Year: 1866

ment it would be impossible in any
Southern community to select one as
Constable or Justice of the Peace, or to
fill any other State office without the
consent of a twO-tlirds ma iority in
Congress! Whats an Inconvenience every
where, what sweeping disfranchise-
ment, and how unnecessary in its extent.
This sort of war against State Nagis-
trates and State CorIstabfos could not, OF
course, have been sincerely proposed a.
provision of the Constitution of the
United States.


The people Of the United States have
no interest in interfering in the local or
municipal affairs of Southern States
but you observe that provision of this
kind would surely prevent this amend
ment from being adopted by those
States. 1t is annoying to them 1t in
terferes with them I'm their own local
neighborhood concerns down to tho
small precincts into which their COM
munities are divided, and it disfran-
chises them from holding and exercis-
ing all local employment which involves
an oath of fealty to the Constitution of
the United States, without reference to-
any interest which the Government or
people of the United States may have
in the question. 1t appears as if 1t was
intended to make the amendment so Of
fensive by reason of its extent, that the
States Of the South would not adopt it,
and that its defeat should thus be in
sured. We can conceive a motive for IL
policy of this kind, for so long as the
amendment is not adopted the Con-
gressional majorityca complain against
the people of the South, that they do
not agree to what was proposed, and
they can hold this question open and
retain political power for themselves in
the Government of the United States
by continuing the existing condition of
things.


There is another clause Of the amend
mcnt which appears intended to put
into the fundamental law some of the
provisions of what is called the Civil
Rights Bill. l shall not discuss that
clause of the amendment, because it
was spoken to on former occasion at
this place by Mr.. Clymer when he was
here and addressed you as the candidate
of one of our great parties, for the office
of Governor. pass on to the remain
ing provision in this resolution of
Constitutional amendment, and the last
one. That provision is this, in effect
il do not cite the exact words, I cite
the substance accurately-That where
ever in any State there shall be dis
reimbursement of males above twenty
one years Of age, on account Of race or
color, from the elective franchise, the
whole population in that State Of such
race or color shall be excluded from
computation in assigning to such State
representatives in the Congress of the
United States.


What is meant by this clause? 1t is
the vital one in the amendment. We
may consider all the others rs secondary
and subordinate to it, as quite infer
ior in Importance, and perhaps we are
entitled to say that all the other
amendments contained in the Reso-
luton Except, perhaps, the one just
eXamincd) were incorporated into
it in order to carry this one which re-
lates to the right of suffrage In the sew
eral States. Described, in short, what
is this proposition? 1t is, that whenev-
er any State shall refuse to permit Ne
groes or Asiatics within her limits to
exercise the right of suffrage, she shall
lose portion of her political power in
the Government of the United States
but if she permit her negroes to vote
she shall have representation exactly as
she has it now under the Constitution as
our fathers made 1t and sent it down to
well as theirs. If we refuse to permit
the negro population of the State to
vote we are to be shOrn Of portion Of
our power, we are to sink in political
consequence in the Government of the
United States, and to take such rank
only MS we can obtain by virtue of our
white population, the male members Of
which we do permit to vote at our pop
ular elections.


You see, gentlemen, that the State
which adopts negro suffrage is to enjoy
fully and entirely her present Constitu-
tiUnal power in the Government of the
United States, and the State which re-
fuses negro suffrage is to be punished; |;
yes, the lash is to be applied to her peo-
pie, she is to be scourged as culprit be-
4 fore the fundamental law of the United


States. This, then, is proposition Of
, punishment to those States the freemen
a of which, in the exercise OF their i'm
o partial judgment, shall refuse to permit
; their ballot-boxes to be contaminated
and polluted and degraded and corrupt
ed by suffrage by those who are unfit,
grossly and notoriously unfit, to exer-
else it, and who, if they do exercise it,,
, will become the instruments of the man
of money, of the man Of passion, and OF


the man of intrigue. The demagogues
of the land, and the rich men of the
land, will have cast to them the oppor-
tunity Of controlling your elections, and
of corrupting and polluting them be-
yond any example which our history
affords.


/ say, then, that the leading and prin-
/ cipal provision of the resolution is in-
: tended to force negro suffrage through
| N.ta