li $ Si tin il Si
BY MEYERS & MENGEL.
TERMS OF PUBLICATION.
THB BEDFORD GAZETTB is published every Fri
day morning by METERS A MBVOBL, at $2.00 per
annum, if paid strictly tn advance ; $2.50 if paid
within six months; $3.00 if not paid within six
months. All subscription accounts MTTST be
settled annually. No paper will be sent out of
the State unless paid for IS ADVAKCE, and all such
übscriptions will invariably be discontinued at
the expiration of the time for wb'ch they are
aid.
All ADVERTISEMENTS for a less term than
three months TEN CENTS per line for each In
sertion. Special notices one-half additional Ail
resolutions of Associations; communications of
limited or individual interest, and notices of mar
riages and deaths exceeding five line.', ten cents
per line. Editorial notices fifteen cents per line.
All legal Notices of every kind, and Orphans
Court and Judicial Sales, are required by lavs
t be published in both papers published in this
place
ky Ail advertising due after first insertion.
A liberal discount is made to persons advertising
by the quarter, half year, or year, as follows :
3 months. 8 months. 1 year
♦One square - - - $4 50 $6 00 4 $lO 00
Twe squares - 800 000 18 00
Three squares - - - 8 00 12 00 20 00
Quarter column - - 14 00 20 00 35 00
Half column - - - 18 00 25 00 45 00
One column - - - - 30 00 45 00 80 00
♦One square to occupy one inch of apace
JOB PRINTING, of every kind, done with
neatness and dispatch. THE GAZETTE OFFICE has
just been refitted with a Power Press and new type,
and everything in the Printing line can be execu
ted in the most artistic manner and at the lowest
rates.—TERMS CASH
I If A1 ters should be addressd to
MEYERS A MENGEL,
Publishers.
Jfob
r|3 H E BEDFORD GAZETTE
POWER PRESS
PRINTING EST A B LISH M ENT,
BEDFORD, PA.
MEYERS & MENGEE
PROPRIETORS
Having recently made additional im
provements tf our office, we are pre
pared to execute all orders for
PLAIN AND FANCY
JOB PRINTING,
With dispatch and in the most
SUPERIOR STYLE.
CIRCULARS, LETTER HEADS, BILL
HEADS, CHECKS, CERTIFICATES,
BLANKS. DEEDS, REGISTERS, RE
CEIPTS, CARDS, HEADINGS, ENVEL
OPES, SHOWBILLS, HANDBILLS, IN
VITA TIONS, LABELS, 4-<•. ire.
Our facilities for printing
POSTERS, PROGRAMMES, Ac.,
FOR
CONCERTS AND EXHIBITIONS,
ARE UNSURPASSED.
"PUBLIC SALE" BILLS
Printed at short notice.
We can insure complete satisfaction
as to time and price
ITIHE INQUIRER
BOOK STORE,
opposite the Mengel House,
BEDFORD, PA.
The proprietor takes pleasure in offering to the
nublic the' foliowing articles belonging to the
Book Business, at CITY RETAIL PRICES:
MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS.
N O V E L S.
BIBLES, HYMN BOOKS, AC.:
Large Family Bibles,
Small Bibles,
Medium Bibles,
Lutheran Hymn Books.
Methodist Hymn Books,
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
History of the Books of the Bible,
Pilgrim's Progress, Ac., Ac., Ac.
Episcopal Prayer dooks.
Presbyterian Hymn Books,
SCHOOL BOOKS.
TOY BOOKS.
STATIONERY,
Congress, Legal,
Record, „ Foolscap,
Letter, Congress Letter,
Sermon, Commercial Note,
Ladies' Gilt, Ladies Octavo,
Mourning, French Note,
Bath Post, Damask Laid Note,
It earn Laid Note, Envelopes, Ac.
WALL PAPER.
Several Hundred Different Figures, the Largest
lot ever brought to Bedford county, for
sale at prices CHEAPER THAN
EVER SOLD in Bedford.
BLANK BOOKS.
Day Books. Ledgers.
Account Books, Cash Books,
Pocket Ledgers, Time Books,
Tuck Memorandums, Pass Books,
Money Books, Pocket Books,
Blank Judgment Notes, drafts, receipts, Ac
INKS AND INKSTANDS.
Barometer inkstands,
Gutta Peroha,
Cocoa, and
Morocco Spring Pocket Inkstands,
Glass and Ordinary Stands for Schools,
Flat Glass Ink Wells and Rack,
Arnold's Writing Fluids,
Hover's Inks,
Carmine Inks, Purple Inks,
Charlton's Inks,
Eukolon for pasting, Ac.
PENS AND PENCILS.
Gillot's, Cohen's,
Hollowbusb A Carey's, Payson.
Dunton. and s Pens,
Clark 's Indellible, Faber s Tablet,
Cohens Eagle,
Office. labers
Guttknecht's, Carpenter s Pencils.
PERIODICALS.
Atlantic Momhly,
Harper's Magazine,
Madame Drmorest s Mirror of Fashions,
Klectic Magazine.
Godey'a Lady's Book,
Galaxy,
Lady's Friend,
Ladies Repository,
Our Young Folks,
Nick Nax,
Yankee Notions,
Budget of Fun,
Jolly Joker,
I'bunny Phellow,
Lippinoott's Magazine,
Riverside Magazine,
W averly Magazine,
Balion's Magazine,
Gardner's Monthly.
Harper's Weekly,
Frank Leslie's Illustrated,
Chimney Corner,
New York Ledger,
New York Weekly,
Harper's Bazar.
Every Saturday,
Living Age,
Putnam s Monthly Magazine,
Arthur's Home Magazine,
Oliver Optic's Boys and Girl's Magazine Ac.
Constantly on band to accomodate those who want
to purchase living reading matlter.
Only n part of the va*t number of article! per
taining to the Book and Stationery business,
which we are prepared to sell cheaper than the
cheapest, are above enumerated. Give us a call
We buy and sell for CASH, and by this arrange
mant we expeet to sell ax cheap as goods of this
class are sold aiiywh(re
jan2W,'yl
2Hisrcltanrous.
pLEC T R I C
TELEGRAPH IN CHINA.
THE EAST INDIA TELEGRAPH COMPANY'S
OFFICE,
Nos. 23 & 25 Nassau Street,
NEW YORK.
Organized under special charter from the Stats
of New York.
CAPITAL $5,000,000
50,000 SHARES, SIOO EACH
DIRECTORS.
Ho*. ANDREW G. CURTIN, Philadelphia.
PAUL S. FORBES, of Russell A Co., China.
FRED. BUTTERFIELD, of F. Bu tteifieid A C
New York.
ISAAC LIVERMORE. Treasurer Michigan Cen
tral Railroad, Boston.
ALEXANDER HOLLAND, Treasurer American
Express Company, New York.
Hon JAMES NOXON, Syracuse, N. Y.
0. H. PALMER, Treasurer Western Union Tele
graph Company, New York.
FLETCHER WESTRAY, of Weitray, Gibbs A
Hardcastle, New York.
NICHOLAS MICKLES, New York.
OFFICERS.
A. G. CURTIN, President.
N. MICKLES, Vice President.
GEORGE ELLIS (Cashier National Bank Com
monwealth,) Treasurer.
HON. A. K McCLURE, Philadelphia, Solicitor.
The Chinese Government having (through the
Hon. Anson Burlingame) conceded to this Com
pany the privilege of connecting the great sea
ports of the Empire by submarine electric tele
graph cable, we propose commencing operations
in China, and laying down a line of Dine hundred
miles at once, between the following port s, viz :
Population.
Canton 1.000,000
Macoa 60.000
Hong-Kong 250,000
Swatow 200,000
Amoy 250,000
Foo-Chow 1,250,000
Wan-Chu 300,000
Ningpo 400,000
Hang Chean '..1,200,000
Shanghai 1,000,008
Total 5,910.000
These ports btve a foreigif commerce of $900,-
000,000. and an enormous domestic trade, besides
which we have the immense internal commerce of
the Empire, radiating from these points, through
its canals and navigable rivers.
The cable being laid, this company proposes
erecting land lines, and establishing s speedy and
trustworthy means of communisation, which most
command there, as everywhere else, the commu
nications of the Government, of business, and of
social life especially in China. She has no postal
system, and her enly means now of communicating
information is by couriers on land, and by steam
ers on water.
The Western World knows that China is a very
large country, in the main densely peopled ; but
few yet realise that she contains more than a third
of the human race. The latest returns made te
her central authorities for taxing purposes by the
local magistrate make her population Four hun
dred and Fourteen millions , and this is more
likely to be under than over the actual aggregate.
Nearly all of these, who are over ten years old,
not only can but do read and write. Her civili
zation is peculiar, but her literature is as exten
sive as that of Europe China is a land of teach
ers and traders: and the latter are exceedingly
quick to avail themselves of every proffered facili
ty for procuring early information. It is observed
in California that the Chinese make great use of
the telegraph, though it there transmits messages
in English alone. To-day great numbers of fleet
steamers are owned by Chinese merchants, and
used by them exclusively for the transmission of
early intelligence If the telegraph we propose
connecting all their great seeports, were now in
existence, it is believed that its business would
pay the cost within the first two years of its sue.
cessful operation, and would staadily increase
thereafter
No enterprise commends itself as in a greater
degree renumerative to capitalists, and to our
whole people. It is of vast national importance
commercially, politically and evangelically.
stock of this Company has been un
qualifiedly recommended to capitalists and busi
ness men. as a desirable investment by editorial
articles in the New York Herald, Tribune,
World, Times, Post, Express, Independent, and
in the Philadelphia North American, Prest,
Ledger, Inquirer, Age, Bulletin end Telegraph.
Shares of this company, to s limited number,
may be obtained at SSO each, $lO payable' down,
sls on the Ist of November, and $25 payable in
monthly instalments of $2.50 each, commencing
December 1, 1868, on application to
DREXEL A CO.,
31 South Third Street,
PHILADELPHIA.
Shares can be obtained in Bedford by applica
tion to Reed A Schell, Bankers, who are author
ized to receive subscriptions, and can give all ne
cegsary information on the subject. scpt2syl
E combine style with nofltneen of fit.
And -mod irat * print with the best workmanship,
JONES' ONE PRICE CLOTHING HOUSE
l
604 MARKET STREET,
GEO. \V. NIEMANN. PHILADELPHIA.
[sepll.'SS.yl |
BUY YOUR NOTIONS
of
dec 4 R. W BERKBTRBSSER.
PHILADELPHIA, March 10th, '69.
I We beg leave to inform you that we are pre
pired to offer for your inspection our usual assort
Lent of MILLINERY GOODS Consisting of the
Newest Shapes in Straw. Silk and Gimp Hats
Bonnets, Ac., Velvets, Silk Goods, Ribbons, Flow
ers. Feathers, Ruches. Crape. Blonds, Braids,
Ornaments, Ac., Ao. We shall be happy to wait
on you at your store or receive yonr order. Prices
low for cash. Yours Ac, H. WARD.
Noa, 163, 105, and 107 N. Second St, Pbilad a.
marlO'M.lm. '
J PRINTERS' IKK hart made many a
business man rich Weaik yoa t try it ta
• Milamos of Til
ItooflamVis Column.
Y° U A LL
BATE HEARD OF
HOOFLAND'S GERMAN BITTERS,
ARE
HOOFLAND'S GERMAN TONIC.
Prepared by Dr. C. M. Jackson, Philadelphia.
Their introduction into this country from Ger
many occurred in
1825.
THEY CURED YOUR
FATHERS AND MOTHERS,
And will cure you and your children. They are
entirely different from-* -w-themany preparations
now in the country cal I—l led Bitters or Tonics.
They are no tavern A-I preparation, or any
thing like one; but gsx-d, honest, reliable medi
cines. Tbey are
The greatest Inoicn remedies for
Liver Complaint,
DYSPEPSIA,
Nervous Debility,
JAUNDICE,
Diseases of the Kidneys.
ERUPTIONS OF THE SKIN,
and all Diseases arising from a Disordered Liver,
stomach, or
IMPURITY OF THE BLOOD.
Constipation, Flatulenoe, Inward Piles, Fullneu
of Blood to the Head, Acidity of the Stomach,
Nausea, Heartburn, Disgust for Food, Full
ness or Weight in the Stomach, Sour Eruc
tations, Sinking or Fluttering at the
Pit of the Stomach, Swimming of the
Head, Hurried or Difficult Breathing,
Fluttering at the Heart, Choking or
Suffocating Secsu I ft tions when in a Lying
Posture, Dimness of Vision, Dots or Webs
before the sight, Dull Pain in the Head, Defi
ciency of Perspiration, Yellowness of the Skin
and Eyes, Pain in the Side, Back, Chest,
Limbs, etc., Sudden Flushes of Heat,
Burning in the Flesh, Constant Imagi
nings of Evil and Great Depression of Spirits.
All these, indicate diseases of the Liver or Di
gestive Organs, combined with impure blood.
HOOFLAND'S GERMAN BITTERS
is entirely vegetable and contains no liquor. It
is a compound of Fluid Extracts. The Roots,
Herbs, and Barks from wbiob these extracts are
made, are gathered in Germany. All the medi
cinal virtueus are ex . traded from them by
a scientific Chwnist. I ft Tbese extracts are
then forwarded to this VJ country to be used ex
pressly f#r the manufacture of these Bitters.
There is no alcoholic substance of any kind used
in compounding the Bitters, hence it is the only
Bitters that can be used in cases where alcoholic
stimulants are not advisable.
HOOFLAND'S GERMAN TONIC
is a combination of all the ingredients of the Bit
ters, with PI RE Santa Crux Rum, Orange, etc. It
is used for the same diseases as the Bitters, in case
where some pure alcoholic stimulus is required.
You will bear in mind that those remedies are en
tirely different from any others advertised for the
cure of the diseases named, these being scientific
preparations of medicinal extracts, while the oth
ers are mere decoctions of rum in suhie form. The
TONIC is decidedly one of the most pleasant and
agreeable remedies ever offered to the public. Its
taste is exquisite. It; a pleasure to take it, while
its life-giving exhilarating, and medicinal quali
ties have caused it to be known as the greatest of
ail tonics.
DEBILITY.
There is no medicine equal to Iloofland's Ger
man Bitters or Tonic in cages of Debility.
They impart a tone Kq and vigor to the whole
system, strengthen JL the appetite, cause an
enjoyment of the food, enable the stomach to di-
f est it, purify the blood, give a good, sound,
eaithy complexion, eradicate the yellow tinge
from the eye, impart a bloom to the checks, and
change the patient from a short-breathed, emaci
ated, weak, and nervous invalid, to a full-faced,
stout, and vigorous person.
Weak and Delicate Children are
made strong by usipg the Bitters or Tonic. ID
fact, they are Family Medicines. They can be
administered with perfect safety to a ohiid three
months old, the most delicate female, or a man of
ninety.
These remedies art the best
Blood Purifiers
ever known and will cure all diseases resulting
from bad bloed. Keep yjur blood pure; keep
your Liver in order, w keep your digestive
organs in a sound, I healthy condition, by
the use of these rerne -l-i dies, and no diseases
will ever assail you. The best men in the country
recommend them. If years of honest reputation
go for anything, you must try these preparations.
FROM HON. GEO. W. WOODWARD,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylva
nia.
PHILADELPHIA, March 16. 1867.
I find that "Iloofland's German Bitters" is not
an intoxicating beverage, but is a good tonic, use
ful in disorders of the digeßtivo organs, and of
great benefit in cases of debility and want of ner
vous action in the .ystem.
Yours Truly.
GEO. W. WOODWARD
FROM HON JAMES TAOMPSON
Judge of the Supreme Conrt of Pennsylvania.
PHILADELPHIA. April 28, 18S6.
I consider "Hoofland's German Bitters" a valua
ble medicine in case . of attasks of Indiges
tion or Dyspepsia. I \ can certify this from
my experience of it. Xi- Yours, with respect,
JAMES THOMPSON.
FROM REV JOSEPH H. KENNARD, D. D ,
Pastor of the Tenth Baptist Church, Philadelphia.
DR. JACESOU —DEAR SIR:—I have been fre
quently requested to connect iny name with rec
ommendations of different kinds of modicines, l>ut
regarding the piactice as out of my appropriate
sphere. I have in all oases declined , but with a
clear proof in various instances, and particularly
in toy own family, of the usefulness ol Dr. Hoof
lands Herman Bitters, I depart for once from
my usual course, to express my full conviction
that for general debility of the system, and es
pecially for Liver Com -W y plaint, it is a safe
and valuable preparation. In some cases
it may fail; bnt usual X a ly, I doubt not, it
will be very beneficial to those who suffer from the
above causes. Yours, very respectfully,
J H. KENNARD,
Eigtb, below Coates Street.
CAUTION.
Hoofland's German Remedies are counterfeited.
The Genuine have the signature of C. M. JACK
aoif on the front of the outside wrapper of each
bottle, and the name of the article blown in each
bottle. All others are counterfeit.
Price of the Bitters, $1 per bottle;
Or, a half dozen for $5.
Price of the Tonic, $1 50 per bottle;
Or, a half dozen for $7 50.
The tonic is put up in quart bottles.
Recollect that it is Dr. Hoofland's German
Remedies that are so universally used and so
highly recommended; w—.and do not allow the
Druggist to induce I lyou to take anything
else that he may say-L^ia just as good, be
cause he makes a larger profit onit. These Reme
dies will be sent by express to any locality upon
application to the
PRINCIPAL OFFICE,
At the German Medicine Store.
No. (131 ARCH STREET, Philadelphia.
CHAS. M. EVANS,
PROPRIETOR.
Formerly C. M. JACKSON A Co.
These Remedies are for Bale by Druggists, Store
keepers and Medicine Dealers everywhere.
Do not forget to examine the articlelyou buy
% aider to get thegenenne.
mayWttty 1
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 2, 1869.
SPEECH
OF
HON. WM. A. WALLACE,
OF tXEABFIEM),
Delivered in tlie SfiiHief IVmis.vlvaiiia
on the Xcgro Snffrnge Ainesidineiit.
Mr. Speaker, I feel, sir, that I do not
possess the power that I should have
to do justice to so grave u subject. I
feel, sir. my inability to portray as I
should the results of a policy so* mo- i
mentous in its bearings, so important i
in its results, and so destructive to the :
very essence of our institutions. I ap- i
proach it with no partisan feeling, in
no demagogueical spirit, but with the
feelings of one who, laying his hand j
upon his heart, would do his utmost to
serve his constituents, to aid in the el- ;
evation of his fellow man and to p;e- !
serve and perpetuate the Common- j
wealth he loves, in which he was born :
and on whose loved soil he hopes to
die. The consequences of this amend
ment are far reaching. It concerns the
tiny infant, the grav-headed father,
the wife and mother, the young and
the old. Unborn generations are to
feel its effects, and the destinies of the
State are in its keeping; in its adop
tion the well known and recognized I
landmarks of our system and the es- I
tablished policy of the fathers of the
government are to be reversed. We
should approach its consideration, sir,
with the consciousness that this is the
forum of the people; that around us
now and within the sound of our voices
are gathered the living millions of the |
Commonwealth, and that from this ele
vation the echo of our voices, the sol
emn record of our votes are to pene
trate the unknown years of futurity.
Feelings of awe at the magnitude of
the issue should prompt us to announce
here the grave reasons that impel us to
adopt or to reject it, and 1 can but ex
press my regret that the republican
party upon this floor, gentlemen of ed
ucation, of talent and of eloquence,
representing a majority of the people
of the State, have in obedience to a pre- i
arranged order, seen fit in silence to
register the will of caucus. I regret,
aud I believe that I represent five- j
sixths of the people of the State when
I say it, that they have refused to ren
der here the reasons that impel them
to the votes they are about to give. In
a back room of the capitoi, during the
past night, the Senators representing
340,000 of the electors and two millions
of the people of Pennsylvania, have
choked the arguments that should find
utterance here, and in grim and moody
silence, before the assembled majesty
of the people, and in the presence of
their constituents, await the hour for
casting the votes that are to adopt a
policy that affects the very life of our
institutions whhin this Common
wealth. For this refusal, Senators,
you must answer to your constituents,
and J arraign you before them with the
proud consciousness that upon this is
sue J represent not the minority but
the vast majority of the people.
Sirs, the party to which you belong
is an aggressive one; inexorable par
ty necessity presses you onward ; you
must advance; right or wrong you
must go on; if you -top to concert
measures to bring good government,
peace and rest to an exhausted people,
if you do but turn aside to cause truth j
aud justice and equity to reign in all]
the land, your inability to govern is |
demonstrated, and the party you boast
as your pride is proved to be as "base
less as the fabric of a vision." It is
this inexorable necessity that is now j
pressing you forward. It is this that j
compels you to-day to crush out with
the Will ofan accidental majority the
reference of this question to the people,
and to deny to them their right to pass
upon it, and it is this that impels you
to place your hands upon your mouths
and by silence to acknowledge the
weakness of your cause and your ina
bility to defend the measure you intend
to vote for.
I now address myself to our power
over this subject, and will briefly re
produce the arguments advanced in the
minority report of this morning ;
Sovereignty is in the people, not in
the sense in which this assertion is of
ten lightly made, but in that substan
tial and important sense which makes
it the very basis of our system o{ gov
ernment. Our own constitution ex
plicitly provides in the second section
of the declaration of rights, "that all
power is inherent in the |>eople."
This great power is not vested in the
State, nor in the United States. Neith
er a legislature nor a convention can
possess it.
Under our system the work of a con
vention specially delegated to form a
constitution is inoperative until it is
passed upon by the people, and receives
from their hands its vitality. The
Constitution of the United States and
that of our own State both passed the
ordeal of the people and became opera
tive only under their approval. The
tendency of public opinion is more and
more in this direction, for of the con
stitutions adopted in the United States,
upwards of eighty have thus been sub
mitted and approved.
The proposition contained in the
amendment is a fundamental one. By
this we mean that it was one of those
vital and important rights that enter
ed deeply into the compromises of the
Constitution and that power over it was
given neither to the Federal nor the state
government, but that the right to de
clare who should exercise the power of
election in the State was reserved to
the people and remains with them.
We have no power over this ques
tion. It belongs tothe people, although
a technical reading of the Federal Con
stitution on the subject of amendment
seems to indicate that we have the
power that really belongs to the peo
ple.
We are of opinion that the power of
the legislature of this State to ratify of
its own motion an amendment to the
Federal Constitution is to be restrained
aud confined to those matters over
which control has been vested by the
! people in the Federal and State gov
-1 ernments.
Our power cannot go beyond this, for
the stream cannot rise higher than its
source.
Without the cons: nt of the people of
this State, a right that is not granted
by them to either the Federal or the
State government, cannot be taken
from them, nor can the rights of a mi
nority of tlie States be taken away by
the majority, when the right invaded
has never been within the control of
the Federal Government. If this at
tribute of sovereignty can he taken
from us by Congress and the Legisla
ture then liberty of the press aud trial
by jury can in like manner be swept
away, and it is within the power of
amendment to create an established
church and connect Church and State.
The exercise of this power by the
Legislature, without the consent qf the
people, is not amendment, it is revolution.
A further consideration of the struc
ture of our government and of the
powers granted by the people lead us
to the same conclusion.
The legislature of the State is limited
and controlled by the provisions of the
State constitution. Its acts in violation
thereof are void. As an independent
body, every attempt on its part to in
terfere with the right of suffrage, or to
change the rule thereof, is of no effect,
it may register the public will, but it
can never act with power upon a sub
ject beyond its control. The Constitu
tion of the United States is a part ol
the constitution of Pennsylvania, and
the constitution of Pennsylvania is a
part of the Constitution of the United
States. Each is supreme within its
sphere. The government of the Uni
ted States is one of enumerated pow
ers ; all powers not granted to it "are
reserved to the S'ates and the people."
We may, for the purposes of this re
port, consider it to be supreme in its
control of doubtful and concurrent pow
ers, yet beyond these wide fields and
outside of the range of its authority, is
found the control of this important
subject. It is reserved to'the States, or
the people, it is a part of the State
constitution, and in that respect the pro
visions thereof are the supreme law.
Being neither an enumerated, a con
current, nor a doubtful power under
the Federal Constitution, its control
manifestly is in the State or the peo
ple. This amendment would be futile
if the subject of it were not beyond the
pale of Federal authority. No one
will argue that its coutrol is in .he
State legislature, if the provisions of
the Federal Constitution on the sub
ject of amendment are not to be con
sidered, but we have already seen that
it is in no manner controlled by Fed
eral authority. If it is, then the State
constitution, the supreme law upon
this subject, is made inferior to the pow
er of the State legislature, and they
may by amendment override it. No
such violation of the rights of the peo
ple was ever contemplated by the
framersofour constitutions, but the
plain and clear interpretation of the
whole subject is, that this right is one
that belongs to the people aud can only
be affected or control ltd by them.
If by the vote of the legislatures of
three-fourths of the States this amend
ment be ratified, and by the action of
our State it is rejected, then our control
of suffrage in Pennsylvania is tal" en
from us by the votes of the legislatures
of Florida and Oregon. Surely such a
result as this was never contemplated
by the framers of the government.
If it had ever been supposed to exist,
the Federal Constitution would never
have been ratified.
For these reasons I conclude that sov
ereignty upon this subject is reserved
to the people, that the power of amend
ment in this form without their con
sent does not exist, but that it does ex
ist as to all those matters in which
powers and rights are vested by the
State or Federal Constitution in the
State or Federal Government.
The people of the State established
this rule and it Is their right to be
consulted in its change. >Ye cannot
err in going to them for instructions.
To exercise this power without go
ing to the people, as 1 have already
said, is not amendment-, it is hkvoll-
TION.
In accordance with these opinions I
submitted to you this preamble and
resolutions:
"WHEREAS, The Congress of the
United States has proposed an amend
ment to the Constitution thereof, to tie
known as Article XV, which changes
the rule ol suffrage now existing in this
Commonwealth, and substitutes there
for another and a different rule, which
said amendment is now submitted to
the legislatures of the different .States
for ratification; and
WHEREAS, "All power is inherent
in the people," and it is right that
they should have an opportunity to
vote for or against the ratification of
the said amendment and to determine
whether they will or will not change
the rule of suffrage now existing;
therefore .
Resolved , That the Judiciary Com
mittee of the Senate be and they are
hereby instructed to prepare and forth
with report to the Senate a bill for the
submission of the question of the ratifica
tion of the said amendment to the people
at the election in October,
Resolved, That the Senate will not
act upon the question of the ratifica
tion of the said amendment to the
Constitution of the United States at its
present session, but will await the ac
tion of the people at the polls thereon.
By a strict party vote you have vot
ed down this proposition and denied
to the people the right to pass upon
the question. That responsibility is
now yours, and for it you must answer
to them.
In the brief remainder of the thirty
minutes you have allowed us to dis
cuss this issue, I shall address myself
to the subject iu its practical bearings,
and at the outset I disclaim for myself
i and those with whom I aet all hostil
| ity to the negro, as such. The exped
ience of the past has proved that their
rights, as a race, are quite as safe with
those who now seek to make of them
a political power. It is for this pur
pose, and this alone, they are now
sought to be vested with the right of
suffrage.
In every right that belongs to the ne
gro, as man, he is entitled to and has
always found protection in this Com
monwealth. The declaration of rights
of the constitution is his ample shield
and defence. Life, liberty and prop
erty, trial by jury, habeas corpus, edu
cation and all the other great privi
leges won by the Saxon and i>erpetu
ated in our institutions are freely ac
corded to the negro. Beyond this the
people of this Commonwealth have
never gone, and I believe, are unwil
ling now to go. The political power
of the State has always vested in the
white race, and it should remain there.
The Creator has distinctly marked
the line of difference between the two
races. The elevation of the one to the
privileges and society of the other is
the degradation of the superior. The
attempt to alter the order of nature
will bring upon the negro the resent
ment of the white. Prejudices found
ed upon nature are ineradicable in
their character. The attempt of the
negro to go to the polls with the white
man will produce difficulties between
them, and the law will be invoked to
enable the negro to exercise the right
you give him. This will but serve to
increase the prejudice and arouse still
more keenly the feelings of passion.
The interests and well being of the
white man in this Commonwealth are
more important than are those of the
negro, for if suffrage be the great test
of happiness and of progress, how
much more important that four mil
lions of whites shall be protected there
by than seventy-five thousand negroes.
In what respect do we benefit the
white race by this amendment, and in
what is the negro so largely benefited?
WiU tiie votes of the negroes add to
our prosperity, our happiness, or our
national progress? Can the admix
ture of the inferior add to the value of
the superior, or will it deteriorate and
reduce its quality ? The benefit to be
attained is purely partisan. The pro
position is born of the necessities of
the republican party. Nine thousand
majority at the polls in October last,
with all the prestige and popularity of
a military chieftain to aid you, demon
strated the necessity for more votes,
and in this you hope to obtain them.
The right of voting and of being voted
for have always gone together in Penn
sylvania, but this proposition is a
negation of that principle. It says to
the negro, "help us to power and
place, but you shall have none it "
The practical workingof this amend
ment will be prejudicial to the best in
terests of the State. Many of the best
class of white citizens now refrain
from voting because of the difficulty of
access to the polls and the waste of
time consequent thereon, and if the
secret workings of the minds of many
of these were discoverable, it would be
found that contempt for the system
syid the character of the means used in
politcal struggles largely enter into
the motives of these citizens. Will
this be improved or rendered worse by
the further debasement of suffrage ? I
do not pretend to justify such senti
ments, but we would be foolish to ig
nore their existence, especially in the
large cities and more populous locali
ties. There, too, often are found lines
of voters a square in length, in which
each must take his turn, and every
artifice and trick is rogorted to to em
barrass the right and delay its exer
cise, and citizens must remain for
hours in order to vote. These are
some of the reasons why many of our
best citizens refuse to vote. Will we
increase the number of this class who
visit the polls by sandwiching them
on a warm October afternoon between
two stalwart negroes ?
It is our duty to protect the interests
of the whole people and not sacrifice
the settled policy of the State for the
benefit of a few, Negroes never were
electors in Pennsylvania, and 1 take
distinct issue with the Senator from
Erie (Mr. Lowry) upon that point.—
Judge Agnew, of the Supreme Court,
in the Pennsylvania convention of
1338 said : "The history of Pennsyl
vania proves that the African race
never were considered a part of the
sovereignty of Pennsylvania. They
were not looked upon as being a part
of the community at all, and conse
; quently they could have no right to
I vote."*
Mr. Fisher. Dues the Senator deny
that the Africans did vote in this State?
Mr. Wallace. Ido not deny that in
some counties of the State they were
permitted occasionally to vote, but
that they had a right to do so is ex
pressly denied by Judge Agtiew ; and
Chief Justice Gibson in lfobbs vs.
Fogg,4th Watts, expressly decided they
had no such rights. The law of Pcnn'a
and the policy of its people, have al
ways created them as an inferior race,
and as such they are recognized to this
day. This position is fully re-asserted
in the case of the West Chester and
Philadelphia railroad company, vs.
Miles in sth P. F. Smith's reports, in
which Judge Agnew declares: "The
natural separation of the races is there
fore an undeniable fact, and all social
organizations which lead to their amal
gamation are repugnent to the law of
ntture."
The law of 1780, which abolished
slavery in Pennsylvania, conceded to
the negro the protection of the laws,
but it gave him in express terms but
a part of that freedom which the white
race enjoyed.
Under the rule of suffrage establish
ed by the people in this state, one man
Votes for six people, the rights of five
VOL. 64.—WHOLE No. 5,485
j are ignored, and but one is recognized
;as a polical power. Four millions of
j people reside within our limits, yet
tioO.OOO men control the State, and leas
than 350,000 of those spoke the voice
of our population in October last. U
niversal suffrage is a myth, and the
sickly cant upon that subject, so com
mon in these days, is arrant humbug.
It never has existed and hover can ex
ist in practice, and this in itself d< -
monstrates that suffrage is not a natu
ral right. The rule of exclusion must
be fixed some where and every State
must draw that line for itself. The
people of this State have said that this
is apolitical community of white men over
the age of 21 years, and have vested
them with the power of the State.—
Universal suffrage cannot exist for in
practice it" is invariable to exclude
those not naturalized, those under a
certain age and females. We have a
million and a half of females, as deep
ly interested in the success of our in
stitutions as you or I, vested by nature
with all those qualities which would
make them fitted for all the duties of
the State, and infinitely superior to the
negro. Yet they are excluded. There
are more citizens under the age of 21
years than there are over that age.—
They have more interest in this govern
ment, Senators, then we have, for they
are to survive us and those who elec
ted us; they are to defend the Com
monwealth in the near future; they
are to pay its taxes and administer its
government. Yet all these are exclu
ded and deprived of the right. But you
affirm that the negro defended the re
public in war, and therefore he should
be given the right of suffrage. If this
be sound, why will you not give it to
the half million of men between the
ages of 15 and 21, from whose ranks
you filled the gaps in your regiments
during all of the war. Were they not
all as gallant, are they not as intelli
gent, have they not as much interest
in our institutions as the negro? Yet
depriving all of these classes of this
right, you are about to throw open the
polls to the negro. It is a privilege,
nay a duty, and all cannot be vested
with it. Why shall we admit the in
ferior and exclude the superior ? Why
include the few and exclude the many?
Why enfranchise the less deserving and
exclude the more meritorious?
"Suffrage is a political power vested
by the sovereignty of the community
in a chosen body of electors." It in
volves duties and responsibilities, and
it is our duty as members of the state to
place those responsibilities and devolve
those duties upon those best fitted to
perform them. It is the right of the
mass of the people to be properly rep
resented at the polls, and it is the right
of the Commonwealth to be well ser
ved by the electors. Can these duties
and responsibilities be best fitted by
every member of the community, or
shall it be by a selected body ? Expe
rience in every age has determined the
la tier. Wliibt beauty
of the ideal right we must not fail to
remember the practical. The right as
it can be obtained by human agencies
is only that which is practically within
the reach of man, having regard to his
surroundings and circumstances under
which he exists, and no statesman can
surrender the attainable good of thegreat
est number for the visionary and unat
tainablestandardoiperfect right. Hence,
those who framed our governments
wisely excluded the idea of unlimited
suffrage and confined it to a chosen
body of the white people. In this we
set: and recognize their wisdom and
forethought, and from it we may fitly
conclude that in the exclusion of live
sixths of their own race they did not
dream that those should be made sub
ordinate to the control of an inferior
race, then and fur years previous a ser
vile people.
The whole question for consideration
is, who can best perform the duties re
quired by the Commonwealth at the
hands ot her electors,'.and there are no
interests of morality, no interests of
religion, no interests of society that
demand that we should mould the in
ferior with the mass of the superior,
and thus debase the whole.
The interests of a vast political com
munity are at stake, and it is wrong to
incur any risk, remote though it may
be. in giving them the controlling pow
er of the government.
The influence of race upon the na
tional destiny can scarcely be doubted.
The inherent nature, the intellectual,
moral and animal qualities of families
of men, largely aid in shaping the
course and position of the nation they
control or ot which they from a pi re, ai d
"ail hislorv in its ultimate analysis is
a history not of kings and laws but ol
races." " This is one of nature's hidden
forces silently working out its own
great problem. It is as true that man
makes the institution of which he
forms a part, and impresses with all of
his mental and animal propensities,
as it is that governments are made for
men, not men for governments. Our
progress is one of the best evidences ol
thelruth of this proposition. Contrast
the career of the Saxon for six hundred
years with that of the African for four
thousand years, and see in this the
power of race. Compare the results of
the energy of the Caucasian admixture
as found' within this Republic, with
the evidences of the energy of the mix
ture of that race with the Indian and
negro as found in the Republic of Mex
i ico, and discover here, too, the influ
! enre of race upon national destiny.
We have proved our capacity;
thev have demonstrated their weak
ness. We have impressed upon every
portion of the Republic the evidence*
of our intellect and energy. The busy
marts of commerce, the thriving, rest
less and indomitable milions of our
people, the schoolhouse upon every
hili; the church spire wherever man is
found the shrieking engine tracking
hill and dale and valley, and dragging
j riches from the earth, the college, the
telegraph and the factory, the advan
ced acquirements in every branch of
of literature, of science and of art, our
wonderful increase in population, are
the proofs of our capacity, the maj
estic results of a government of white
i men. They are the patents of our no
bilitv, the insignia of our right to rule.
These, all of these, prove to us the wis
i dom of the policy of the foundeis ol
our government and it should be our
pride to continue in the career < f pro
gress so auspiciously begun. Shall we
j jeopardize our future, shall we initiate
a new and dangerous policy, shall we
yield to a mixed and mongrel race the
i place we have won the right to oecu
y 9
| Senators, I pray you to hesitate and
I think before you fasten upon an i n
willing people this dangerous, and, I
fear, disastrous policy.