The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-05-04
THAT PROTEST.

The Democratic Members OF tht
Ohio Legislature De1ounne tho IA
~ti1oation Of the Fifteenth Amend
mont.
We, the undersigned, Represents
tives of the General Assembly of Ohio
protest against tic ratification ofiths
Fifteenth Amendment to the Consttu
ton of the United States by thi,
House for the following reasons:
1t was passed by a vote of 55 to 81
against the known and expressed wish
OF the electors of the State, after negro
suffrage had, upon submission to +
direct vote of the people of Ohio, beer
rejected by over 5 100 majority.
This result was obtained by a serie.
of frauds, contriye the people of the
right to control the elective franchise
within their States Four Re,
representatives. from the conn,y ot
Hamilton, which, in 1867, gave over
5000 majority against negro suffrage.
and in 1869 repeated the verdict by
over 1850 majority for George H,
Pendleton, for Governor, voted for
the ratification Of the proposed amend,
ment, in utter disregard OF the will OF
the very voters who elected them.
Chosen as non-partisans to this body,
they betrayed their constituents by
the most shameful party votes to re-
tain in their seats, without inveStigat-
ing the cases, two members to aid in
forcing through the proposed Fifteenth
4 a ~ =, n, IN onn ~ vINg.
Blakeslee, sworn in at the organization
by the Secretary of State, in gross
violation of law, claiming to represent
the county of illiams, which is not
entitled to separate representation I'M
der the other, Elijah Clover, of Scioto
county, presented IA certificate OF cleo
ton showing by a paper attached to
it, containing his resignation OF the OF
flee of Commissioner of Bankruptcy,
that he was not eligible to a seat in the
General assembly under the Cousti
his election he held an office under the
authority of the United States.
by the votes of these two men the
proposed Fifteenth Amendment was
passed, and all action in their cases
purposely postponed 10y the manutac-
tured majority Oh this floor, until that
subject was disposed of.
An effort to obtain q decision in the
case OF Blakeslee before the vote on
tire Fifteenth Amendment was defeat
ed by the vote of Blakeslee himself III
violation or all parliamentary law,
under the ruling OF the speaker made
TO sustain himself upon an appeal
taken from a decision ruling out of
order a resolution declaring that
Blakeslee had no right to a seat in the
House.
The seat Of Glover, returned by a
vote of twenty-three majority, Was
contested on the ground that he was
elected by fifty negro votes, confessed
ly cast for him, two-thirds of whom
were not legal voters, even under the
decision of our Supreme Court ON the
question of preponderance of white
blood. Thus, the Fifteenth Amend
ment was forced upon the people Of
Ohio by illegal votes of the persons
it was intended to enfranchise,
before they had any right to vote. In
deed, it WAS fitting that this measure,
proposed by a Congress who secured
4 two-thirds majority by excluding
enough members, then in defiance of
all law proceeded by military coercion
to force the so-calied ratification
mock Legislatures, created at
will to register the edict. should con
summate their triumph over popular
by such means.
1t is not our purpose to reargue the
question, simply to record the facts.
The people in future will decide how
a change in the Constitution of the
United States, thus obtained by force
and fraud combined, is of any vaIidl-
ty OF the thirty States claimel to
have filed ratifcations of the Fifteenth
Amendment, Indiana never ratified,
New York rescinded its ratification be-
fore three fourths of the States were
claimed to have ratified, and Georgia
IS not yet admitted to representation
,r recognized as having the rights Of
L State in the Union, so that the TWEEN
~ eight States are still wanting to
give validity to the usurpation. Re
Folutions never go back ward, and
the party of Capitalization will vet
earn to their cost that tn ir own pre-
,edents will finally work out their an
,ihiIotioD