Year: 1868

pfeHldCN. OH. tiilS piOpOsfttOh 10 hilh"u5
: any foundation whatever, j believe it Vas
: stated yesterday by the Senator from H.
! nois (Alr. Trumbull), that in every Sta'e
, but two the white voters registered OUT
numbered the colored voters and the fact
that in two States the colored voters out


numbered the white voters is owing 10 the
simple accident that there are more coloreUI
men in those States than there are white
men. Congress has not sought TO cstab
: lish negro supremacy, nor has i sought TO
, establish the supremacy Of any class or
parry of men. If it had sought TO estab-
lish negro supremacy, Il would have been


an easy matter, by excluding from. the
right of suffrage ali men %ho had been
concerned in the rebellion, in accordance
with the proposition of the distinguished
Senator from Massachusetts Mr.. Sumner,)
in his speech at Worcester, in 1865. He
proposed to exclude all men who had been
concerned in the rebellion and confer suf-
frage only on those wio were left. That
; would have established negro supremacy
by giving the negroes an overwhelming
majority in every State; and if that Lad
been the object on Congress it could have
been readily done. But, sir, Congress has
only sought 10 divide the political power
between the loyal and the disloyal. Ii has
disfranchised some fifty thousand disloyal
leaders, leaving all the rest of the people 10
vote. They have been enfranchised on
both sides, that neither should be placed in
the power of the other. The rebels have
the right TO vote so that they shall not be
under the control and power of the Union
men only, and the Union men have been
allowed to vote so that they shall not be
under The control and power of the rebels.
| This "a tho polfox- 10 HirfIa tho rNniitinot
power among those men for the protection
OF each. Sir, the charge that we intend 10
create negro supremacy or cOlored State
governments is without the slightest foun-
dation. for it would have been in the pow
er of Congress 10 have easily conferred
such supremacy by simply excluding the
dlslOyal from the right If suff aga pow
er which il hal the clear right 20 exercise.


Now, Mr. President, allow me to con-
slider for a moment the amendment offered
by the Senator from Wisconsin, and upon
which his speech was made, and see what
is its effect will not say lis purpose, but
its inevitable effect-should il become a
law. | will ask the Secretary 10 read the
amendment which the Senator from Wis
consin has proposed to the Senate.


The Secretary read as follows:


"ProCidcd, neCertheice. That upon
an election for the ratification of any con-
stitution, or OF officers under the same,
previous TO is adoption in any ST; te, no
person not having the qualifications of an
electer under the constitution and laws Of
such State previous to the late rebellion
shall be allowed to vote, unless he shall
possess one OF the following qualifications,
namely;


81. He shall have served as a soldier in
the Federal army one year or more.


''2. He shall have sufficient education 10
read the constitution of the Emitted States
and 10 subscribe his name To- an oath 10
support the same.


''3. He shall he seized in his own right,
or in the right of his wife, Of q freehold of
tie value of $780,


are, By the terms ofthe amendment. 10 ap-
ply 10 those who were not authorized 10
vote by the laws of the State before the re-
bellion-in other words, the colored men.
He proposes 10 allow a colOrcd man 10 vote
if he has been in the Federal army one
year, and lie proposes 10 allow arebel white
man TO vote, although he has served in the
rebel army four years, He proposes that
a colorcd man shall not vote unless he has
sufficient education 10 read the constitution
of the United States and subscribe his
name TO an oath TO support the same;
whereas he permits rebel white man to
vote who never heard of A, and does not
know how to make his mark even To a note
given for whiskey. Laughter


! Again, sir, he proposes that the cOlorcd
man shall not vote unless ie shall be seized
in his own right. or in tic right of his vile
of freehold of the value of two hundred
and fifty dollars, a provision which, of
course, would cut off nine hundred and
ninety mine out of every one thousand col
ored men in the South. The colored man
can not vote unless lie has a freehold of
two hundred and fifty dollars, but the white
rebel who was never worth twenty five
cents, who nevcrpaid poll-tax in his life.and
never paid an honest debt, is to be allowed
TO vote. Sir, what would he the ineyita-
ble effect of the adoption of this amend
mcnt? To cut off such large part of the
colored vote as 10 leave the rebel white vote
largely in the ascen iancy and to put these
new State governments there to be formed
again into the hands of the rebels. Sir,
will not spend longer time upon that


My friend yesterday alluded to my en-
dorsement of the Presidents policy in
speech in 1865. never endorsed what is
now called the Presidents policy. In the
summer of 1865, when l saw a division
coming between the President and the
Republican party and when | could not
help anticipating the direful consequences
that must result from il, i made a speech
in which / repealed certain statements that
had been made against the President, ard
denied tie charge that by issuing his proc
lamation of May 20. 1865, he had thereby
left the Republican party by that act. |
did show that the policy of that prcclana-
ton was even more radical than that of
Mr.. Lincoln. did show that il was more
radical even than the Winter Davis bill of
the summer of 1864. But. sir, it was AL
upon the distinct understanding that what
ever the President did that his W hole policy
or action was TO be submitted TO Congress
for its consideration and decision and as
before remarked, if that had been done
all would have been well. i did not then
advocate universal colored suffrage in the
South, and have before given my reasons
for it, and in doing that I was acting IL
harmony with the great body of the Repub-
lican party of the North. 1t was neatly a
year after that time, when Congress passed
the constitutional amendment, which still
eft the question of suffrage with The South
ern States, left IL with the white people
and it was not unit, year and half affer
that time that Congress came to the c. neln-
sion that we could not execute the guar
anty of the constitution without raising
up a new class of loyal voters.


And, sir, nobody concurred in that result
more heartily than / did. / confess (ard I
do it without shame) that have been cd
ucated by the great events of the war. The
American people have been edacted rap
idly and the man who says ne has learned
nothing, that he siards now where he did
six years ago. is like an ancient mile-post
by the side of deserted highway. We,
Mr.. President, have advanced step by step.
When this war began we did not con,eni--
plate the destruction Of slavery. ren,em-
ber well when the Crittenden's resolution
was passed, declaring thst the war was not
prosecuted for conquest or to overturn the