The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-05-20
Enforcing the Fifteenth Amend
| ment.
From the Congressional proceedings of
NAV l7th.l

| From the Congressional proceedings OF
May l7th.l
At one clock the bill to enforce the
Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitu-
ton was taken up, the question being on
the motion OF Mr.. Ferry to strike out
that part of Mr.. StewaIt's amendment
providing fines and impr sonment fol
persons holding office in violation of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
Mr.. Ferry then defended his position
from the structures of Mr.. Morton, and
claimed that he spoke for the Unionmen
OF the South, in advocating a general re-
moval of political disabilities. He al
luded to the platforms of the Republi-
cans in several of the States, and the ut
teranccs OF the Republican candidates
IN support of this He said, in refer
ence to Georgia, which the Senator
(Morton) was constantly holding up as
the model State Of crime and disorder
Why was this? He was sure that il
the destlnies of Georgia had been in the
hands of men of high patriotism, not
OF men who had dragged the honor OF
the Republican party down to the dust,
and whose only aim was their own pc
cuniary advancement, the tale OF affairs
would have been very different But he
denied these stories, these kilograms,
manufactured to order, and which were
sent here to the venal press Of this city.
Mr.. F. read from letter OF Morris r.
Jessop, who, he said, was well-known
and eminent merchant of New York, to
the effect that he had travelled all over
Georgia, and saw nothing but an earnest
desire to accept the situation and to
let bvgones be bygones, and charact-
izing as entirely false the Avery telegram
from Brunswick.
Turning to the North, Mr. F. claimed
that in that section also the majority OF
the Republican party were in favor OF
the removal of disabilities. In New
York the entire Republican press were
in favor of the two bills for this purpose
which he had introduced, that great
press Of New York, which exerted such
mighty influence, and circulated from
one end Of this country to the other.
He now asserted that TO continue longer
these disabilities was violation of all
the great principles of the Republican
party. He had been in favor of the
rights of the black man; not because
he was black, but because he was a
man, and now that the rights of the
black man had been secured, he feared
that the rights of man himself were in
danger Your Fifteenth Amendment is
delusion and snare while these dsa-
bilities remain on your statute books.
The black man is not enfranchised,
when he is not permitted to vote for at
least one-half of his friends and neigh:
bors. He wanted these disabilities re-
moved, not as measure of conciliaton,
but as measure of justice He assert
ed that the Fourteenth Amendmentand
the test oath were not designed as meas
ures of punishment, but as measures of
great public policy Ireland tells the
story to-day of the effect of disabilities
and test oaths. Has 500 wears of this
system raised up loyal generation in
Ireland2 No, sir. What did Austria
do with her disabilities and her test
acts in Hungary? Were the fires of
rebellion ever quenched? Now when
she has given her a full Constitution and
the right to representation, peace every
where prevails.