Year: 1867

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE,


vETo1NG THE BILL SUPPLEMENTARY TO TIE MILL


TARY BILL.
To the House of Representatives


have considered the bill entitled IAN Act sup
Elementary to an act emitted "An Act to provide
States, passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate
restoration" and now return it to the House Of
Representatives, with my objections.


This bill provides for elections in the ten States
brought under the operation of the original act to
which it is supplementary. Its details are prin-
cipaly directed to the elections for the formation
of the State constitutions, but by the sixth section
of the bill ''a elections" in these States, occurring
while the original act remains in force, are brought
within its purview.


Referring to the details, it will be found that,
first Of all, there is to be registration Of the vo,
ters No one whose name has not been admitted
on the list is to be allowed to vote at any Of these
elections To ascertain who is entitled to registra
ton. reference is made necessary, by the express
language of the supplement- to the original act and
to the pending BILL The fifth section Of the origi-
nal act provides, as to voters, that they shall be
male citizens Of the State twenty-one years old
and upward, of whatever race color, or previous
condition, who have been resident of said State
for one year" This isSthe general qualification,
followed, however, bymany exceptions. No one
can be registered, according to the original act,
''who may be disfranchised for participation in
the rebellion, provision which left undetermined
the question as to what amounted to disfranchise-
ment, and whether, without judicial sentence,
the act itself produced that effect


This supplemental bill superadds an oath, to be
taken by every person before his name can be ad;
mitted on the registration, that he has mot been
disfranchised for participation in any rebellion or
civil war against the United States" it thus i'm
poses upon every person the necessity and respon-
sbiity of deciding for himself, under the peril of
punishment by military commission, if he makes
mistake, what works disfranchisement by partici-
patton in rebellion, and what amounts to such par
ticipation. Almost every man-the negro as
well as the white - above twenty one years OF age,
who was resident in these ten States during the
rebellion, voluntarily or invountarily at some time
and in some way did participate in resistance to
the lawful authority Of the General Government


The question with the citizen to whom this oath
the bill does not declare that perjury may be as
signed for such false swearing, nor fix any penalty
for the offence, we must not forget that martial
law prevails that every person IS answerable to q
military commission without previous presentment
by grand jury, for any charge that may be made
against him and that the supreme authority of
the military commander determines the question
as to what is an offence, and what is to be the
measure ofpunishment.


The fourth section of the bill provides that the
commanding general of each district shall appoint
as many boards of registration as may be Necessary
consisting Of three loyal officers or persons" The
only qualification stated for these officers is that
they must be 'sloyal." They may be persons in
the military service, or civilians, residents of the
State or strangers. Yet these persons are to ex-
ercse most important duties and are invested with
unlimited discretion. They are to decide what
names shall be placed upon the register, and from
their decision there is to be no appeal. They are
to have the custody of the ballots, and to make re-
turn of the persons elected. Whatever frauds or
errors they may commit must pass without re-
dress. All that is left for the commanding general
is to receive the returns Of the elections open the
the returns of the officers who conducted said elcc
tions" BY such means, and with this sort Of
agency are the conventions to be constituted.


As the delegates are to speak for the people,
common Justice would seem to require that they
should have authority from the people themselves.
No convention so constituted will in any
sent the wish of the inhabitants of these States
for, under the al[embraeing exceptions of these
laws, by construction which the uncertainty Of
the clause as to disfranchisement leaves open to
the board of officers, the great body of the people
may be excluded from the polls, and from all op-
portunity of expressing their own wishes, or vo-
ting for delegates who will faithfully reflect their
sentiments


I do not deem it necessary further to investigate
the details of this BILL No consideration could in
duce me to give my approval to such an election
law for any purpose, and especially for the great
purpose Of framing the Constitution of State
If ever the American citizen should be left to the
free exercise of his own judgment, it is when he
is engaged in the work of forming the fundamental
law under which he is to live. That work is his
work, and it cannot properly be taken out of his
hands. All this legislation proceeds upon the con-
trary assumption that the people Of each of these
States shall have no constitution, except such as
may be arbitrarily dictated by Congress- and form
ed under the restraint of military rule. A plain
statement of facts makes this evident.


In all these States there are existing constitu-
tions, formed in the accustomed way by the people
Congress, however, declares that these constitu-
tions are not ''loya and republican" and requires
the people to form them anew. What, then, in
the opinion of Congress, is necessary to make the
Constitution 'loyal and republican," The original
act answers the question 1t is universal negro
suffrage - a question which the Federal Constitu-
ton leaves to the States themselves All this leg
islative machinery of martial law, military coer-
cion, and political disfranchisement is avowedlyl
for that purpose, and none other. The existingI
Constitution of these ten States conform to the
acknowledged standards of loyalty and republican
ism. Indeed, if there are degrees in republican
forms of government their constitutions are more
republican now than when these States four of
which were members of the original thirteen
first became members of the Union.


Congress does not now demand that single pro-
vision of their constitution be changed, except
such as confne suffrage to the white population.
It is apparent therefore, that these provisions dol
not conform to- the standards Of republicanism
which Congress seeks to establish That there may
be no mistake it is only necessary that reference
should be made to the original act, which declares
"such constitution shall provide that the elective
franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as
have the qualifications herein stated tor electors or
delegates" What class Of persons is here meant
clearly appears in the same section. That IS toI
say -sthe male citizens of said State, twenty-onel
years old and upwards, of whatever race, color, or
previous condition, who have been resident IN said
State for one year previous to the day of such eec
tion" ,.,I


Without these provisions no Constitution which
can be framed in any one of the ten States will be OF
any avail with Congress. This then, is the test of
what the Constitution of State Of this Union must
contain to make it republican. Measured by such a
standard, how few of the States now composing the
Union have republican Constitutions IT, in the ex
ercise of the constitutional guaranty that Congress
shall secure to every State republican form OIL
government, universal suffrage for blacks as well
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