CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



171 







:i, Vuii Horn, Van Wyek, Ward, William B. 

 urn, NVi'lLi, Wilkiuuon, Witcher, and Wood- 

 ward M. 



So (two-thirds voting in favor thereof) the 

 rules were suspended, and tho bill was passed. 



In the Senate, on March 18th, tho hill from 



II OIMO was considered: 

 Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, said: "I wish to 

 call tho attention of the Senate to the provi- 

 of this bill, to show that it will not an- 

 iho purpose; that we need something 

 more if wo intend to enforce the fifteenth 

 amendment. I wish any bill on this subject to 

 contain all the requisites. 



"Tho first two sections relate simply to vot- 

 ing. If an officer fails or refuses to perform 

 an official act necessary to give a voter tho 

 right to vote, ho is guilty of a misdemeanor. 

 It provides for the case of any person who 

 shall by fraud, intimidation, or other unlawful 

 means, prevent a citizen from voting. That has 

 nothing to do with registration and the pre- 

 liminary matters which are necessary prior to 

 voting; so that something else must he pro- 

 vided to reach that. 



" The third section provides ' that in case tho 

 constitution or law of any State shall require 

 the assessment or payment of a tax as a quali- 

 fication of an elector,' and the assessor or 

 other officer shall refuse or wilfully neglect to 

 assess the person or property of any colored 

 citizen, he shall be punished for that offence. 



" The fourth section also relates to the same 

 system of tho assessment of a tax, put in an- 

 other form. 



" The fifth section provides ' that if any clerk 

 or other officer required by the law of any 

 State to register, record, or transcribe any list 

 of persons upon whom taxes have been as- 

 sessed,' etc., shall refuse to register a colored 

 voter, if he is properly assessed for taxes, then 

 such officer shall forfeit $500 and bo deemed 

 guilty of a misdemeanor. 



" The sixth section provides a penalty for any 

 collector of taxes who does not do his duty 

 with regard to the taxes. 



u Tho seventh section provides for the pun- 

 ishment of any officer who, at any election for 

 President and Vice-President of the United 

 States or members of tho House of Kepresent- 

 atives, shall fail to receive the vote of a voter 

 on account of race or color. 



" The eighth section goes on to prescribe the 

 penalty for refusing to register the voter again. 



"The ninth section provides the penalty in 

 case ' any person shall, by threats, violence, or 

 intimidation, prevent or attempt to prevent 

 any citizen of the United States from tho free 

 exercise of his right to vote in any election at 

 which members of Congress, or electors for 

 President or Vice-President of the United 

 States, may be voted for.' It provides that 

 such person shall be liablo to indictment and 

 punishment. That is fixing it for a particular 

 election. 



" Those arc tho provisions of the House bill. 

 It provides for the two cases mentioned ; and 

 now let mo stato some cases that it does not 

 provide for. There is nothing in tho world in 

 tiii- I till to punish outsiders for preventing tho 

 registration of voters altogether. That is tho 

 great difficulty. A mob may prevent registra- 

 tion, as they have done over in Virginia, and 

 t In. ro is no penalty provided. Thero is nothing 

 to reach that case at all. And in case a mob 

 should prevent registration altogether, and not 

 allow a colored man to register, then under 

 tli is bill there is nothing to entitle him to vote 

 when ho comes to tho poll. There is nothing 

 to interfere with tho power of a mob to drive 

 him away from tho registrar's office ; and that 

 being conclusive evidence upon the right to 

 vote, and there being no penalty provided for 

 that, the whole bill is good for nothing; the 

 whole bottom is out of the bill. I tell you, 

 Senators, it will not answer the purpose at all. 

 Now, in order that the bill reported by the Com- 

 mittee on the Judiciary may be understood, I 

 desire to call the attention of the Senate to it. 



" Tho first section is the simple declaration 

 of tho principle that all men shall be entitled 

 to vote, without distinction of race or color. 



" The second section provides : 



That if by or under tho authority of the constitu- 

 tion or laws of any State, or the laws of any Terri- 

 tory, any act is or shjtll be required to be done as a 

 prerequisite or 



" I want to call attention to this thing, and 

 Senators will see the difficulty in framing any 

 thing. If any thing is required to be done as 

 a prerequisite or 



qualification for voting, and by such constitution or 

 laws persons or officers are or shall be charged with 

 the performance of duties in furnishing to citizens an 

 opportunity to perform such prerequisite, or to be- 

 come qualified to vote, it shall be the duty of every 

 such person and officer to give to all citizens of the 

 United States the same and equal opportunity to per- 

 form such prerequisite, and to become qualified to 

 vote, without distinction of race, color, or previous 

 condition of servitude. 



"We have undertaken to enumerate some 

 prerequisites. There may be a thousand other 

 things invented outside of them not referred 

 to by the first section. 



" I undertake to say that there is nothing 

 whatever in the House bill to prevent intimi- 

 dation and fraud by outsiders to prevent a 

 party from performing the prerequisites neces- 

 sary to qualify him to vote. Such a provision 

 cannot be found in the bill. But in the third 

 section of the bill that is reported by tho Ju- 

 diciary Committee we have this provision : 



That whenever, by or under tho authority of tho 

 constitution or laws of any State, or the laws of any 

 Territory, any act is or shall bo required to be dono 

 by any citizen as a prerequisite to qualify or entitle 

 him to vote, tho offer of any such oitizen'to perform 

 the act required to bo done, as aforesaid, shall, if it 

 failed to bo carried into execution by reason of the 

 wrongful act or omission aforesaid of tho person or 

 officer charged with tho duty of receiving or permit- 

 ting such performance or offer to perform or acting 

 thereon, be deemed and held as a performance in law 



