Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-06-24


son sggrieved thereby, to be recovere
~ bn 3ctiOu IN court, with full cost
sLd such allowance for couseI lees as th
court shall deem just; and shall also 70
! every such Ctfense bs deemed guilty @
2 misdemeanoY, and shall, on conviction
| tlefeof, be tned not less thab Ave hun
J o5ed dollars, or iraprlBonment not les
81 an one month AMI not more than on,
] gear, or potb, st the discretion OF th
I c8arg,
Sepa,or Thurman spoke In op
/ position to the third section OF tn,
OIL, snd said It was 9 plaig. po,,
! sItempt to sIter the election laws O
the States. IL cSpgress had a right t.
alter er ame.-u the state election Jsws
| they BAD q right TO repeal any eHch Ian
! "a any Stale upon the pCetext that It In
| tgSfsIsd with the right o. coiored ner
| u vote, Hs denied that it was sppro
pfiate legisl alton 20 enforce the fifteenth
! SneldmenS by changing the election
iars CT states. This bill vas made to
ehanse every election, from that
ior President down 10 the most
! tr-ntng election IN the humblest hamlet
H. tie land. By it congress proposed to
I charge tne periectiy- constitutional and
yslIa Jaws enacted by tbs people OF q
State. The passage OF this bill would be
simply saying 70 the States that they
hsd 40 Eights which congress was bound
t1rsspect.
SsnasoT Eimunds asked II it was not
Ike the State laws in many States.
Senator ThuTmaD-SuppOse it is. The
hight to pass those laws belongs to the
State and not TO congress. He moved
that the senate proceed to the consider
alton Of executive business.
The amendments Of Senator Merri-
mon were reiected-yeas 16, nays 81,
Senator Booth voting with the Demo-
cTsis Ia the affirmative,
Air. Christiauey moved an amend
ment to the third ssction SO as to pro-
vide that that section shall not apply in
any State where hy the laws OF such
State no psroOn OF any race or color shall
b3 allowed to vote without being
previously actually registered and re-
jacted. The section IS reported by the
committee was then agreed TO.
The fourth section of the bill which
provides tn At if any person by force or
bribery, threats or intimidation, or
other unlawful means shall hinder,
prevent or obstruct any citizen from do.
At5 lAlG -ACL AC1 1AAANA bJ la W OC hOLC W
qualify him to vote, on account Of color,
race, or previous condition Of servi-
tlde, shall for every such offense
pay one hundred dollars to any person
sggrieved, also be- deemed guilty of q
rot less than five hundred dollars, or
imprisoned not lass than one month nor
more than one year, was agreed to.
Cofd ho
with great respect TO the intelligence of
the chairman and members of the judi.
ciary com mmittee, thai the ingenuity OF
man could not devise scheme for the
perDetration of frauds more perfectly
than this section did; such a provision
as this was unwise and impolitic. Here
was provision OF law intended to set
at Daught and nullify the registration
acts of every State in this Union. Was
it possible that such legislation as this
could 60 forth from G senate full Of in
teiiigent lawyers to be riddled
again by our astute judges Of the
supreme court. He appealed to the sem
atoTs not to be guided by party feeling,
but to legislate justly for The protection
Of all men.
The question being on agreeing to the
section, as reported by the committee,
Senator MeTrimOn substituted an
providing that any person
20 offering sucb affidavit shall be deem
ed guilty of PERJURY, and, on conviction
thereof before Sany district or circuit
court Of the United States having juris-
dictioD, shall be punished.
Toe committee on judiciary did
not think il necessary to re-ensct
the statutes in regard to perjury
in this bill, and he Edmunds] de-
nied that the bill lntsrfered with
the registration laws Of the States; it
was calculated to perfect that, and give
every citizen the right to vote, and pro-
dEd that where any voter offered to do
what the registration law required, and
was prevented from doing so, he should
have the right to vote the same as If he
had been registered.
SenstOT Morton said he would be very
ri I'd to sgree with the committee in re-
gard to the second section, but he had
great doubt as to it's cOnstitutionality.
The c0lored people were entitled to vote
upon pre- cisely the same terms.
Rnd on conditions that anybody else
but they were not exempt from the
same conditions precedent to voting as
required from others. He doubted the
rigrt of congress to say that colored
men should vote, though they were not
registered. Congress had the right to
punish the registering officers for refus-
ing to register them on account of color,
but the State had the right to require
that every voter should be registered.
In his opinion it wss not competent for
to override the State law in re-
gard to registration.
Senator Eimupds argued that reg.
is ration wss intended for the pur-
pose OF securing the right to every
mau qualified to put in his ballot; the
thing 10 be done was to secure to colored
men equal rights, and if the register
ing officers excluded him from doing
w1at the State Law required, on account
of bis color, they Kept him from voting
and a remedy must be provided Tor
him.
Senator Morton said that he was
anxious TO have the law passed in such
3 manner that it should not be the SUBJ
iecG of future doubts. He argued that
30 far as all the conditions of voting
were concerned they were to the State,
but all State laws must apply to the
black man and white man alike.
Senator MeIrimon submitted as an
TO the third section: Pro.
vided, that if any person so making aud
such affidavit shall willfully
and contrary to this oath in that behalf,
state or subscribe to any material mat
ter which he does not believe to
Oe true, he shall be deemed guilty
Of perjury, and shall, on conviction, be
liable 10 the penalties provided in Sec
lion 1890 Of the reyised statutes of the
United States. Agreed TO.
The bill having been considered in
committee of the whole, was reported to
The senate and the amendments made
ia the committee agreed to. 1t was
then read a third time and passed-yeas
25, nays IS,
HOUSE.
The house met at eleven O'Clock, and
went into committee of the
whole, Mr.. Blackburn in the chair, on
he surdry civil appropriation bill forre-