The morning news., 1899-11-19
THE HARDwICK AMENDMENT.

! THE HAHDWICK AMENDMENT.
The Hardwick bin. which provides for
an amendment 10 the constitution dis
! franchsing the negroes. has been report
| ed fayorably by the committee of the
! House having il in charge, but there Is be-
/ ing very little said about it as yet II
is presumed that the members of the Leg
islature are giving it very thoughtful con-
| siderauon. It is not measure to be rush
| ed through hastily. 1t would be a good
! thing for many reasons to be rid of the
| ignorant negro voters-the main reason
being that so many of them are purchase
bic IN state county and municipal cleo
! tons. There are, however. some things
| deserving of careful consideration before
action on the bill is taken.
One OF these things is the effect the elm
inaton of ignorant negro voters from
the voting population would have upon
the states representation in Congress. The
census will be taken next June, and that
census will furnish the information on
which the basis of representation in Con-
gress will be fixed Representative Crum-
packer of Indiana has announced that he
win introduce an amendment to the CEN
sus law. as soon as Congress meets. re-
quring the Director of the Census to
make an enumeration of the voting pop
ulation In each of the states. He proposes
also TO introduce bill looking to a reduc-
ton of the representation in the House
and in the Electoral College of those states
which have disfranchised the negroes.
If such a bill should become law. and
there seems to be authority in the con-
stituuon for such a law, the influence and
power of the states disfranchislng the ne
groes would be greatly reduced in the ma
tional government.
The constitution of the United States
provides as follows:
But when the right to vote at any cleo
tion for the choice of electors for Presl-
dent and Vice President of the United
States is denied to any of the
male inhabitants of such state, being q
years of age and citizens of the United
States or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion or other crime,
the basis of representation therein shall
be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear
to the whole number of male citizens q
years of age in such state,
The Republicans will support Crumpack-
er's bills. and, as they have control of both
branches of Congress. and also of the ex-
ecutive branch of the government, the
chances for these measures becoming laws
are very good.
1t is doubtful if the Republicans would
undertake TO reduce the representa- tion of
the South In the House and the Electoral
College If ignorant voters without regard
to color were disfranchised. Massachu-
sets has long had a suffrage law based
on education. Even the negroes would not
seriously object to a law that made no
discrimination between the races. and If
the negroes made no outcry against a
law of that sort 1t is hardly probable that
the Republican party would.
The feature In the Hardwick bill to
which the negroes seriously object is that
which discriminates between the ignorant
whites and ignorant blacks. That feature
is In the Louisiana constitution, and 1t is
proposed TO put 1t in the constitution Of
North Carolina When 1t was under dis
cusslon in Louisiana 1t was pronounced
unconstitutional by some of the ablest
lawyers of that state. There was. how
ever, good legal opinion in support of it,
The question whether or not it is constitu-
tional will no doubt find it's way to the
United States Supreme Court. But wheth-
er 1t does or not, the other question, the
question of cutting down the representation
of the states which deprive negroes of the
right to vote, is certain to come up in
Congress.