VIRGINIA. 



817 



under a republican form of government where- 

 in a large portion of the State, nineteen-twen- 

 tieths of the people, are disfranchised and can- 

 not hold office. But, fortunately, by the terms 

 of the Constitution, the General Assembly has 

 control of this subject. The restricting clauses 

 of the Constitution were devised in time of war. 

 But we have passed through this great and 

 terrific conflict, waged on both sides with a 

 skill and pertinacity seldom equalled. Men ac- 

 cept the facts developed by the logic of the past 

 four years, declare that they have taken the 

 oath of allegiance to the Government of the 

 United States without mental reservation, and 

 intend to be, and remain, loyal to the Govern- 

 ment of their fathers. It would not be in ac- 

 cordance with the spirit of that noble Anglo- 

 Saxon race, from which we boast our common 

 origin, to strike a fallen brother, or impose 

 upon him humiliating terms after a fair sur- 

 render." He recommended that the amnesty 

 oath prescribed by the President, or one of a 

 similar character, should be substituted for the 

 one required by the State Constitution ; also 

 the passage of an act to legalize the marriage 

 of persons of color ; also that the State tax be 

 increased to fifteen cents on the hundred dollars 

 of taxable property ; and that a day should be 

 fixed for holding elections for members of the 

 Legislature in counties in which no elections 

 had been held, and for members of Congress. 



The subject of disfranchisement was imme- 

 diately taken up in both Houses, and the result 

 of their action was, to allow all to vote for 

 State officers who had not held office under the 

 Confederacy or its State governments upon 

 taking the amnesty oath. Those who had so 

 held office could neither vote nor hold office. 

 This restriction arose from a clause of the 

 amended Constitution, prescribing an oath 

 "That I have not, since January 1, 1864, vol- 

 untarily given aid, etc." The Legislature there- 

 fore submitted to the people the question of the 

 removal of this restriction upon office-holders, 

 to be determined at the ensuing election in Oc- 

 tober. 



This action of the Legislature was followed 

 by the appearance of a large number of candi- 

 dates for the offices, and considerable interest 

 was awakened. Many of the candidates for 

 Congress, finding that they would be unable 

 to take the oath required by that body, with- 

 drew. Some citizens of Albermarle County 

 addressed a letter to President Johnson, asking 

 if, in his opinion, Congress would probably in- 

 sist upon the oath required, to whom the fol- 

 lowing reply was given : 



ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE, > 

 WASHINGTON, September 23, 1865. J 



Messrs. Wood, John Coc7trane, and others, CJiarlottes- 



mtte, Virginia: 



GKNTS. : The President has referred to me your 

 letter, dated Charlottesville, Virginia, September, 

 1865, and I am instructed by him to say that he has 

 no more means of knowing what Congress may do in 

 regard to the oath about which you inquire than any 

 other citizen. It is his earnest wish that loyal and 

 VOL. v. 52 A 



true men, to whom no objections can be made, should 

 be elected to Congress. 



This is not an official letter, but a simple expres- 

 sion of individual opinion and wish. 



I am, gents, very respectfully, your obedient ser- 

 vant, JA11ES SPEED, Attorney -General. 



The election was held on October 12th, and 

 the vote polled was the smallest ever given in 

 the State. In the first eight Congressional dis- 

 tricts, however, it exceeded 40,000. The con- 

 stitutional amendment met with very little op- 

 position. . Many counties voted unanimously 

 for the removal of the restriction. 



The Legislature thus elected assembled at 

 Kichmond on December 4th. The Governor 

 addressed the usual message to both Houses, 

 in which he stated that in many sections of tho 

 State a fair crop had been gathered, which, 

 with prudence and economy, would furnish 

 food to the people until another harvest ; that 

 the debt of the State was $41,061,316, and the 

 assets, consisting of stock of railroads and loans 

 to them, with back interest, amounted to $27,- 

 709,319; that the bank stocks held by the 

 State were probably all lost; that the in- 

 vestment in the James Eiver Canal could not 

 be relied on for income for many years ; that 

 for practical purposes the Literary Fund may 

 be said no longer to exist. The holders of 

 State bonds were pressing for the interest due, 

 amounting to six millions of dollars, and the 

 whole subject demanded most careful considera- 

 tion. The relations of the State with the rail- 

 roads were presented in detail; the condition 

 of the public institutions, the freedmen, immi- 

 gration, legal interest, militia, and all those sub- 

 jects requiring more immediate attention, were 

 explained with much fulness. 



In the House, on the second day of the ses- 

 sion, an act was introduced to repeal an act 

 passed May 13, 1862, giving the consent of the 

 Legislature of Virginia to the formation and 

 erection of a new State within the jurisdiction 

 of Virginia, etc. The rules were suspended, 

 and it was passed at once, without a dissenting 

 voice. Mr. "Woodson, of Buckingham, said the 

 act of the Legislature authorizing the division 

 of the State, and the annexation of the coun- 

 ties of Jefferson and Berkeley to the new State 

 of "West Virginia, had not been ratified by the 

 Congress of the United States, and he wished 

 the consent of the State withdrawn before the 

 ratification took place. 



The bill was then sent to the Senate, where 

 the rules were suspended, and it was passed. 

 This act repealed the consent given for the 

 formation of the State of "West Virginia, and 

 also the consent for the transfer of certain 

 counties to that State. 



For the amendment to the Constitution of 

 the State, it was proposed to strike therefrom 

 the following words: "No person shall hold 

 any office under this Constitution who shall not 

 have taken and subscribed the oath aforesaid. 

 But no person shall vote or hold office xinder 

 this Constitution who has held office under the 



