Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-03-12

-AANN - AAaH S8AA1eN =
The AristOeFatIc senate 60 b
DefiIed by Ihe Presence eF sIOF
tals whO were net Bern with
silver SPOons In IhcIF Mouths.
We clipthe following account oi
the discussion upon the admission
o, II. II. Revels to his seat in the
United States Senate from the let.
ter Of the New York Suns Wash.
ingtOn City correspondent:
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.-The Sen.
ate having taken up the question of
referring to the Judiciary Commit-
tee the credentials Of Mr. Revels as
Senator from Mississippi. Mr..
Salisbury DEM, Del.) supported
the motion on the principle which
was entertained by his political as
sociates in the Senate, that under
the constitution, he (Revels) was
not eligible TO a seat IN the Senate,
on the ground of a want of citizen.
ship. lie denied that any claim to
eligibility could be established by
the. Civil Rights bill, or the Four
teenth Constitutional Amendment,
because the Constitution required
NINE YEARS PREVIOUS CITIZEN
SHIP.
of applicants for seats In the Sem
ate, and the requisite nine years
since the enactment of the leglsla-
ton referred TO had not expired.
ut it was ciaimed that Mr.. Rcvels
was citizen prior to that legisla-
tion. The answer to that was that
at the time Of its delivery. the Dred
Scott decision was the only authcn.
tic exposition of the Constitution
on the point that the negro or mu-
lattO was not such q citizen of the
United States as was contemplated
at the time Of the adoption OF the
Constitution, The principle in
volved in this decision, he said, had
been endorsed by all the Radical
legislation, because the Civil Rights
bill and the Fourteenth Amend
ment were bas d upon the consic-
ton that at the time of the
DRED SCOTT DECISION
free negroes and free mulattoes
were not citizens of the United
States. Mr.. Salisbury then went
onto argue that ii was not compe-
tent for any one State to make O
citizen Of the United States. Con.
sequently, II Mr.. Revels had evel
voted in Ohio, of which there waG
no evidence, II was in violation oi
the Constitution of the United
States. In conclusion he remarked
that he had but little hope for
THE FUTURE OF HIS COUNTRY.
He would avert If possible thil
threatened calamity. He would
Preserve TO our white posterity thil
hhfitage, beQueathed by our hon
0red aud noble ancestry, to thei
white descendants. He recognized
however, that his own efforts woulC
not avail, aud therefore, in resum
ing his seat, he would utter hi
solemn protest against this pro
ceeding, in behalfOf a revolution
lied country
Mr.. Drake (Rep., No. during tn
remarks Of Me- Salisbury, said thai
Revels was neilher q negro nor q
mulatto, but an ~
oCTOROON,
and that he made the fact known
out of compassion for the menta
suderings Of his friend (Mr. sauls,
bury, upon the probability of be-
Ing compelled to associate in the
Senate with a JET black negro.
Mr.. Howard (Rep., Mich.) be.
lieved the proof Of Mr.. Revels
election to be conclusive; and thai
the only issue now was upon the
acceptance or rejection Of him as &
member on account Of the color oi
his skin. 1t was urged that hC
(Revels) was OF African descent
and therefore had not been citi,
zen Of the United States for ninC
years. II was not denied that ht
was 4
NATIVE BORN IHHABITANT
of the United States, nor was /
pretended he was q slave. He (MF
HOward) maintained that ever
person born in the United State
aud not ever a slave was a citizen
that nativity impaired citizenship
in oil countries. He would carr
this doctrine so far as to assert tina
even a black man born a slave wa
TO be held 10 be citizen from his
birth. Such a one had always 0we(
allegiance to the United States, ant
allegiance and citizenship were cor
relative terms. The Dred Scot
decision, In his opinion, was a par
tisan decision, the purpose o
which was to establish, by judicia
decision, for all time to come, thC
legality, the rightfulness, and ever
the
PIETY OF SLAVERY,
and il had sunk, if not into Obllv'
ion, then into eternal derision and
contempt. He saw in this election
of q colored man to the seat former
ly filed by JeG. Davis. that which
he believed would gladden. the
heart of every lover Of freedom.
Mr.. Williams Rep, Oregon) re-
marked that Chief Justice Taney
expressly limited the Dred Scott
decision to those with pure Afri-
can blood In their veins. aud whose
ancestors had been sold as slaves
but was there any evidence that
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