The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1871-04-22
- Pm 1CH
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OF
Hon. jeremiah M. Wilson,
OF Indiana,
In the House Of Representatives,
April 5th. 1871.

Grafton the bill [ h II No 329. TO
enforce the provisions OF the four
teen,h amend ment to the ConstItu-
lion OF tie United States, and for
other purposes:
Mr. WILSON, Of Indiana, said:
Mr. SPEAKER: If / understand
the substitute which has been pre-
sented this morning by the gentle-
m an from Ohio lMr Shellabarger,l
the constitutional question present.
ed by the original bill is still before
the House in the substitute
II is not often that Congress is
! called upon 10 discuss and &C. with
! reference to question Of greater
Importance than that Involved in
/ the bill now before tue House. The
question is directly presented
whether or not Congress posses ses
the constitutional power to enact
laws securing 10 the citizens in .
| State the equal protection Of the
laws, where the Safe fails to do it
through inability to execute the
laws, or refuses TO enact laws to
that end, or enacts laws making
unjust determinations for oragainst
! sny persons within its jurisdiction.
While all just men will regret
the existence Of the evils which
have forced this discussion upon
Congress, it is perhaps we'll that
the question has arisen. for if it be
true that this Federal Government
Is powerless to protect its citizens
against vicious. partial, discrimina-
ting legislation by . State; if It be
true that State can willfully
withhold the execution OF her laws
with reference to the protection of
particular individuals or a particu-
lar class of individuals; il it he true
that when State by the in,imida-
tiou of the authorities. or the cor
rupiion Of courts or juries or wit
nesses. can not secure to all per-
sons the equal protection of tho
laws; il it be true that undef any OF
these circumstances Congress has
no power to enact q law by which
a citizen may be protected. it 10
time that the country should know
it. II in the creation of this Gov
ernment. and the formation Of tho
Constitution, and with all The fif-
teen amendments that have been
added to the original, We still have
a Government powe.less to defend
ITS own citizens upon it's own soil
agsi, st outrage and lawlessness,
we ought to know it now. and We
can not know it too soon.
We bave found the Government
strong enough to protect a citizen.
whether citizen Ito the manor
| horn or q citjzen by adoption,
| when in torei ii IAN Ia il strong
enough to protect him upon is own
soil! That is the question present
e,i bv this bill, and ii,s u question
that must be met. not by invective
aud denunciation such as that in
dniged in hy the gentleman from
Ky Mr.. Beck. but it must be
met by fair and candid argument.
II violent declsm alton and ,nflam-
ma,ory appeals would suffice to
defeat imp prrtant legislation we
would to day have neither Consti-
tuition nor Government Of the Un
ted States, for there has been no
great measure of statesmanship in
the last ten years looking to their
perretuity that has not met with
like opposition, not only on this
floor, bur on the stump throughout
the length and breadth of this land.
Two reasons are urged by the
opponents o! this measure why it
shall not become law: FIRST; that
its enactment ia not within the con
stitut onal power Of Congress, and
secondly, it is said that there is no
occasion for such legislation.
The gentleman from Kentucky,
with an air of triumph, put the
question to the friends of this m ea.
sure. What authority Can be found
in the Constitution to warrant the
provisions OF any section Of this
bill?' And the same question is,
in substance, propounded by my
colleague, Mr.. Kerr As one OF
frieuds Of the bill, l propose ia
show wherein I believe the Consti-
tuition warrants each and every sec
/ ton of it, and 10 point out the fall
lacy of the argument of my col
league.
My COLLEAGUE has relieved this
question from any argument as Ia
the legitimacy OF the adoption ol
the thirteenth, fourteenth and fif.
teenth articles of amendments. He
admits that these three articles are
part of the Constitution, and
claim that they confer full and
complete authority to pass such q
law. He has based his whole ar
gument upon the SUPP osed analo
gies between the provisions ol
these articles and provisions of like
. character TO he found in the orixi
nal Constitution. and the amend.
nenfs preceding these three If
can show that the analogies are moi
complete. then his whole argumen,
must fall to the ground I will
take one that he has use.l. He
quotes section ten of article one ol
the Constitution. as follows.
"No State shall enter in % any treaty, al.
lance, or confederation grant letters u
marqus or reprlssi; coin money, emit bills !,
credit: make anyt thing but gold and silv u
coin a teod-r in payment Of debts; pass auy
bill Of af.sinder sr post fac,o law. or iax i,i
pairing The bl'xation Of Contracts, or & aa
, any title OF nobility -