The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-25

would rather conclude after dinner. I move that he be allowed thirty min utes longer.
 The motion was carried and there upon the Convention adjourned.
 AFTERNOON SESSION.
 Convention was called to order by the President and the roll being called showed the presence of 119 delegates.
 The President-The special order for this afternoon is the consideration of the report of the Committee on Suf- frage and Elections. The gentleman from Madison had the floor when the Convention adjourned at noon.
 MT. Walker (Madison)-I regret that I have to avail myself of the Kindness of the Convention in extending my time on this occasion, but whatever excuse I have for taking up more of your time now than was allowed to me on the division of time for the ar gument of this matter. must be that I have not on former occasions unduly> trespassed on your time. and I will ask your indulgence for a few minutes further. It seems tu me that the most successful attack that the opponents of this special feature of the report of the Committee on Suffrage and Flee tions have been able to make upon 1t has been in the fact that they have succeeded in fixing nickname upon it. They have succeeded in having this provision appear before the pub lie under the nickname of the grand father clause or the grand daddy clause" and a great many people are so constituted that they are unable to treat except in a spirit of levity any thing that makes its appearance before them under a nickname. BN the peo. pie who have been misled by the nick name in referring to a provision of snis kind as the grandfather clause, or grandaddy clause, have put them selves in a position I submit on the losing sight of the real meaning and effect of the provision. It is that eX- p-ession that has fixed i:self upon this provision that has enabled some gen. tlemen even in this Convention to base upon that the idea and the argument that this provision operates to astab- fish a class of nobility or system of heredity privilege or honor in this State. We'll. gentlemen, if you stop to consider what is a class nobility and what is the meaning of the Bill of Rights in speaking of an heredity honor or distinction. you will see that these terms cannot, with propriety, be fixed upon this provision. What is the operation and effect of this pro- vision? Is it to put in any mans hands now the privilege of the ballot and to make that a piece of property to be transferred by will or otherwise at his volition? Not at all. What is its construction and effect? How did those people who have the right now acquire it? They acquired it. not as an hereditary privilege or distinction. They acquired it by coming up to the requirements of the existing laws. They have it now. In leaving it with them we give them nothing but what they already have. Is the ballot now in the hand of the soldier, or in the hands of anybody else in Alabama a special privilege or an hereditary distinction, to be used as if a piece of property that would be transmitted by inherit ance and go from father to son. wheth- CT the son came up to the requirements of the law or not. Not at all. The op- eration and extent of this provision Is simply not to take away from a body of citizens the privilege of voting which they now exercise. and to re- frain from interfering with that privi- lege upon the ground that their history has demonstrated that there is no Oc- casion to take it away from them. ou simply find body of men exercising that privilege now. and looking upCn that body of men in the light of their history you say it would be folly to attempt to take 1t away from them. understand an hereditary privilege to be one that is transmissable by inher- itance. and goes by inheritance regard less of other considerations. Will some gentleman who maintains this position in the minority report explain how tfe ballot now in the hands of the soldier becomes any more a hereditary privi- leGe than if has been in the past?
 The extent of your objection has been not to take away the ballot they have not abused.
 Mir. Lowe Gefferson)-May I ask the gentleman question?
 The President-Will the gentleman yielG.
 Ms. Walker-Certainly.
 MT. Lowe-The ballot is also now in the hands of the naturalized foreigner, is it not?
 MT. yealker-Yes.
 MT. Lowe-But in the provision you now seek to incorporate in the Consti- tuition you make a distinction between the son or descendant of a soldier and the naturalized foreigner. Would it not establish one test for one and an other test for another?
 
 have changed their ground of attack. was addressing myself to the posi- tion that was solemnly taken by this minority when they came into this Convention. I will come to the new ground that has been taken since their first position has slipped from under those gentlemen. I think I have said enough in reference to this matter to justify the action of the majority of the Committee on Suffrage and Elec- tions as to the policy of not taking away from the old soldiers and their descendants the rights which they now have. I will now, MT. President, very briefly address myself to the power of this body to take that action. In doing that, gentlemen, I will call your attention to the power and facul- ties which the State has to deal with this question of suffrage before that power was in any respect invaded by constitutional legislation of the United States. 1 will invite you to the inquiry as to what was the extent of the power before there was adopted any of the amendments of the United States Con- stitution which operate upon this ques- tion in any respect. l will then invite you to consider the extent of the power that was left when those constitutional provisions are given their full operation and effect The end of the great war between the States found the State of Alabama with full and practically un- restricted power to deal with the ques- tion of suffrage. Under that ample power left in the State by the Con stitutiOn of the United States as it was