ALABAMA. 



MTV il. urn! the golden rulo would he 

 M.i't nt' the men who had 

 t!if scheme of secession, I believe 



:,.im-.t. honorable, Christian men, anil if they 



:,[,.! to take this nulli they would keep it. In 



; lament, under this oath, the Republican 



i two votes where their enemies 



line. There \\ere many good men who 



>j>:ited in the rebellion, who are now in favor of 



.true! ion, and would gladly take this oath. 



:th does not require this class of men ; 

 nounee their belief in the right of secession, but to 



;ire the riu'ht. The question of secession has 

 already been decided by the test of battle, and 

 although some men might still believe in the original 

 i-i-jlit of M-cessiois, they are, I think, if they are 

 seiiMble and rational, content to abide by the deci- 

 -ion arrived at before the dread tribunal of war. 

 The moaning of the Reconstruction Act is undoubt- 

 edly that the State should be reconstructed by loyal 

 men, and no man, who insists not only in the belief, 

 but in the right of secession, ought to be regarded 

 as a loyal man or intrusted with any political 

 powers. In speaking of the third section or the re- 

 port which disfranchises any man who, having been 

 registered, declines to vote upon the ratification of 



nstitution to be submitted to the people by 

 the convention, Mr. Peck said he had only one 

 grand objection against it, and that was that it 

 went beyond the provisions of the Reconstruction 



The motion to substitute the minority report 

 was lost yeas 19, nays 76. 



To the article on the legislative department 



the following section was added, which, by the 



f the word "person," made the blacks 



eligible to any office in the State or United 



States: 



4. No person shall be a Representative unless 

 liiriblc as an elector to vote for members of the 

 General Assembly. 



The article containing the declaration of 

 rights scarcely differs from the nsnal form 



in section 2, where, by the words "pub- 

 lic privileges," 1 entire social, civil, and political 

 equality on railroads, steamboats, and omnibus- 



seeured to all blacks. It is as follows : 



Sec. 2. That all persons resident in this State, born 



in the United States, or naturalized, or who shall 



legally declared their intention to become 



citizens of the United States, are hereby declared 



citizens of the State of Alabama, possessing equal 



id political rights and public privileges. 



The following section was offered as a part 

 of the declaration of rights : 



26. That common carriers shall make no dis- 

 crimination on account of color between persons 

 travelling in this State on public conveyances. 



It was strongly supported by all the colored 

 delegates and opposed by the whites. The 

 speeches created much excitement, and further 

 .action was postponed from Saturday to Monday, 

 N..\v!nl>er 25th. When the question again came 

 up, the following was offered as an amendment 

 1 : 



' ll'iuality of civil ri 

 tion of such reasonable regulations by proprietors 

 <>f hotels, steamboats, railroads, and places of public 

 amusement, as may be necessary to furnish separate 

 accommodations to the two races which inhabit our 

 country, so long as such separation shall be demand- 

 ed by the sentiment of the white race." 

 VOL. VH. 3 



An exciting discussion threaten! n-, tin- resolu- 

 tion and amendment were hurried out of the 

 Convention by referring to the Committee on 

 the Constitution. The question wa> intn. 

 again on the next day but. laid on the table. 



The ivji/H-t. of ihe Commitl'-i: on Kdticution 

 eMaMMied schools in each township of the 

 State for all children within certain ages, and a 

 Hoard of Education. A substitute was offered 

 which provided that separate schools should be 

 established for white and colored children. 

 This was laid on the table yeas 58, nays 7. 

 After some discussion the report was adopted 

 yeas 57, nays 85. The blacks* voted against it, 

 " as they were opposed to sending their children 

 to the same schools Avith the white children." 



Several other less important articles of the 

 constitution were reported and adopted. On 

 November 29th the Committee on Franchise 

 offered the following section, which, after some 

 discussion, was laid on the table : 



See. 4. The General Assembly shall have power at 

 its first session, after the adoption of this constitu- 

 tion, to alter or amend this article : Provided, That 

 such alteration or amendment shall not enfranchise 

 any person or persons disfranchised by this article : 

 Provided further, That no person or persons shall 

 be disfranchised by such alteration or amendment 

 who shall have aided in reconstructing this State 

 under the laws of Congress, or who did not aid the 

 enemies of the United States during the late rebellion. 



The Judiciary Committee reported an ordi- 

 nance declaring marriages between white and 

 black persons void ab initio, to be embraced in 

 the judiciary department. Mr. Sernple urged 

 the passage of the ordinance. He said that 

 there was an effort on the part of some to hide 

 this question away. He said he wanted the 

 question voted upon now as a test question. 

 If there were any in this house who believe 

 amalgamation and miscegenation to be con- 

 ducive to the best interests of Alabama, he 

 wanted to know it. For one he wished to pre- 

 serve the distinction as well as pride of races. 



Mr. Carraway (colored) said he understood 

 that this ordinance prohibited marriage between 

 the whites and blacks, and if so it was in direct 

 conflict with the Civil Rights Bill. He, there- 

 fore, wanted it printed, so he could thoroughly 

 understand its intent and purpose and also to 

 offer an amendment. The motion to lay on the 

 table and print prevailed yeas 45, nays 81. 



The amendment proposed by Mr. Carraway 

 was as follows: " Provided, That any white 

 man found cohabiting with a negro woman 

 shall be imprisoned for life." The amendment 

 was received with applause and clapping of 

 hands by a largo majority. 



An ordinance was passed legitimatizing the 

 marriages of freedmen and women. 



Another was passed declaring the war debt 

 of the State void. 



A resolution was passed that the convention 

 should finally adjourn, subject to the call of its 

 president or the military commander of the dis- 

 trict, and if not reconvened within one year, it? 

 adjournment was to be considered tine die. 



