 cies of legislation is now substantially al | accomplished fact, then certainly it would
 seem that the time has arrived, foreseen b. l the Senator from Ohio, when by one gen
 eral law we may wipe out all those disabili ties. r..aosas gs.. Il .3 s < Now, sir, has not that period arrived l Events have occurred stronger than al I your legislation, more potent than all con | stitutional amendments which you hay
 enacted or can enact to secure the immedi I ate and complete restoration of the integ rity of the Republic. The verdict of tn Ipeople in the recent election has rendere Tho longer doubtful the immediate all | Icomplete return of all the States to thei proper relations in the Union. Seven c l them already have returned, and I SC their loyal senators around me on thi I floor. The remaining three inevitably i 1.-the ordinary progress of events must com Eback before another year has passed ovG Iourlheads The necessity having ceased Ethe disabilities. should be removed. ao3 Il When we come to the consideration ( the abolition of the restrictions upon suf I race we are led into a somewhat s:mila J course of inaairy to that through whic we have inst passed How came 1t, to b I necessary to limit the suffrage in thes HE