Mr. COWAN. Mr. President, if no arrangement can he arrived at, I propose to say a very few words upon the subject now under consideration by the Senate. I think that the question here is purely one of constitutional law, and upon the determination of that question properly or iniproperly the fate of the bill ought to epend. have a very clear and decided opinion of my own on that question. I think the merits of the bill are out of the question really; but as a great many good people think that the bill has intrinsic merits which ought to override the provisions of the Constitution, and ought to become a law, notwithstanding our want of power to pass it, I propose to say a few words, which, if they are not to convince anybody in the Senate, may go to the country and be reflected upon there. I agree, and am quite willing as iminhabitant of one of the States of this Union, or a citizen, or an elector, or any other word you may choose to use in order to designate me, that all the people of this country shall enjo the rights conferred upon them by this bill. I have never had any objection to that; and if my own State, Pennsylvania, did not confer all these rights, or almost all of them, certainly the voice of no one in that State should be heard sooner, longer, or louder than my own until they were secured. That all men should have the rifht to contract, I agree. That. all people should have the right to enforce their contracts, I agree. I might limit the right of a great many people to purchase and hold real estate, but as a general proposition I would allow them.to purchase, hoh, and lease, and to be entitled to their remedies for the defense of their property. There is no doubt in my mind about that But what I wish to say at the start is, that this bill, even supposing ithad all the merit in the world, will not be effective to attain the ends hoped for by its friends; and that, 21 art from that, its provisions are exceedingly au gerous. Waiving the question of power, therefore, I propose to direct the attention of the Senate to the provisions of this bill. I think it will be found that it has not been read hereto fore very closely. The 1st section provides that “all persons born in the U.S.tates, ” with certain exceptions which I need not read shall be “citizens of the U.S.; and such citizens of every race and color, ” and I suppose that means everybody “ Shall have thesameright in everyState and terrritory in the U.S. to make and enforcecon tracts, to sue, be parties and give evidence. to in herit, purchase.leueJell, hold and conveyreal and personal property." This portion of the 1st section confers upon all persons born in the U.S. the rights which are here enumerated, and it confers those rights without any qualification and without any restriction whatever; and I beg leave to direct " the attention of Senators to the next. clause because I am sure there is a misapprehension upon that subject. The bill has been taken to mean to confer those rights as they are conferred upon white citizens in the several States. That is not so. These rights are not conferred absolutely; and if welook at them and see what they are, we shall ascertain what may be done with this bill within the States. It provides that all native born citizens “shall have the same right in ever State and Territory in the U.S. ”Now, a married woman in no State that I know of has a right to make contracts generally. In some of the States she cannot contract at all; in others she contracts submodo, and in all there is a limit put upon her power to contract. Is it intended by this bill that it shall be at in the hands of any judge to decide that this bill confers upon married women the unlimited right to contract? Because it will be observed that if a married woman has a right to contract, the other party to the contract as an equal right, for contracts must be mutual, and if she has a right to contract and enforce her contract, the contract may, on the other hand, be enforced as against her. Now, I ask Senators having the care of States here, whether they are willing to put it in the power of the district court of the U.S., or the circuit court of the U.S., or any other court de bars the State to interfere with regard to the contracts of married women. Again, mine rs are born in the U.S., and naturally, I suppose, mine rs have as much right to contract as anybody else, and the only restrictions that our laws know of upon their right to contract is the State laws; but this bill is made to give them the right irrespective of the State laws, and not only irrespective of those laws but in direct defiance of them.