The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-10-08
General Assembly ofyirSinia.
THURSDAY, October I, 1869.
SENATE.

SJN y u.
The Senate met at II O'Clock; Lieutenant
Governor LEWIS in the chair. No prayer.
| FACES.
The PRESIDENT announced the appoint
| ment of John williams Poor, James Gwath-
| mcy, and james Day, rs pages to the Senate.
DAILY PRAYER.
On motion Of Mr.. WADDELI. OF Staunton,
| the clcrcvmnn Of thc city were requested
| to open the Senate each day with prayer.
PROTEST or THE MINORITY.
Mr.. HASKELL (RadicaD. of Mccl'lcnbur",
submitted the protest of tho minority
| against the transaction Of further business
| by this body rs ut present organized, for the
| reason that majority of the members
| thereof have not subscribed to the oath re-
| guircd by tic act of July 2, 1862, commonly
| known as the iron-clati." The document,
| which is very lengthy, also solcmn'y de-
| clarcs that the ratification Of the fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments by this body will
not &c valid. and sets forth that while the
>iencrs propose to retain their seats, yet
| they reserve the right to scccdc at any tu-
| turc time and organize for Themselves Le-
gislaturc both legal and loyal. The protest
is signed by all the Radical senators.
Mr.. FRENCH, of Bland, argued that this
protest. being not only ill-tlmed, but DIS
respectful by declaration and implication,
should not be entered upon the journal.
Mr.. HEENDoH, of SpotSylyanla, moved
that the whole subject be laid upon the
table. If the gentlemen OF the minority
did not believe this a legal body, the Senate
should turn them over to the President and
the Acknowledgement, with whom they
differed.
Mr. PATTERSON. CT Franklin, said that if
his was not legal Legislature General
Candy would not have permitted it to be i'll
session. The gentlemen were not only
arra"ninc the Conservative members, the
Attorney General. and the President, but
also General Candy.
Mr.. SSowDES, OF Alexandria. seconded
the resolution to lay upon the table in Il few
remarks. He deemed the So-catlcd protest
| tissue of assertions entirely at variance
with the laws of Congress- the opinion OF
the Acknowledgement. and the known
wishes of the President.
The motion to lay on the table was then
adoptcd-yc;S. %: nays, Il.
Nr. SMITH RadicaN, OF, New Kent, cN-
blamed why he had signed the protest and
the negative.
MESSAGE FROM TIE HOUSE.
Dir. KELLEY, of the House OF Delegates,
here appeared, and notified the Senate Of
the concurrence of the House in the rcso'l-
ton appointinga join, committee to wait
on the Governor and the commanding"
General.
The Clerk presented Il communication
from the commandin" General, transmitting
the opinion Of the Attorncy-Gcncral on thc
question of clocting senators, with other
documents.
The senate then cut 12.!5 y. NJ tooka re-
cess.
AFTER RECESS.
Senator PArrErso of Franklin, in the
chair.
Mr.. SNowpEE. from the committee APP
pointed by resolution Of the General Assem-
blv to wait on the Governor and the General
commanding, reported that duty perform
ed that the Governor would communicate
to the Senate his message in writing, and
that the commanding General had 10 cola.
municatiOn to make It present, but would
1T his earliest convenience send 10 the Gene
raj Assembly certain papers in his possession
| respecting contested seats therein.
THE GOVERNORS MESSAGE.
A few minutes later, Colonel Cameron,
Private Secretary to the Governor, appeared,
and presented the following message which
was read by the Clerk:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.,
RICHMcSD, VA. October }. 1869.
LcnttcmcR OF me senate 0t@ HO""c ~ Ac-
| prc$cRtQhCcS:
The constitution lately adopted by the
people of this Commonwealth imposes Upon
| The Governor the Gujy :. 10 communicated
the General Assembly at every session the
condition of the commonwealth and to
| recommend to their consideration such
| measures as he may deem eXpcdicnt." As
YOUR powers and duties at the present Sos
sion, however, lave been construed to be
confined to the " limited and qualified pur-
poses requisite to reconstruction" Ii VIII
be necessary for me, on this occasion, In the
iultilmcnt of that constitutional obligation,
to recommend for your consideration such
measures only as are, or seem 30 be, ncccs-
,arv to prepare the State Tor rcadmission to
representation in the Congress Of the Uni
| ted States.
The fifth section of the act of Congress OF
March =, 1861. among other things, declares
| that .when said State, By Il vote Of its Le-
gislaturc, elected under said constitution,
| shall have adopted the amendment to the
Constitution Of the United States, proposed
| Dv the thirty-ninth Congress, and known
rs Article XIV, and when said article
shall have become 4 part of the Constitution
| Of the United States, said State shall be de-
clared entitled to representation IL Con-
sress. and senators and representatives
| the oath prescribed by law This law IS
! still in full force, and Virginia was named
| in the preamble to the act as one of the
states to which it was to be applied. 1t will
| be necessary, therefore, for you to comply
! with the condition therein named, although
| Article XIV. has already been ratified by
| the requisite number Of States, and ha,
| been officially proclaimed a Il part Of the
Constitution of the United states. y copy
| of the resolution OF Congress proposing
| Article XIV. to the Legislatures of the
several States is herewith submitted.
In March last the Secretary of state of the
| United States transmitted TO the Governor
| of this Commonwealth an official copy of Il
| resolution of Congress proposing to the
Legislatures Of the several States fifteenth
article TO the Constitution of the United
| states, Il copy of which is herewith sub
| mitted. | also submit herewith copies OF
| lhe two opinions OF the Acknowledgement OF
| the United States as to the powers and
| duties Of the General Assembly Of Virginia
| ut its present session.
| Our late election was authorized by an
act Of Congress approved April 10th, 1869,
the sixth section of which is i'll these words
| "That before the States of Virginia, Mis-
sisSipp, and Texas, shall be admitted to
| representation in Congress their several
| Legislatures, which may be hereafter law
| fully organized, shall latify the fifteenth
| article, which has been proposed by Con
| @ress to the several States rs IN amendment
| TO the Constitution Of the United States"
While by this law the ratification by the
General Assembly of the proposed fifteenth
amendment to the Constitution of the
| United States is made Il condition prece-
dent to the admission of the State to repre-
| sentation in the Federal Congress | cannot
doubt that you would cheertully ratify that
amendment even were no such condition
imposed.
The people of this Commonwealth, at the
| late election, byan overwhelming majority.