Year: 1871

| ty of this State against such disquai:-
| fications. (Cheers.) He sits in this
House, sir, by the vote of a constitu-
ency not twenty-five Or thirty of


whom voted in the negative upon the


propositions submitted to them in the
constitutional amendments in regard


to holding Office and in regard TO suf-
| frage and he comes here to this House
| in defiance of the will of his people,
perfidiously betraying his pledges, and


asks us and asks every liberal member
OF the House to assent to PROPOSE
ton so diametrically opposed to the


things they professed, and to which
! the people by a hundred thousand ma
| jority in the State dissented. Then
comes the fifteenth amendment. Mem
bers of this House will well recollect
that when General Grant received the
vote of this State by majority of
| 1000 of the people, even of those who
were permitted to vote at that time


and one-half of the people were dis
/ franchised and could not YOte-but
those who were permitted to vote, by


q majority of 10000, voted against the
proposition to extend the suffrage to


the negro. But the members of Con-


gress from this State-the Radical


members-elected by that very vote.
audaeiously went to Congress. and in
disregard of the men who sent them
there proposed this amendment, and
| were in such hot haste to turn their


backs upon their people, like the gen.


tleman himself, they turned their


backs upon the people, and in defiance


of the popular will of this State, de-
c1ared few months previously, gave


their, assent to this constitutional
amendment-(A voice: Before it was
officially announced d)-certainly be-
fore it was officially announced, upon


a telegram from one of those MEM


bers of Congress of whom have just
spoken, which contained only one


half of the amendment. They adopted


it in their session, and had it to do


over again !; they were in such haste


to defy their own people, and to in-


suit them, and now we are asked to


cordially indorse. Not only is that


true with regard to the State of Mis-
souri, it is equally true with regard


to the State of Kansas, where ma
jorit,' of $4,000 was against negro suf-


frage; it is also true of the great


State of Ohio, which cast majority
OF $4,000 against it, at the same time


eIecting a Republican as Governor of


the State; it is true also of the State


of Connecticut and the State of, New
Jersey it is true of the State of Mich
igan, where the majority against was


$4,000, and yet the Representative


from those States, in defiance of the


will of their people, who had elected


them and the Legislatures, passed this


amendment, and not having the assent


of sufficient number ofa9States to


adopt this amendment, even with their


untold perffdy on the part of the rep
resentatives of the people in Congress


and the Legislatures, they coefced the
State of Virginia, the Statesof Georgia


and the State of Mississippi, and State


of Texas to give their assent to this


proposition, although each and every
one of them had been in the Union


before that time sufficiently long, at


least, to give their assent to the two


preceding amendments, the thirteenth


and fourteenth. Is it possible, Mr..
Speaker, that this is a government of
the people? Is it possible that we
can have an organic law fastened upon


the people ofthe United States, against
the assent of the people, by peridious


representatives = men regardless of
their pledges and of their solemn


oaths and no man can question what
they have done thereafter. He must
bow his neck and submit to these who
have simply repeated the act which
my colleague now repeats in daring to
misrepresent the people of his ward.


Mr.. Pope-Will the gentleman per-
NIT me to ask him aquestion? a.


Mr.. Blair-Certainly you have only
had four days, you may have the fifth
if you want. Laughter.)


Mr.. Pope-I want to ask the gentle
man distinctly whether he states on
this floor that he believes and so states
that the platform of the Liberal Re-
publican party in the last canvass was
based upon the ground that disfran-
chisement was unconstitutional, in !
stead of being based upon the ground |
that the time had now come to do |
away with that which was at the time |
right and proper? That is what un- |
derstood my constituents to be in IA
vor of, and they sent me here upon
that ground. |


Mr.. Blair-It makes but little diff |
terence Mr.. Speaker. There is no
soint in the gentleman's interrogatory |
according to my apprehension. l /
state that the Liberal Republicans in |
this house are pledged against dis
qualifying people for Office as well as
them for the suffrage on
the ground Of the acts included in the
fourteenth amendment. That is what
1 state, and when the gentleman
comes here and demands cordial in
dorsement of that policy say he flies
in the face of his constituency. Now
do not intend to detain the House
with any long argument upon this
subject; q letter that / have written 1
has been referred to. The gentleman
has attempted to repeat it. do not
wonder that he failed to repeat it. 1t I
seems to me, sir, that he is qualified to
understand it that he would not be
able to repeat it under any circum.
stances. Sir, there was another por-
rion of the platform, or if it was
not part of the platform 1T certainly
was embraced and endorsed by the
whole Liberal party in the State OF
Missouri, to this effect That the in-
reference of the Federal government
in the internal affairs of the State of
Missouri, in turning out officers who
supported one candidate to put into
office those who supported another
that that was hagitious and was not
to be stood. (Cheers.) / Endorsed
that, sir; / went further, and declared
that it was still more f1agitous, still!
more outrageous to carry the armed
troops of the United States to the polls
and force away the free voters to make
room for those who had no title to
vote. (Cheers.) Well, sir, we know
what the Reconstruction act was we
know that it was supported by the
bayonet, by military power; we know
that that principle is expanding under
General Grants administration and
has extended itself to the cities of
Philadelphia and New York, where
the guns of the navy were brought to
bear upon that devoted city, and
troops were called from every part
of the country to aid in intinidating
ka ri