The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-15

also be DISTINGUISHED from important pri-
vilepes in THIS shape, or having voice IN
the body polite or corporate. END tnefs
are rights which should only be delegated
20 ,oyal men. And now, To go bacE
again to the question Of oaths, = !. 3
man 10 be made to swear t1at ne is or 10
not loyal7 If he is to swear 70 u tneIe
#mnst be o penalty imposed by Inc courts
for falsehood. The law would tnen exc
cnte itself. and not demand the assistance
Of others to execute it. a.
Now. then, another question, ana the
#only question upon which desire 20 ~ "a
drass the Convention farther, and that Is;
az 70 what should be done with the rights
of electors. s..s-..y s,,,,d
The right Of every man to vote snould
be guarded by every possible CONSTITUENCIES =
provision, and there should be no r,gn1 III ~
any legislative body whatever TO take ~
away from him but you might MAKE ,
provision in the future, and II IS not ai-
ways unwise to do so, that the people
should yield some portion OF that f'gnt.
For instance, while I hold that any man
who paws taxes has right to vote at pre-
sent-that is, every man not otherwise
DISQUALIFIED, and who has attained the age
of twenty-one years-yet in the future IL
NAV not be unwise to engraft in the Constl-
tution that after certain period no person
will be permitted to exercise this privilege
who cannot read and write. This PROPOSE
tion will not be misunderstood. | say tnat
within certain limited time that GER
tain qualification be required OF voters,
which qualification is an educational one.
You will thus deprive no man OF q rignt
which he at present possesses, but you VIII
thus encourage spirit OF education ana
Improvement in all classes Of your clti-
zens. You may put this proviso In
to become law in 1880 or 1890, or
at any time you deem proper;
mt it seems part of wisdom to in
corporate it in some form in your Consti-
tution. Upon the subject of taxation
beo leave to say a word. / think the taxa
tion for schools should be put upon the
Individual. because the individual has the
children to educate, and not the property.
The property has no children to educate.
Let me repeat this proposition. 1t seems
to me that if man is taxed ten dollars for
running q cab or shaving men, that it is an
indirect tax; but if the tax be upon the
property acquired by running the cab or
shaving, then it is direct tax. Now, taxa
ton on all other subjects than the one have
mentioned should be fixed equally upon all
property, but for educa ton it should be a
personal tax. But, gentlemen of the Con-
yention. as friend to the Convention and
to the constitution which have no doubt
will be wisely framed, allow me to ask,
in view of the necessity for the speedy re-
turn of your prosperity to this State, that
Won hasten your work as much as possible.
I ask, in all kindness, that you proceed as
RAPIDLY as possible to the completion of
your great work. The Congress is ready
to meet you with open arms, and hopes
soon to grant you representation in that
body. And with view to hasten their
admission, it would not surprise me, if you
were allowed when this work now in your
hands should be submitted to the people,
that they be instructed ut the same time
to vote for their representatives..
Now, then, meet us half way; work as
fast as possible on the great subject before
you, bring your Constitution before the
people, and have it adopted, as much de-
bends upon that. speak not now of poll
tics can confer with you only upon the
subjects of your great and important work,
and the prosperity and welfare of this State
dependent upon the speedy consumma-
ton of your labors. The necessity exists,
and urgently, that you should have your
representatives in Congress without de-
lay, and settle up at once the great
issue of the war, and bring back peace
and prosperity to your State. 1t rests in
your own hands to do so. Donot delay in
the work; let questions of difference
alone, and go heart and soul for speedy
contamination Of your labors. | will call
YOUR attention to the reason that we do so
little in Congress-because we don't do
much: it is because we have stenogra-
pliers to report all we say and the newspa-
pers publishit; we have speeches for some
body else to read; and get up and make
long addresses, with the expectation that
somebody else will read them. In my
opinion, there were only three legislative
bodies which ever in this world did their
work horoughly, and but three, that l
know of. The first was the Parliament
which cut off King Charles's head; the
second was the National Assembly which
put King Louis Of France to death; and
the third was the Convention which framed
the Constitution of the United States.
And all these conventions, or legislative
bodies, sat with with closed doors, and
made no speeches.
Now, I don't mean to say that this
Convention could do that, as in this age
the people generally consider the doing Of
everything in secret as something done
wrong, and therefore all wrong has to be
done very openly-but I only mean to say
that there is an urgent necessity that this
Convention should get through with its
work as speedily as possible, and submit
without delay its labors to the country.
Do not discuss matters which are matters
of difference-pass them all over, and get
at the main work you are to perform
without delay. Adopt the expression
of one of the members Of the Ma
tional Assembly, who also voted for
the death Of King Louis; who when
called upon to give his opinions upon the
votes taken upon the question Of the death
of any of the prescribed, used to say
{" Mort sans phrase death without talk
ing. Do your work without talking-con-
sumo no unnecessary time. And let me
say to you that few changes to suit the
present state Of affairs would be all that,
in my humble judgment, you would require
to give you a good constitution if yon were
to adopt that of Vermont, New York, or
any other State Of the Union.
After making few necessary changes
to suit the times, and settling three or four
grave questions, then submit the whole to
tine people, and let the State take the
place in the Union which belongs to her.
With her immense resources, she must