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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



occasion when I show how completely the 

 course I no\v propose harmonizes with the re- 

 quirements of the political party to which I be- 

 long. Believing most sincerely that the Re- 

 publican party, in its objects, is identical with 

 country and with mankind, so that in sustain- 

 ing it I sustain these comprehensive charities, 

 I cannot willingly see this agency lose the op- 

 portunity of confirming its supremacy. You 

 need votes in Connecticut, do you not? There 

 are three thousand fellow-citizens in that State 

 ready at the call of Congress to take their place 

 at the ballot-box. You need them also in Penn- 

 sylvania, do you not ? There are at least fifteen 

 thousand in that great State waiting for your 

 summons. Wherever you most need them, 

 there they are ; and be assured they will all vote 

 for those who stand by them in the assertion 

 of equal rights. But in standing by them you 

 stand by afi which is most dear in the republic. 



" Pardon me ; but if you are not moved by 

 considerations of justice under the Constitution, 

 then I appeal to that humbler motive which is 

 found in the desire for success. Do this, and 

 you will assure the triumph of all that you can 

 most desire. Party, country, mankind, will be 

 elevated, while the equal rights of all will be 

 fixed on a foundation not less enduring than 

 the Rock of Ages." 



Mr. Vickers, of Maryland, said: "Mr. Presi- 

 dent, I will advert to one or two of the posi- 

 tions assumed by the Senator from Massachu- 

 setts (Mr. Sumner) in his speech to-day. I 

 understood him to contend that, from the 

 clause of the Constitution which he read, power 

 was given to Congress to regulate elections in 

 the States. If I am mistaken, he will correct 

 me. I do not so read the Constitution. The 

 second section of the first article provides 

 that: 



The House of Representatives shall be composed 

 of members chosen every second year by the people 

 of the several States ; and the electors in each State 

 fihall have the qualifications requisite for electors of 

 the most numerous branch of the State Legislature. 



" That section recognizes the absolute right 

 of the States to regulate the qualifications of 

 electors for Representatives, because the States 

 have the exclusive right to regulate the quali- 

 fications of electors for members of their Legis- 

 latures, and the same qualifications which the 

 States prescribe for the exercise of the right 

 of suffrage for members of the most numerous 

 branch of the Legislature are to be the quali- 

 fications of electors for Representatives to the 

 Congress of the United States. There is no 

 power given to Congress to regulate those 

 qualifications; but it belongs exclusively to 

 the States." 



Mr. Sumner : " If my friend will allow me, 

 I desire to ask him a question just there, which 

 I have no doubt he will answer very easily ; 

 but I should like to have his answer, and 

 should value it very mnch indeed. I ask the 

 Senator from Maryland whether in his opinion 

 color can be a qualification of a voter? I 



should like an answer to that specific ques- 

 tion, can color be a qualification of a voter ? " 



Mr. Vickers : " Well, sir, if the power is 

 given exclusively to the States, if the States 

 have the absolute and uncontrollable power to 

 regulate the qualification of voters, it is not 

 for me to say whether their regulations shall 

 have reference simply to color, or to a prop- 

 erty qualification which they have in Massa- 

 chusetts, or to intelligence, or to any thing 

 else. The States may prescribe, I suppose, 

 that an individual shall be able to read the 

 Constitution of the country. That, I presume, 

 would be a qualification which the States 

 would have the right to impose. It is impossi- 

 ble for me to limit the extent of the power of 

 the States in regard to this subject, because it 

 is one of their reserved powers, and is unlim- 

 ited. The General Government has no right 

 to regulate this question of suffrage." 



Mr. Sumner : " Then, to come back to my 

 original question, I understand that the learned 

 Senator does say that color may be a qualifica- 

 tion for a voter. On that point I should like 

 to have his answer distinctly, because it is the 

 pivot or one of the pivots of this question. I 

 understand him to say that color may be. 

 Now, I do not wish to intrude upon his speech, 

 but I should like to ask him whether he sup- 

 poses a State Legislature could select among 

 the qualifications the color of the hair or the 

 color of the eye ? Would the Senator say that 

 that could be a qualification under the Consti- 

 tution of the United States ? I put to him that 

 question ; I should like an answer to that." 



Mr. Tickers: "Well, sir, that, of course, is 

 an extreme case." 



Mr. Sumner : " Not at all. It is the very 

 case before the Senate." 



Mr. Vickers : " It is not for me to say what 

 it would be expedient for a State Legislature 

 to do. It is not always expedient to exercise 

 the full extent of the power which is conferred 

 upon legislative bodies. But I would ask the 

 Senator from Massachusetts if the color of the 

 hair, added to the disqualification of the voter 

 intellectually, is not a power in the Legisla- 

 ture ? I would ask the honorable Senator if 

 public virtue and public intelligence are not 

 the very foundations of our republic ? Why, 

 sir, how can we exist as a republic without 

 intelligence and public virtue ? " 



Mr. Sumner : " Yes, but the point to which 

 I wish to call the attention of my friend is not 

 whether public intelligence and public virtue 

 are essential to a republic, for there we are 

 agreed ; not whether they may not be recog- 

 nized as qualifications, but the point is whether 

 any inherent quality under Providence planted 

 in the human form by God can be made by 

 any vote of man a qualification for an elector ? 

 That is the practical question which I put to 

 the Senator." 



Mr. Vickers : " Well, sir, as I stated to-day, 

 there are five races of men. These are the 

 red man, the yellow man, the white man, the 



