Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-04-19
THE XVIII AMENDMENT.
Protest Of the Democratic Members Of the
Ohio Legislature Against its Ratification.

CINCINNATI, April 15.-The Demo-
cratic Representatives in the General
Assembly have protested against the
ratification of the XVIII Amendment,
in the following manner: 1t was ac-
cOmplished by a vote of 55 to 81,
against the known and expressed wish
Of the State. after negro suffrage had,
upon submission to direct vote of the
people Of Ohio, been rejected by over
80, 900 majority.
The result was obtained by a series
Of frauds cOntrived to deprive the
people of the right to control the elec-
tive franchise within their own State.
Four representatives from the county
of Hamilton, whicn, In 1861, gave
over 5000 majority against negro suf-
frage, and in 1869 repeated the verdict
by over 1900 majority for George H.
PendletOu for Governor, voted for
the ratification of the proposed
amendment, 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 most shameful party votes, to re-
tain in their seats, without investigat-
ing the cases, two members to aid in
forcing through the proposed XVIII
Amendment-One of whom, S. 4.
BlRkeslee, was sworn in at the organ
iZatiOn, by the Secretary of State, in
gross violation of the law, claiming to
represent the county of Williams,
which was not entitled to separate
representation under the existing ap-
pOrtiOnment, and the aIther, Elijah
Glover, Of Sciote countyeSresented
cert iifcate of election, shelving, by a
paper attached to 1t, containing his
resignation Of the Office of Commits
sioner Of Bankruptcy, that he was not
eligible to a seat in4the General As
sembly, under the Constitution Of
Ohio, because, at the time of his cleo
ton, he held an Office under the au-
thOrity of the United States
By the votes Of these two men, the
proposed XVIII Amendment was
passed, and all action in their cases
purpOsely postponed by the manufac-
tured majority on theulOOr, until the
subject was disposed Cn'
An effort to Obtaine decision in the
case of Blakeslee, before the vote on
the XVIII Amendment, was defeated
bv the vote of Blakeslee himself, in
violation Of parliamentary law, under
ruling Ofthe Speaker, made to sustain
himself upon an appeal taken from
decision ruling out of order resOlu-
ton declaring that Blskeslee he'd no
right to a seat in the HOuse-Sut-
The seat of Glover, II .drned 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; tYO-thirds OF whom
were not legal voters then, under the
decision of our Supreme Court on the
question Of prepOnderance Of white
blood.
Thus the XVIII Amendment was
forced upon the people of Ohio by the
illegal votes of the persons whom 1t
was intended TO enfranchise, before
they had any right to vote. Indeed,
it was fitting that this measure, pro
posed by a Congress who secured a
twO-thirds majority by excluding
enough members and then, in defiance
of all law, proceeds, by military cOer-
cion, to force the sO-called ratification
through q mock legislature created at
will to register the edict, should COM
memOrate their triumphs over popular
liberty by such means.
1t Is not our purpose to re-argue the
question simply to record the facts.
The people, in future, will decide how
far a change il the Constitution Of the
United States, thus obtained, by force
and fraud combined, is ofany validity.
OF the thirty States claimed to have
fled a ratification Of the proposed
XVIII Amendment, Indiana never
ratified, New York rescinded its ratip
icatiOn before three-fourths of the
States were claimed TO have ratified,
and Georgia is not yet admitted to
or recognized as hav-
ing the rights of State in the Union;
so the twenty-siX States are still want
ing to give validity TO the us9rpstion,
Revolutions never 60 backward, and
the party of Capitalization will yet
learn, to their cost, that their own
precedents, viii finally work out their
annihilation.
Signed, COckerill, Shaw, Armstrong,
Austill, Wilson, Robinson, Kile, Gas
ton, McVay, COnklin, Baker, Seitz,
Wier, Ellis, Shafer, Heller, SchOen-
feldt. Mott, White, Schireck, Callen,
Mulligan, Haight, Peckinpaugh, Ciss-
ma, Chase, Marshall, BettelOn, Devore,
walker, KisOr, Baber, Rsam, Colby,
Kemp, Waldron, Stckney and Still;
we'll