Year: 1866

| Ihe pPOpOSeu cOustltutlonal amenu
ment has al1eady been discussed il
almost all its bearings and its seems II
us almost useless to offer any furthe
argument upon the subject. Perhaps
however it may assist some man wh'
still halts between two opinions to maxi
up his Judgment and determine how t.
cast his vote, if the results of the adop
tion of the proposed amendment b'
briefly summed up.


The immediate effect of the amend
ment will be to deprive not only o.
suffrage but also of citizenship, at least
twenty thousand persons. There were
about ten thousand citizens of this State
engaged in the rebellion, and at least
ton thousand more gave laid or assist
ance" to the rebellion. At least, that
number will be prescribed by the radical
| faction.


These twenty thousand persons whose
labor and money we need in developing
the resources of our State, will either
move away from the State, or remain in
it. enemies to its peace and prosperity
Our population is already sparse, and
WE cannot we'll afford to spare so large a
number of citizens, and, in order that
our civil government may be respected,
the people must be friendly disposed
toward it.


If twenty thousand citizens remove
from the State, the taxes that would
be paid by those who 60 away must be
added to the taxes of those who remain.


If twenty thousand enemies of the
State, comprising large majority in ten
or twelve counties, remain within our
borders standing military force will be
necessary to keep them in subsection to
the laws, and the expense of this militia
~ force will have to be borne by the tax
payers. sil


The late rebels have been pardoned
by the general government They sur
rendered their arms upon certain terms
and il would be both criminal and
cowardly in us now to violate the
promises of the Federal government and
wreak vengeance upon the pfostrate
foe. H.


They committed treason only against
the United states' and the United
States Government alone is competent
to punish them for the violation OF
Federal laws. We, in West Virginia,
have no right to prescribe what penalty
shall be attached to the crime OF rebel
lion against the authority of the United
States.


. The proposed amendment is entirely
&c post facto in itscharacter ltproposes
to punish an act in a manner in which
it was not punishable when committed
!; The amendment takes away both
citizenship and suffrage, and places
the persons included within its. pre-
visions under all the disabilities OF
alienage, refinement of cruelty not
demanded by the most truculent men,
bers of the radical party in Congress or
in any of the States except this ..


1t DISTINGUISHES and deprives OF clti'
zenship the late rebels not merely until
July, 1870, as is demanded by the
-disunionists in Congress, bnt torerer. 1t
holds out no hope of reinstatement in
civil and political privileges.


The means resorted to for its adoption
are in the highest degree odious and OBJ.
iectionable. The legislature has as
sumed that the amendment is already
adopted and has passed, and the Cover
nor has commanded the enforcemeDtof
acts that can only become constitutional
by the adoption of the amendment. The
class of persons directly affected by the
amendment are not permitted TO vote
upon 1t, and the Boards of Registration
have already excluded many citizens
from voting for no better reason than
that their votes would be cast for the re
lection of the amendment.


The same means that are employed to
carry this amendment through would
be. efectivei in producing any change in
the organic law which the party in power
may demand, even to the extent OF
changing the form OF the government
and establishing Il dictator over the
people. ...


This is the act of minority of the
citizens of the State and is in violation
of the fundamental principle of al
republican governments.


The party now in npower in this State
having already shown its Incompetence
| to govern the State successfully, and it
hostility to the liberties of the people
and its desire to establish here all tn
fapatical vagaries of the negro-sut
frage and negro equality theorists o
New England, should not now be invest
ed with perpetual and unlimited contro


over the destinies of the State and tn
welfare Of its citizens.


These reasons. together with man