Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1880-10-05
MR.. sTURaIss,s YENoMl

upd60ue1 tuT0usuUut u SldLe, v tuhn III
Inmates that George q. sturgiss, the Rspubs
liean nominee for gubernatorial honors, is a.
prolcriptivs Radical, notwithstanding the
w%ell>ksown fact that at the beginning of the;
late war Dir. sturgiss was the editsr of a sa-
c%easion newspaper ia Morgantown, in this
State. Feeling curious to fee how radical a
Republican a man starting as a secessionist
might become, when it became mauife,tthat
his real views were unpopular, We determined
to investigate this matter aud ascertain
whether Hon. jacob B. Jackson did Hr.
sturgisi any Injustice.
Il will be remembered that the frst Con.
sti.ution of West Virginia gave the fight of
suffrage to all ss,chite male citizens of the
State" with certain exceptions as to minors,
paupers, persons of unsound mind, ,&c. To,
this clause an amendment was added. which
went into efsst so late as May 81, 1866, and
which declared not only that no one who
chad given voluntary aid or assistan ce to tho
rebellion" should ever have the right to vote,
bat that ne such person should .tbe a citiz.n
of this State" This amendment not only
disfranehiEed, but it decitiSeaizcd Thousands
who had previously been citizens. Mr.. Flick,
while in the Legislature in 1879, proposed
to amend the constitution by leaving out the
word white" and rs-enacting this clause of
the constitution verbatim dozen toethe dis
franchising and desitizenizing clause, which
had been added to the constitution by amend
Hent in May, 1866. The effect of Mr.. Flick's
amendment was to give the right of suffrage
to all male citizens, whether white Or black,
and without regard to whether they had
given laid or assistance to the rebelliou."-
But its most benefcsnt efsct was to permit
all those whs we're citizens of the State at ths
time of the decitizenizins and disfranchi.ipg
amendment of May 1866, foreman citizens,
and to allow citizens of all other States in
the Union to become citizens of West Vir-
ginia, without any reference to what part
they had taken in the late unhappy war
But Ar. Sturgiss moved to amend Mr.. Flick's
amendment by an amendment whose effect
was to leave The constitution exactly as it al
ready stood, with the single exception that
the word "white" was stricken out. Mr..
S%turgisss amendment, therefore, proposed to
give the right of sufIrsgs to the negroes,
(ths 18th Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States had not yet been sdopted)
and to perFetuate the di.franchising aud de-
cit;z'nizing amendment of May, 1866. But
let the record speak for itself.
On page 6S of House Journal of West
Virginia, under date Jan. 81, 1870, there
appears the following:
"Mr. Flick offered the following:
"House Joint Resolution. No. s, sPropos>
ing an amendment to the Constitution of the
State
"feso'cea by the Legislature of West Wiz.
GINA the following is proposed as an amend
msnt to the Constitution Of this State, to be
substituted for Section l of Article III there
OF. and to become part Of tho said Coustitu.
tion when ratified according to tae provisions.
thereof. namely:
1.-THE male citizens of the State shall be
entitled to vote at all elections held within
the election districts within which they re.
spcctiveiy reside; but no person who 10 a
minor, or of unsound mind, or a pauper, or
who is under conviction of treason, felony,
or bribery in an election, or who has not becs
a resident of the State for one year, aud of
SAS SNooty III "hiOh ne uASTS To VOlS IOT
thirty days next preceding such Offer, shall
be permitted to vote while such disability
continues
Goa motion of Mr.. Flick, the motion vas
laid on the table and made the Special order
for Tuesday, February Sth, at ii o'clock, A.
NJ"
On page 100, under date of February Sth.
we fod, blouse Joint Resolution, No. 8.
Proposing an Amendment to the Constitu>
ton of the State The Resolution was read
the first time and ordered to second reading"
On page 100, the House Joint Resolution.
No. s, being under consideration, "Mr. Stur,
sias moved to strike out of the Resolution
all aftor the word namely and insert the fol.
lowing:.
"'The male citizens of the State shall be-
entitled to vote at all elections held within
the election districts in which they respec>
tivoly reside but no person who is a minor.
or OF uRsouud mind, or a peuper, or who is
under conviction of treason. felony, or bribsry
IN an election, or who has not been q resident
of the State for one year. and of the county
In which be offers to voto for thirty days.
next preceding such offer shall be permitted
to vots while such disability continues. No
person whe, since the first day of juno one
thousand eight hundred and sixty one, no.
given, or shall give voluntary aid or nssi.-
lance to the rebellion agains. the United
States. shall be a citizen of this STATE, or be
aHoped to rote at any election therein unless
he has volunteered into the military or naval
service of the United States or of this St.ts,
and has been. or shall be. honorably dis
charged therefrom; but the Legislature may
by a vote or t"o-thirds of each house removs
such disabilitiss.'"
On the adoption of Mr.. sturgiss's amend
mept to MIR. Fliek's amendment the yeas
were "Messrs. Baker, Carpenter, Chambers.