Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1870-03-08

BILLS PASSED, sc.
Senate Bill No SO, authorizing the sale of
the parsonage property belonging to Zion's
p. E. church, of Charlestown.
SECOND READING.
Senate Bill No. 10Y, amending the Registry
Law
1. Every registrar shall register any person
claiming to be qualified voter in the town
ship or ward in which he resides, who shall
take and subscribe. or offer to take and sub
scribe, the following oath. to wit: II, A. B.,
do solernnly swear Cor afIirm) that have not
since the first day of June, 1861. given volun-
I tary aid or assistance to the rebellion against
the United States, and that will support the
Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of this State" Nor shnl any
person be stricken from the register by the
Board of Registration unless proven not to be
qualified voter, under the Constitution, by
proper evidence thereof produced before them
after due notice to him of the facts alleged
against him.
2. So much of'chapter three of the Code
of West Virginia as is inconsistent with this
act, is hereby repealed
The question being on ordering the hill to
third reading, Mr.. Boremau demanded the
ayes and nays
Mr. Gather, of Gilmer, xpIained that he
came to this Senate as a "let up." He had
supported every measure looking to that end
except the modification of the registration law
That he had voted against. lie had agreed
to let the registration law stand with the un-
derstanding that the Senate would adopt the
Flick amendment. With this understanding
he should have to vote against the present
bill.
Mr. Davis said that this bill, as is well
known to Senators who have taken the truu-
bic to read it, makes but tao changes. One
Of these is that no man shall &c stricken from
the registration lists without proof against
him. The registrars in our nciyhborhood re-
quire man 70 prove his innocence. They do
not attempt to prove him guilty. doubt if
Mr.. President could prove his loyalty if his
name was stricken from the lists. and yet,
uQue Of US doubt it. There is also slight
change in the form of the oath When party
spirit ran high men were stricken from the
registration lists and cannot vote to-day,
though they may have carried muskets aud
knapsac&s iu the Union army. We owe this
change TO ourselves we owe it to the country
We are the last Of all the Stntes to continue
this proscriptiye policy. Why is il that We
are in this behind the general Government
and all our sister States? Why do we here,
five years after the war. still deprive 1ncn Of
their dearest right OF suffrage? Ia all the
Border States men who advocate the dis
franchsemeut Of their fellow men are 10 the
minority. Let rne read you what Horace
Greedy says, and he is pretty good Republican
authority:
Every year one thousaud Of your rebels
die, and one thousand (or morc) Of their
become Of age You can't diS!rauchsc them
You have five thousand majority. Six years
at furtbest will convert this into a rebel ma
iority of one thousand. Then the rebels will
be eutranchiscd in spite Of you.
Go your own way, and see if the rebels don't
have you under foot in less than six years.
Il speak from wide experience, when tell
you that your house is built on the sand
Every year will see the passion Of the war
cool. and the demand for amnesty strength
ened. Nor you can amnesty the rehels.-'
Soon the question will be, shall they amnesty
you? Look at Kentucky and Maryia and
read your certain fate in theirs"
That's the voice of one of oar leaders two
years ago. Now let us how his prciudi-
tions are verified In 1866 the RopubIicnn
majority was between twelve and thirteen
thousand. in 1868 it was about six thousand
and last fall the vote vas very nearly equal.
The day Grcely predicted is upon you. The
people are demanding a change and that
change you must give them.
Last fall men we're elected to this Senate
aud to the House of Delegates on what is
known as the let up" platform. [ will not
say that some of them have. to use a common
expression, gone back" on their promises,
but vii! say that since they came here they
L.;-
l tell you, sir, unjust and arbitrary laws will
return with interest to plague the inventors.
Suppose next year a Governor of different
political opinions from the present one should
be elected, and he should appoint Boards of
registration to carry out his views, and they
should strike from the lists the name ofevery
Senator here, where is your remedy? There
are. to-day, about Is 600 men deprived of
suffrage by the will of Boards of Registration
This is an outrage, sir, it is not republican, it
is unjust and contrary to the spirit Of our in
situations.
Mr. Gather. of Gilmer, still further ex>
planned his position. H said he had pledged
himself to vote for the repeal of three test
oa;hs, aud to amend the constitution so as to
permit the DISTINGUISHED to vote. He claimed
he had kept all his pledges, though he can
not vote for any amendment Of the regstra-
tion law.
Mr. Phelps had no apologies or ezplana-
tious to make He had favored a modifca-
ton of the registration law, and expected to
favor it to the eud. This bill does not pro-
pose to let any one vote whom the constitution
says shall not vote, but it proposes to compel
the Board of Registration to permit every
man to vote who can, under the constitution
exercise the right of suffrage in this State
We are interested in this as party. Can we
60 before the people and say we have sub
mittcd to you a proposition to amend the con-
stitution to allow rebels to vote, but we re-
fused to compel registrars who may disfran-
chise man from spite or other cause, who is
| already entitled to vote under the constitu-
ton, to place his name on the registration lists?
The constitution says if man have a dis
! nhnre.n l., his nnnket he shnll not be cr,,as>