The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-03-19
TIE FIFTEENTH AMEND
RlENT
Tn Ohio Legislature Refers
the Question Of It's Ratiaca-
tIOn 10 the People.

ZION TO Ihe PeOpie.
Tho following is The text of tho
JOINT resolution offered in the Ohio
House Of Representatives by Mr..
Baker, some days ago, referring the
question Of ratification of the pro.
posed Fifteenth Amendment to tho
decision Of the people Of the State
JoINT RESOLUTION.
Whereas. The fifth article Of
tho Constitution of the United
States Is IN the following language
ARTICLE " The Congress, when
ever two~thirds Of both Houses
shall deem il necessary, shall pro.
pose amendments to this Constltu-
ton; or on the application Of the
Legislatures Of two.thirds Of the
several States shall call o convcn-
ton for proposing amendments,
winch in either case shall be valid
to all intents and purposes us part
Of this Constitution, when ratified
by the Legislatures OF three-Tourtbs
Of the several States, or by conven.
tons in lhree-fourths thereof, as
the one or the other mode OF rati.
fication may be proposed by the
Congress provided, that no amend
ment which may be made prior 10
the year one thousand eigh, hun
dred and eight, shall in any manner
affect the first and fourth clauses in
the ninth section of the first article,
and that no State. without its coz
sent, shall be deprived of its equal
suffrage in the Senate and.
WHEREAS, On the twentieth day
Of February, A d. 1869, the Con-
gress Of tho United States, by the
rcqucslte vote Of two.thirds of both
Houses, proposed as an amendment
tc the Constitution Of the United
States, tho relieving:
ARTICLE XIV, SEC. 1.-The right
OF citizens of the United States to
vote shall not be denied or abridg-
ed by the Uritod States, or by any
State on account of race, color or
previous condition OF scrvitudo.
SEC. 2'-That Congress shall have
power to enforce this article by up
legislation and;
WHEREAS, When, within the past
few years, tho chief question involv-
cd in the foregoing proposed amend
ment TO tho Constitution, to.wit /:
That of allowing to negroes tho
right to vote ha- been submitted 10
the popular vote Of the people of
the several States, tLey Iravo almost
universally rejected it by over
whelmlng mnjorities, m our own
State by moro than fifty thousand
and,
WHEREAS, 1t is the sense Of this
General Assembly that all great
questions Of fundamental law nlfec-
ting the social, domestic and polite
condition of tho people and of the
States, like the one involved in the !
foregoing proposed amendment,
should first be submitted 10 the peo.
pie Of the several States for fair
and candid expression of their views
thereon, and this General Assembly |
feeling that this doctrine is the
more eminently proper in the pre-
scnt case from the fact that the
Legislatures IF more than three.
fourths Of all the States, and which |
are now called upon to ratiiy the
proposed amendment, woro selected |
by the people without any refer
enco whatever to the proposition
in sand proposed amends
ment in relation to negro suffrage /;
Now, therefore, Notwithstanding
the majority Of this Legislature il
Of opinion that our Senator'S and
such of our Representatives in Con-
gress as used thoT influence and !
cast their votes to foist upon the |
people of the nation the proposed |
amendment, alta time, too, when
q majority of the Legislatures IN
more than threesfourths of all the
States in tho Union are understood |
10 be IN favor ofnegro suffrage, and |
in the face of the known wish Of tho |
people Of the State of Ohio 80 re-
,ently expressed upon that, subject
l0ve violated the confidence ropoS-
I'd in them, and that they are un-
worthy Representatives of the peo-
pic of our great State, and, moreov-
,r, that their negro-voting Constr
,utional Amendment should be un
lualifiedly rejected by the Legls-
ature of this State yet confiden
ly relying in the hope that if tho
Legislature of Ohio will defer ac.