The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-04-12


ideas-ideas which if followed to thei
legitimate conclusion will produce
"peace, fellowship and consequent pros
perity." 1t is the true policy for Yves
Virginia if she would not be entirely de
serted by those who love her best.
The FineenIh Amendment n COndi
IiOn Precedent
On Friday the Congress of the United
States most outrageously violated al
its previously plighted faith given tc
the unrepresented States of Virginia,
Mississippi and Texas, by passing an
amendment offered by Senator MORTON,
of Indiana, to the House bill providing
for the reconstruction of those States,
which amendment requires that they
shall assent to the Fifteenth Amend
mept to the Constitution of the United
States before they shall be admitted to
representation in Congress.
We can hardly find language snffi-
ciently strong to express our condemna-
tion of this most shameful and uncOn
stitutional proceeding. 1t is shameful
because Congress had already set the
terms on which admission should be
had, and Virginia was already prepared
to comply with the conditions imposed,
and would have done SO, hnt for the
failure of the military Governor to order
an election. Unconstitutional because
if the Republican idea that these are
no longer States, but are in territorial
condition, be true, they are not permit
ted by the Constitution to vote on the
question until after they have attained
the rank and dignity of States; and il
the Democratic idea that they have
never ceased to be States be correct
then has Congress no right to impose
and they no right to accept conditions
But Democrats are not alone in their
denunciations of this iniquity, Senator
TRgNBULL (Rep.) did not think it
would be wise to adopt the amendment
proposed by MORTON. He said:
Congress had already, with great de-
liberation, passed several acts prescrIb-
ing the conditions of reconstruction,
and several States had complied with
these conditions, and had been admit
ted 10 representation; and for Congress
now to impose additional conditions
would be breach of faith with those
people.
Mr. COukling (Rep.) said that the i'm
position of the new condition proposed
by the Senator from Indiana, would be
breach of faith. That Senator con-
tended that the States in question had
remained uuTecOustTuCted only because
they had wiIlfully stood and refused to
accept reconstruction upon the cCndi.
tiOus offered by Congress. This certain
ly was not true of Virginia, one of the
States TO which this bill was intended
TO apply. Virginia had gone on as far
as she could in she prescribed course of
reconstruction, aud had failed to COM
plete II only because the commanding
General, representing the Government
of the United States, had been unable,
for want of Nancy, To hold the election
which was necessary as a condition
precedent to her admission to repTesen-
tatiOR in Congress.
This being an opinion in which our
Senator, Mr.. FOREMAN, concurred-fOr
he voted against the adoption of the
amendment, though he was whipped
into voting for the bill when amended
why was it voted for ? Senator MORTON
tells us. lie said that the Democrats
hoped, by keeping the question of re-
gro suffrage open, to achieve political
success upon it and that hence it should
be thus settled. Au avowal of an in
teHtien to deprive the people of an op-
portunlty TO pass upon the question,
and an acknOwledg gment that they
would hurl from power the party that
sustained such a measure. MORTON
was neatly caught by Judge THURMAN,
of Ohio.
Mr.. Thurman said that the power of
Congress in relation TO changing con-
stitution was merely to propose amend
ments; but the amendment of the Sem
ator from Indiana proposes that Con-
gress, having already submitted the
Fifteenth Constitutional Amendment to
the people, should now go on and coerce
certain States into ratlfyiug It, This
would be an outrage not alone upon the
people of these States, but upOn the
people of all the States, by forcing
negro suffrage upon them. Indeed, he
understood the Senator to say that one
great object OF bis amendment was To
override the will of the people of his
State Indiana
Mr.. MOrton-Not to override the will
of the people, but To override revolu.
tionary party in Indiana, which seeks
20 thwart the will of the people.
Er. Thurmau-If the Senator really
believes the people of Indiana are iH ia
vOr ofnegro suffrage, why not consent tC
submit it TO them directly, and not at
tempt TO force il upon them by Legis
lature elected on the Chicago platform
which expressly disavowed the inten
tion to force negro suffrage on the State
in the Unioni
The villainy of thus multiplying popu
lar sentiment is only eQualsd by tn
logic of permitting three dependeucie
out of the Union -"rebel States It
have the same voice and power in assent
ing to an amendment of the Fedora
Constitution, as three 'loyal States" i
the Union.
-@------
a widow n OnSndags county, New