A. J. GERRITSON, Thiblisher.}
NEIC*-I=ILCO gatl:TreraNit.B43lr3El.
gB .1P MI 33 CJ ME
SENATOR HIESTER CLYMER,
OF BBR.BB COL-STY,
On Landon • s resolution approving the action of those
'members of Congress from Pennsylvania who voted
In favor of the District of Columbia Negro Suffrage
Bill, and instructing the Pennsylvania U. S. Senators
to support the same In the 11. S. Senate.
Mr. CLYMER said: Mr. Speaker: Were
I at this hour to consult my own feelings,
I should certainly not rise to address the
Senate. For several days I have been
suffering from a severe indisposition, and
I do not know that I will be able to say
what I have proposed for myself, with
that clearness and that precision which
I conceive the great importance of the
question demands; and I should gladly
remain silent did I not feel that a higher
duty than is usually imposed upon a Sen
ator falls to my lot. I feel, sir, that when
one is charged to speak by every man
who has voted for him and whom he im
mediately represents, and by thousands of
others who have hitherto opposed him,
who say, "for the sake of right, for the
sake of justice, for our own sake and those
who are to come after us, give utterance
to our sentiments in the Senate of Pennsyl
vania"—l say, when called upon by such
voices, coming up from every hill and val
ley of the Commonwealth, I could not re
frain from speaking, however imperfectly
the duty may be performed.
In addition, sir, I am called upon by
past memories in this State, by the past
action of the good and great men who laid
her foundations upon certain immutable
principles, and who guided her destinies
since she was a weak and dependent col
ony.
By all these considerations I feel con
strained, at this hour and upon this sub
ject, to say something to this honorable
body, and in so doing I shall not diverge
from the issue directly made by the reso
lutions offered by the Senator from Brad
ford (Mr. Landon.) I will not, unless
compelled so to do, travel over the wide
field embraced in the remarks of that Sen
ator, and in the discoursive effort of the
Senator. from Indiana (Mr. White.) I in
tend to confine myself to the question up
on which instructions are proposed to be
given. And, sir, for myself and the peo
ple of this State, I thank the Senator
from Bradford, that he, first of all, has
bad the hardihood, the boldness, aye sir,
I may call it the daring courage, here and ;
now to distinctly avow, and glory in the
avowal, that all the blood and treasure
spent, that-all the ills untold which have '
befallen our land, that all the debt, the ca
lamity n Id misery, the carnage and har
vest of a path through which we have just
passed, was, sir, not to preserve a Consti
tution and risture a broken Union, but
was to keep the party to which the Sena
tor adheres, in power, through the co-op
eration and by the votes of an infenor
and debased race, whom they already
proudly call their allies! (Applause.)
Oh, sir, I confess to you it does , require
nerve and courage to do it. But I thank
God the Senator has made the deliberate
avowal, right here, where it may be wet
by the indignant scorn of the people of
this State, and that the member of Con
gress from the Lancaster district, (Mr.
Stevens,) has made a similar avowal upon
the floor of Congress. He alone of all
hie party dared make it there. The Re
publican party of this State may not here
after deny its position on this question.—
It has long denied the issue. Would, sir,
that it could have been 'fairly made years
ago. How much of sorrow and of blood
it would have spared this land ? Bat, air,
the mask is thrown aside, the hideous
purpose is at last disclosed ; the hour of
trial has come. The people shall sit in
judgment; and woe be to those who
have so long deceived them, thereby
drenching the land with blood and mort
gaging the present and future generations
with endless debt.
Mr. Speaker, the resolutions before the
Senate are in these words :
"Whereas, A bill enfranchising:the col
ored citizens of the District of Columbia
lately
. passed the lower house of Congress,
receiving the earnest support of our Re
pub!ican members; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House,&c.,
That we approve and commend the action
of our members in their support of this
measure * and our Senators are requested
and hereby instructed to vote for the
same.
Resolved,. That the Governor be re
quested to forward to each of our mem
bers and Senators in Congress a copy of
this preamble and resolution."
DOCTIRICE OF INSTRUCTIONS -UPON
VIIAT 1"017N33:ED
Before discussing the policy of the
measure, for which our Representatives in
Congress are thanked for having voted,
and fot which it is proposed to instruct
our Senators to vote, I 'design briefly to
discuss the doctrine of instructions.
It is based upon the- supposition that
those who give the instructions truly and
unquestionably represent the majority of
the whole people . of the State; add:that,
the question upon Vtbieti.bistreotiens
glen was a recognized principle in the
general platform of the party having the
ascendency in • the State, or a distinct is
sue made before and approved by the peo
ple in some preceding election. I
_con
,ceive these to be the only grounds on
which instructions can have any binding
force.
DOES THE SENATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, AS
NOW CONSTITUTED, FAIRLY REPRESENT
PARTIES IN THIS STATE ?
In order to ascertain whether, if these
instructions are passed by the General
Assembly, they will truly represent the
opinions of a majority of the whole peo
ple of Pennsylvania, or whether they will
merely be an expression of the opinions of
certain Senators and members who hold
their seats in these halls by means ot ger
rymandered districts, or upon issues oth
er than the one now presented, I shall
have to refer to some facts and figures.
At the Presidential election in 186-1, a
larger vote was polled than ever before in
this State, amounting in the aggregate to
562,707. Of these Mr. Lincoln received
296,391, and General McClellan 276,1075 ;
Mr. Lincoln's majority being 20,075. If
you will divide the whole by the number
composing this body, (thirty-three,) it
will appear that the average number of I
voters to each Senator is 17,051. It fol
lows, then, if the people of this State were
fairly and honestly represented on this
floor, and that if the State bad not been
wifilly and unconstitutionally by party
drill and under the party lash gerryman
dered, there should and would be sixteen
Democratic Senators bolding seats here
instead of twelve, and bat seventeen Re
publicans instead of twenty-one !
It were a useless waste of time to point
out the means by which this nefarious
scheme was accomplished, but I may not
refrain from citing one specimen of the
honesty andfairnebs of the Republican ma
jority which fastened this injustice and
outrage upon the people of this State.
At the Presidential election, the coun
ty of Lancaster polled 22,917 votes. At
the same election, Berks county polled
19,976 votes. Lancaster polling but 2,-
941 votes more than Berke, and yet Lan
caster has two Senators in this body and
Berks but one ; and in the House Lan
caster has four members and Berks
only three 1 I—thereby giving the 2,941
vweis which Lancaster has in excess of
Berks one Senator and a member !! ! I
might cite other cases of like injustice and
fraud, but, I will not detain the Senate by
referring to a subject for which there is
no present remedy.
But, sir, assuming that there should be
sixteen Senators on this floor represent
ing the Democratic vote of the State, and
that at, least three if not a greater num
ber of Republican Senators will decline
to vote, or if voting, will do so against
the resolutions, I ask, sir, whether even
if you pass them, will they be the voice or
a majority of the whole people of the
State? There is, sir, but one answer to
the question. They will be the instruc
tions of a majority of the General Assem
bly, but clearly not of the whole people,
and therefore of no binding force upon
our Senators. I trust I have made this
point clear and beyond cavil.
HAS THE QrESTION OF NEGRO SUFFRAGE
BEEN FAIRLY IN ISSUE BEFORE THE
PEOPLE OF THIS STATE
My second proposition is that you can
not instruct upon a question which was
not a recognized principle in the general
platform of the party in the ascendency
in the State, or which was made a distinct
issue and approved of by the people at
some preceding election.
Will any Senator ' Republican or Dem
ocrat, assert that the question of negro ,
suffrage in the District of Columbia, in
the Southern States, or in any Stateef
the Union ever entered into the platform '
of the Republican party, framed at Balti
more in 1664, or into the one made in this
State last August, under the guidance
and direction of Mr. Cessna, the chairman
of the State committee of that party ?
On the contrary, sir, when the charge
was made that a forced construction of
that kind might attach to the Cessna plat
form of 1865, it, was indignantly and offi
cially denied by that gentleman. It was
asserted vehemently, and with emphasis,
by every Republican speaker everysthere
in the State, so far as it came to my
knowledge, that the Republicans as a par
ty were opposed to the doctrine, and that
they never would and never could be corn
initted to any such policy. I will not
speak for the Senator from Bradford (Mr.
Landon,) nor the Senator from Erie (Mr.
Lowry.) I know how far they are in ad
vance of those who usually act with
them, and how likely they are to tell the
truth when others dissemble. I will not
aver what they might have said, but I as..
sert that elsewhere—everywhere in this
broad State—it was denied to be an is
sue; and I •challenge you now, my Re
publican friends, to say, if you bad dared
to make that issue, where you would have
been.? (Applause.) You would have
been where the people of this State will
consign you, after you have voted for
these resolutions.
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND THE DUTY
OP CONGRESS TO LEGISLATE IN ACCOR
DANCE WITH THE VIEWS, WISHES AND
INTERESTS OP THE PEOPLE OP THAT
DISTRICT. .
I have thus demonstrated that the res-
MONTROSE, PA., TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1866.
olutions, if passed, will not represent the
will of a majority of the whole people of
the State ; that they are not upon a ques
tion embraced in the general platform of
the dominant party, or arising from an
issue involved in the late election in this
State. I shall now proceed to discuss the
subject matter of the resolution which is
to instruct our Senators to vote for the
bill before Congress, enfranchising the ne
gro in.the District of Columbia,and thank
ing and commending the Republican
members of Congress from Pennsylvania
for having advocated and voted lot the
bill when before that body.
In 1788-89 the States of Maryland and
Virginia ceded certain portions of their
territory for the purposes of a seat of gov
ernment for the United States, and by
the Bth article, sec. 1 of the ConOitution .
of the United States, absolute atithgrity'
over that district was conferred npoii the
Congress of the United States. Elio aat
intend to dispute this fact, on thetiimit.ra
tk4
ry, I admit it in its fullest, broa es't, , and
most unequivocal signification. ongress
was given absolute, unqualified, a d (if I
may use the expression) eternal con
trol of that district. But, sir, will the
Senator from Bradford, will any Senator
who intends voting for these resolutions,
pretend to say when that clause was put
into the Constitution of the United States
it was ever supposed by those who fram
ed it, that the day would come when Con
gress would dare to legislate on any sub
ject, against the views, and wishes, and
interests of the people of that district ?
Was it not, on the contrary, the only re
cognized doctrine, that the representa
tives of the people were ever to respect
and obey their views, wishes and inter
ests ? Did not that priuciple enter—lay
at the very foundations of our Govern
ment? Was it not implanted so deep
down in the hearts of those who made the
Constitution, that it could never have
been supposed by them that evil hours
like the present might come upon our
country? No, sir; they were too jeal
ous of the rights of men, ever to have con
ferred a power thus unlimited and illim
itable, over their brethren and posterity,
who were to ;nhabit that district, bad
they supposed that it would ever be ex
ercised against their views, their wishes
and their interests. Let who will attempt
to deny this proposition; let who may de
ride it. I tell him that our past history
will prove it ; every principle that entered
into the formation of our Government,
will establish it. Those who framed the
Constitution. had waged a seven years'
war, to enable them and their posterity
to maintain this doctrine, and enforce it,
and they, would have been the last men
on earth to have committed any portion
of their fellow-citizens to the tender mer
cies of a law-making power, in which
their views, wishes and interests were not
to be respected and obeyed, And, sir,
that body to which this supreme jurisdic
tion .was given, was ever in contempla
tion of those who conferred it, to legis
late in accordance with the demands and
wishes of the people of the district. They
allowed that people no representative ;
they deprived them of a vote upon na
tional affairs; a territory anomalous in
condition was created, without represen
tation, yet subject to taxation. But, sir,
the States of Virginia and Maryland,
which ceded the territory, and those who
made the supreme law, which gave Con
gress the exclusive and absolute control
over it, did so because they conceived
that they were confiding that power to
a body which, at no lime, and under no
circumstances would violate those ftmda
mental principles, which, so long as one
Government was administered with jus
tice, were to govern the action of every
legislative body in the land.
THE DITTY OF CONGRESS IS TO LEGISLATE
IN ACGORDANCE WTITI THE VIEWS AND
This being adnlitted, how does the fact
as to the views, wishes and interests of
that District stand ? This could best be
determined by a vote, of that people. It
was taken, and the Senator (Mr. Landon)
well knows the result. Nearly seven
thousand against and but sixty odd in fa
vor of the proposition. Seven thousand
white men have deliberately said, "We
wish no admixture of races; we wish to
meet no man here, on either political or
social equality, other than those whom,
under our time-honored usages, we have
been accustomed to meet. It is against
our views, our wishes, and we conceive
against our best interests."
And yet, sir, in defiance of this clear
and explicit declaration, the Republican
majority of the present Congress elected
from States a large majority of whom
have persistently and ever denied this
" right," " this
. privilege," as the Senator
(Landon) calls it, to the colored citizens
within their borders, have forced this
measure upon them. It has been done,
as is boldly proclaimed here and there,for
the purpose of testing public sentiment,
to know how far they may go without
danger of being burled from power. It
has been done as an " entering wedge"for
the enfranchisement of negroes there and
elsewhere throughout the laud. They
have done that to the District of Colum
bia which, as yet, they would not dare
attempt in . their Stites.
Yet, sir, negro suffrage is to be forced
upon the District of Columbia by the
votes of Congressmen,representing States
which, saving Maine, Vermont, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
and New York, do not permit negroes to
vote. New York admits them on tt free- I
bold qualification of two hundred and fifty
dollars, so there the property votes, not
the negro.
I say, sir, that every Congressman who
voted for this iniqUtty, save those from
the States I have named, voted for that
to which their own people will not sub
mit.
They did it too in flat opposition to
the almost unanimous wish of the people
of the District. Is this just ? Is it right?
Is it fair? Will it be submitted to ? Will .
not the hour come when the judgment
entered against the views, the wishes and
the interests of the people of the District
of Columbia, by an irresponsible body, by
a Congress organized and existing on
such revolutionary principles, that doubts
may well arise as to the legality of
any of its acts? Will not the hour come
when that judgment if it be concurred in
by the Senate, will be reversed ? These,
sir, are my views in regard to the ques
tion so far it relates to the District of Co
, lumbia.
IS THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE ONE OF THE .
NATURAL RIGHTS OF MANKIND ?
In order to reach the general principle,
I proposed briefly to examine this doe-
trine enunciated by the Senator from
Bradford, (Mr. Landon,) that elective
franchise is one of the natural rights of
mankind. It is true the Senator did not
enunciate it in specific terms. His argu
ment was general in its character, but I
drew the conclusion that he claimed it to
be a natural right. If lam wrong I beg
to he corrected here, and now.
Mr. Speaker, I have always considered,
and, I believe, every writer on the sub
ject, has hitherto adjudged that the natu
ral rights of men are protection to life,
to liberty, to reputation, to property. If
the right. to Vote is one of the natural
rights, it should be exercised by all man- ,
kind, without limitation as to age or sex,
race or color, at all times, everywhere and
under all circumstances; because all gov
ernments profess, at least, to furnish pro
tection to life, liberty, reputation and
property. But, sir, has any Government
any where, at any time, granted unlimi
ted, unconditional suffrage ? To state
the proposition is to show its absurdity, i
1 because it' it he a natural right it should
be exercised by all men, of every age, by
both sexes, and at all times. Has this
ever been done ? 1 ask the Senator if it
has ever been permitted any where? Is
it not, on the contrary, a right which be
longs to and . is vested in the whole body
politic, whose exclusive right it is to de
termine when, where and by whom it shall
be exercised, and under what restrictions?
It ig, therefore, not a natural right, but
purely a conventional or political right,
to be exercised by those only who are ad,
judged worthy of it by the whole body o
the people.
THE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA ON THE
SUBJECT OF NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
I have said, Mr. Speaker, that no gov
ernment, in any age, or at any time, has
granted this conventional or political
right to all men of all ages, regardles of
sex and color. The history of our own
State is illustrative of the position I as
sume. It is written in her Constitution
that " in elections by the citizens, every
white freeman of the age of twenty one
years, having resided in this State one
year, and in the election district where
he offers to vote ten days immediately
preceding such election, and within two
years paid a State or county tax, which
shall have been assessed at least ten days
before the election, shall enjoy the rights
of an elector."
And further to illustrate my argument,
and for the information of those who have
failed to understand the reasons which
lead to the adoption of the clause of our
Constitution which I have just read, I
propose, at this time, to cite the opinions
of one of the ablest of our lawyers and
statesmen, whose virtues, learning and el
oquence Will obtain for him the admira
tion of after times, in reference to the pol
icy and necessity of inserting the word
" white" in the first section of the third ar
ticle. I refer to the Attorney General
Mr. Meredith. He was a member of the
convention which framed the existing
Constitution of the Commonwealth.
EXTRACTS PROM THE SPEECH OF HON. W.
31. MEREDITH, DELIVERED IN THE RE
FORM CONVENTION OF 1838 ON THE SUB-
On the 17th of January, 1838, the con
vention resumed the consideration of the
report of the committee to whom was re
ferred the third article of the Constitu
tion. Mr. Martin, of Philadelphia, moved
to further amend the first section of the
article by inserting the word " white" be
fore the Word " freeman." The motion
led to aprolonged and able debate; in
which Mr. Meredith said :
"The right of suffrage ought to be the
privilege of white citizens alone. And
where is the injustice? Theblacks came
here fugitives from slavery, reeking from
the chains of personal bondage. Is it not
enough that they are protected by our
laws ? Are we bound to do more for
them than for the English and German
emigrants who come into our State and
from whom we ourselves have descended
remotely and proximately ? How is it
with these emigrants ? Is the right of
suffrage bestowed upon them without a
servitude of seven years, and the process
of naturalization after oaths have been
filed ? Viewing the question as a states
man and not as connected with any themes
of the equality of the human race—what
have we to require of slaves who come
here as fugitives from bondage? Noth
ing. Every citizen of the State of one
year's residence, wl.o has paid his tax, is
entitled to vote. While the Englishman,
the German and the Frenchman, who
come into the State, must serve seven
years before they can be permitted to
I vote.
"He did not think the argument sound
which required us then to open the polls
to all these blacks. He shuddered at the
consequence of throwing open our polls to
all who might come here to exercise the
right of suffrage. He thought it wiser
not to incur the risk of having our insti
tutions controlled by a race to which we
do not belong. No one denies the pos
sesssion of intellect and virtue to the
blacks; but I require more than this—
while we resist all association with them
in private life, and repel the idea of inter
marriage with the race and amalgamation
with them—to induce me to give Them the
right of suffrage and to run the risk, how
ever remote it may be, of having the gov
ernment of this State in the bands of the
African race—that they should exercise
control over its administration.
" He was entirely at a loss to perceive
how they could reconcile the idea of the
two parties going to the polls together
for the purpose of depositing their votes
in the same ballot boxes. HP knew cer
tain parts of Pennsylvania, in which such
an attempt could not possibly be made
without bloodshed.
"He knew of no principles of religion;
he knew of no'principles of humanity; he
knew of no principles of civil freedom
which made it imperative upon this cody
to adopt such a course, which must even
tually lead to such results, as he had de
scribed.
" If we viewed this as a political ques
tion, and as a political right, he thought
that it would be apparent that it became
our duty to give the elective franchise to
those only who could enjoy it, and thro'
the medium of whom the peace and pros
perity of society would be promoted.
"It is enough surely that when these
races are brought to the shores of the
United States and placedin bondage, that
we restore them to the condition of men
and confer on them the blessings of liber
ty. We are not bound to give him po
litical rights,
which may enable them at
some future day to wrest the government'
from the hands of the descendants of
those who founded it. His course, there
fore, was influenced by consideration con
nected with the safety and prosperity of
the Commonwealth. The question ought
to be considered under such views and
not in reference to any wild notions of
humanity. What would be the conse
quences of all these slaves being permit
ted to run here and vote ? What would
be the state of feeding which it would be
calculated to give rise to between them
and the white citizens, whose privileges
would thus be trenched on ? The inevi
table result would be that the blacks must
go the wall, as the weaker party; and this
would bring about a condition of things
fruitful of evils, similar to that which ex
ists in the Southern States, where parties
would be divided, not according to politi
cal views, or anv of the great principles
of government; but solely and exclusively
with referenCe to color."
Mr. Meredith pursued the same line of
argument and of thought through the
prolonged and able debate. He made the
closing argument in favor of the amend
ment proposed by Mr. Martin to insert
the word "white, and upon the test vote
his name will be found among the "ayes"
—there being 77 in its favor to 45 against
it, as will appear by reference to the de- 1
bates of the Convention, vol. x, p. 100.
Ido not know, sir, that Mr. Meredith
has changed in opinion on this question
from that day to this. I can only say
that no man can add strength to the ar
gument he then made. I commend it to
the dispassionate judgment of those Sen
ators who have alwas professed to enter
tain `sit great confidence in his opinions,
legal, political and moral. I trust it will
viable them to understand the reasons'
which actuated him as a Pennsylvanian
and a patriot in the Convention in 1838,
and if they agree with him that it would
be prejudicial to our highest interests to
permit the sparse negro population of this-
Commonwealth to enjoy the elective fran
i chile, they will not instruct our Senators
to force it upon a people where the blacks
will surely control the elections. Let
them observe the golden rule—" Do unto
others as you would have them do unto
you."
TEE OPISIONS'OF JUDGE norrcro ON THE
SUBJECT.
Another distinguished member of that
convention, one renowned his ability
as ajudge, and one who added all the
graces of a high literary culture to hie
character as a man, was the late Judge
i VOLUME XXIII, NUMBER 12.
Joseph Hopkinson, of Philadelphia; he
who wrote one of our national bymns--
" Hail Columbia;" he, too, has left on rec
ord the reasons why he voted with, Mr.
Meredith in favor of inserting the, word
" white" in our Constitution. If pomade
he stated his views in stronger and more
emphatic utterances than did Mr. Mere
dith.
By reference to vol. x. pages 94-95 of
the convention, it.will appear that—
" Mr. Hopkinkin reminded the conven
tion that his argument had been and now
is, that in the actual relations now subsis
ting between the white and black popula
tion of this Commonwealth—which is not
likely to be changed, for nobody here,
even the most zealous advocates for equal
ity, has proposed or anticipated ordesired
any such change—it will be unwise, it will
be dangerous to us and to them to admit
them to political rights on an equality
with ourselves; and what is s the difficulty?
what the objection? It is here—that
while you exclude them, as you actually
do, and as you mean to continue to do,
from any approach to a social equality,
you cannot wisely or safely confer upon
them political rights. Has any attempt
been made to meet this view of the case?
to answer this argument ? He had heard
none."
And I, to day, have heard of none. I
have not heard the Senator from Brad
ford, (Mr. Landon;) certainly I have not
heard the Senator from Indiana, (Mr.
White,) say that while he would grant
theta political rights he would raise them
to his own social level. They have not
been bold and daring enough to do that ;
they have not dared
. so grossly to insult
an instinct which is felt by every man.
But if you do the one, you must do the
other as an inevitable consequence. Mer
edith said so; Hopkinson said so ; every
man of judgment and of foresight who
has argued upon this question, says, that
if you grant them the political privilege
you must grant -them social equality.
Because, sir, if you give them the right
to vote, you give them the right to be
voted for; and if you give them the right
to be voted for, you put them in position
here, in position there, and in position all
over this Commonwealth—in your jury
boxes and upon your judicial bench. Are
Senators prepared for that ? Will they
take the consequences of a position of that
kind ? I refer them for my authority that
this must be the consequence, to two gen
tleman—one still living, the other dead—
as highly honored as any two men whose
names have ever glued the annals of
Pennsylvania.
Now, that I have not misquoted Judge
Hopkinson, I will read further from his
remarks :
" Has any gentleman on this floor, the
boldest and warmest advocate for negro
equality and suffrage, gone so far as to
say—to insinuate that be is willing to ex
tend to the blacks his social equality and
rights; to receive him in his family or at,
his table, on the same footing and terms
with his white friends and acquaintances;
allow them to marry with bis children,
male and female ? Will he allow them to
marry his daughter ? (Applause.]
The Speaker. There must be better
order in the Senate. .
Mr. Clymer. " Will he allow them to
marry his children, male and female ?
Not a word of the kind." Yet I tell you
Mr. Speaker, that • every Senator who
votes for this doctrine avows that he is
waiting for its practical accomplishment
in Southern States and in Northern States
and here in this good old home of ours—
I say to every such man if you do it you
must come to that. Are you ready for it?
Now, sir, lam not actuated by any un
due prejudices against this race. I do
notintend to stand here as their opponent
or in the attitude of an oppressor, I will
give the negro all the natural rights to
which he is entitled ; I will protect. him
in life, liberty, property and reputation;
but so help me God I ho shall never, with
my consent, help me and mine rule this
State. And Ido not believe the people
elsewhere will ever come up to the fanat
ical idea to which they must come up if
they grant him political rights, and that
is, that the negro is their social equal.
Yon cannot 'do that without elevating
him to our standard or degrading us to
his level. Are yon prepared for that,!_
I ask the Senator from Bradford and de
Senator from Indiana, I ask Senators here
to look in the face the fall consequences of
their vote to day and to say whether they
are prepared for the consequences of any
such doctrine as that.
Judge Hopkinson further says:
" How then would his political pOwer
be used ? Certainly to extend its influ
ence; certainly's° avenge the affont Which
meets him at the front door of every
house where he might present himself.
If he votes, he will expect and demand to
be voted for; he wilLclaun the right, and
who can gainsay it, to. a competition for
every office in the Commonwealth, execu
tive, legislative and judieiali and although
their own strength, amounting to twelve
or fifteen thousand votes, may, not of it
self be able to obtain suchplicesfor them,
yet,in the -conflict of parses -Poi equally
balanced as they sometimes are,,and the
recklesi eageniegi_oilen displayed for,
t?, l 7s.their votis maY b e: nl9re OePSuffi
meat to tutu the scale, and they may be
obtained by compromises 'la bargains