Year: 1866

that month, the proposed amendment o.


our State constitution Is to he submitted
for ratification OF rejection, n,-not to tn,
| voters of the State, but to those whom
| the Legislature and the Governor have
permitted to vote. If a majority is cast


at the polls in favor of ratification. il
| will, no doubt, be claimed that the


amendment has become a part of the
constitution of the State.


The registration act of February Goth
1866, (section twelve) provides that nc
person, unless he has been registered ac.


cording to the act shall be allowed Ia


vote at any election that shall be held


after the first registration is. completed


and this provision remains in force. II


yon intend to vote at the election on the


the twcnty-fourth of May, in which you
have so much at stake, it is necessary
that You should be registered by the
tenth of May at fartbest 1t is true,
that by comparing the-sixth and sew
enth sections OF the registration act, we
| may infer that the County Board or the
Registrar, may extend the time of regis
| tration until the fourteenth of May. or
ten days before the election But do
| not rely upon this 1t is optional with
them to do soi and such favOrs will not
be granted unless their own party is to
reap the advantage.


Under such circumstances, what
course, fellow citizens, ought we all to
pursue! Must we tameiy submit to
snch Iniquitous legislation, and suffer
ourselves to be bound hand and foot for
eVerf The proposed constitutional
amendment is the completion of the
radical system 1t is the very keystone
OF the arch which is to give strength
and solidity to their power over West
Virginia. Shall we allow it to pass by
default! Ii we can defeat it at the polls,
even undertaken own registration act
their rule in this State will be ended for
ever ii we suffer 1t to pass by default
what redress or resource will be left us
against the malignancy and persecu-
tions OF these men2 Their drummers-
the County Boards and Registrars-wilI
see to it, that every person is registered
upon whose vote they can rely. They
expect, by the measures which they have
adopted, to trighten from the polls
enough OF the voters who are opposed to
them to secure their own ascendeucy
Shall We permit this expectation to be
realized} Shall we assist them in ac-
complishing their object by refusing to
register ourselves, or to vote? A major
ity of the people are really opposed to
this party, The honest Republicans,
themselves, do not approve orsvlndicate
its acts. Let us then make one manly
effort. We are urged to exert ourselves
by every consideration which can influ-
ence men who see impending over them
reign of terror and misrule Let no
man who is entitled to the right of suf-
frage omit TO present himself iA time,
and demand that his name be registered,
Let register be kept of the names that
are rejected. Public opinion, itself, will
be some check upon these men No man,
however depraved, will desire t" DO
held m tn tho auu detestatlon OF
the community for attempting to prac-
tice fraud on the legal voters of the
State, even under such law as this
Though it is the purpose under the pre-
text of excluding the rebels, to distran-
chise enough of those who are opposed
to radical misrule TO perpetuate the
power of the party, yet in the first intro
ductiOn of such system, some appear
ance of fairness must he preserved. 1t
will not do to shock the public sensibili-
ty too suddenly. III will not do, at first,
to display too openly the enOrmities of
this system ofplacing the right of sut
trage and the returns of elections under
the control of the Governor, in order to
keep a particular party in power And,
fellow citizens, if we exert ourselves as
the great interests at stake demand of
us, and there is even an appearance of
fairness in carrying the registration act
into execution, we can defeat this party,
and secure harmony good government
aud free principles III our New State
At least, let us try.


The amendment proposed 10 the
constitution of our State il as follows.


mo person who, since the first day of
June, 1851, has given or shall give vol
untaTy aid or assistance to the rebel
lion against the United States, shall be
a citizen of this State, or be allowed to
vote at any election held therein, unless
he has volunteered into the military or
naval service OF the United States and
has been or shall be hOnorably disCharg-
ed therefrom.


When the resolution proposing thus
amendment was adopted at the session
commencing in January, 1860, we Were
in the midst of war, and no one could
then foresee how soon the war would
end, or what might he its results. 1t
was again adopted by the legislature at
it's recent session, after the armies OF
the rebellion had disappeared and all re-
sistance to the authority of the United
States. or Of our own State, had ceased
When YOU vote upon it on the 2lth of
Nav. YOU do so in time of peace You
have no longer the pretext that it is a
war measure-it Is now a measure of
vlndictiveness and revenge As it will
be presented to you on that day, it will
relate to the past acts, not to the Guture
conduct of the men who are to be pun
ished And, like the test oaths which
we have considered, 1t too makes no dis
tinction of guilt-allOws of no repent
auce or hope of pardon. He who was
misled or deceived into the support of
the rebellion by influential and artfnl
men-whO Joined the rebel cause igno-
rantly or thoughtlcsSly, or because he
lived in a community who were all do
inc the same thing-is to be punished
equally with the most guilty OF the con
spirators He who would, if permitted
become again quiet, industrious and
useful citizen, true to the Union and the
State. and contributing by his labor to