The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-11-11


| Avery Nice Question for General Grant.
From HERALD editorial of the 18th of
October last it appears that the number Of
States which have ratified the fifteenth amend
ment proposed to the constitution of the United
States, providing for universal negro (male)
suffrage,.is twenty-viz., Arkansas Connec-
ticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Lou
isiana, Maine Massachusetts,, Michigan, Mis-
souri,, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York,
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. It
further appears that the States which have
Georgia and Ohio-and that the States which
have not yet acted upon it are Alabama, Cali
fornia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon,
Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and YER
mont-fourteen. The whole number of States
is thirty-seven, and the nearest that we can
get to three-fourths of them is twenty eight
as the number required to make this amend
ment part of the constitution.
We have twenty; and Vermont, Iowa, Min
nesota, Nebraska and Rhode Island are good
for it, which will make twenty -fve. Missis-
sppi and Texas, as a condition of restoration,
are required to ratify, and they will Increase
the Publications to twenty-seven. One more
State will yet be wanted, however, and it
must come from this lst-Alabama, Georgia,
Ohio and Tennessee; for California, Oregon,
Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Mary
land are dead set against this amendment.
The late Ohio election having secured a repub-
lican Legislature, however, that State may be
counted in, and it will give us the required
number Of twenty-eight, provided always that
all the Publications still necessary and
regarded as certain are secured before the
meeting of the new Legislature (democratic) Of
New York.
But here comes the pinch. Assuming that
State in the interval to complete ratifica-
ton of a. constitutional amendment may
recall its endorsement, we may find the
LIST of January this fifteenth amendment be not
proclaimed duly ratified by three-fourths Of
the States. In the interval, then, to the LIST of
January, in addition to Vermont, General
Grant must see to it that Iowa, Minnesota,
Nebraska and Rhode Island come up to the
mark, or the new democratic Legislature of
New York may make some mischief in this
business Tennessee is shaky, and Georgia
and Alabama are watching the course Of
events. The democratic party South have
adopted negro suffrage; but if they can see
an opening through which they may get rid of
it after while they will be apt to move
towards it. If, then, this fifteenth amendment
be not hurried up and proclaimed before the
lst of January, we may look for the rescind-
ing of the New York ratification, and then for
fiat refusal from Tennessee, Georgia and
Alabama, whereby another battle, in the fall
elections of 1870, will have to be fought on the
question all over the United States.
Now, as General Grant has made this IF
teenth amendment one of the landmarks of
his inaugural and his administration, we re-
spectfully submit to him the danger of trusting
to luck upon this matter, unless he may think
it best to carry this issue Of universal negro
suffrage over to the next fall elections. He
can settle the question before the LIST of Jan
uary if he wishes, or by mastery inactivity he
can revive the agitation again in all the States.
Our opinion is that the sooner we have this
thing settled the better 1t will be for all con-
cerned.