Mr. NICHOLSON. Mr. Speaker, numer ous and various have been the pIOPOSIUOHS before the House to amend the Constitution of the U.S.; but more obnoxious than all the rest, and affectin to a greater extent the whole character of our Government, is the following, upon which I propose to submit a few remarks, namely, the Jtresolution (H.R.No. 63) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the U.S.: Resolvedby the Senate and HoRep of the U.S.A. in Congress assembled. 2/3rds of both Housese oncurring.) That the following article he proposedto the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. which. when ratified by 3/4ths of thosaitl Legislatures shall be valid aspart of said Constitution. namely: ARTICLE The Congrees shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the citizens of cach State all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. ondto all persons in the several States equal protection in the rights of life liberty and property. so many and able have been the arguments already laid before this House againstt ic adoption, at this time. of this or any other of the proposed amendments to the Constitution, that might well despair of throwing any new light upon the subject, or increasing by anything I can say the weight of the objections already or ed. feel additional discouragement in approaehing the discussion of this question, irom the stron determination evinced by the majority to may c this or some other material alteration in our organic law. The seem unrestrained by the ordinary considerations of public policy. hey seem insensible to every appeal. They are moved neither by the glorious memories of the past, the wonderful wealth. power, and pros perity we have achieved under the Constitution as it is, nor by the bright prospect that awaits us in the future under a restored Union if we but preserve the “ ancient landmarks.” Intoxicated with the sudden possession of power, they chafe at every obstacle interposed between them and the gratification of their desires. Assuming with partisan zeal that a certain object must be accomplished, and finding the Constitution standing in their way, they would lay violent hands upon it, and with one blow destroy the beautiful harmony of our entire system of government. My love and admiration for this system, which has been our pride and boost, orbid that I should now remain silent and unmoved, but rather urge me to stand up, relying on the justice of my cause, and plead for the Constitution of our fathers. To appreciate fully the great change that would be wrought in the entire structure of our Government by the adoption of the proposed amendment, it will be necessary to consider the history of its formation and its present chame ter, so far as the same is pertinent to the subject under consideration; and I shall do so with that brevity which so familiar a subject and its heretofore frequent discussion demand. The States which united in framing our constitution were originally colonies, separate from and independent of each other. They were settled at different times and by people who differed from each other in their habits and their religious and political opinions. Their local customs and regulations differed accordingly. There was no political connection between them; and one t in alone was common to them all, and that was tie allegiance which each owed to the British Crown; and I might add the injustice and oppression which finally drove them to arms. This view of their political condition is sustained by Judge Story in his Commentaries, section 177, which I will quote: “Though the colonies had a common origin and oweda common allegiance and the inhabitants of each were British subjects.they had no direct political connection with each other. Each was independent of all the others: each. in a lilnited sense.was sovereign within its own territory. There was neither alliance nor confederncy between them. The As se lnbly at one Province could not make laws for another; nor confer privileges. which were to be enjoyed or exercised in another further than they could he in any independentforeign State." “And thou their mutual wants and necessit ies often induce themto associatefor commonpur iose a of defense. these confederncies were of a mum} and temporary nature and were allowed as an indulgence rather than a right. They mado sevoral efforts to procure the establisment of sonic enornl supere intending government over them all. M their own thfferences of opinion as well as the jealousy of the Crown. made these efforts abortive." Down to the formation of the Constitution this idea of separateness, distinctness, and individuality was maintained. The Conti nental Conwress was simply a deliberative, advisory body. Its acts were in the form of resolutions, and not in the form of laws. It recommended, but did not command. The DeclarIndep did not change their relation to each other, but changed each of them from a dependent colony to an independent State, with all the attributes of absolute sovereignty. In the earlier treaties with foreign Powers their distinct sovereignty is recognized in their enumeration by name. So in the provisional articles with GreatBritain, in 1782. by which our independence was acknowledged, the 1st article declares that “ His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said U.S. to wit. NewHampshire. Massachusetts Bay RhdIsland and Providence Plantations, connecticut, NewYork. NewJersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware. Maryland, Virginia, NCarolina. SCarolina and Georgia, to be tree. sovercl. an independent States: that he treats with them as such, " die and further, from Lawrences Wheaten, pages 36 and 37: "Sovereignty is acquired by a State. either at the Origin of the civil societyof which it is composed or when it separates itself from the community of which it previously formed a part and on which it was dependent." Thus the internal sovereignty of the U.S.A. was complete from the time they declared themselves “ free sovereign and independent States, ” on the 4th of July, 1776. It was upon this principle that the Supreme Court determined, in 1808 “That the several States comprising the Union. so far as regards their municipal regulations. became entitled from the time when they declared themselves independent to all the rights and powers of sovereign States and that they did put titlrlYO them from coneusious made by the British Kipg. The treaty of e of 1782 contained a, recognition of their indepen once.not a grant of it. Now, what are the powers of an independeut. sovereign State? The very statement of the question suggests its own answer. As to external sovereignty we are not inquiring; but in the exercise of internal sovereignty a State must necessarily find no other limitation upon its power than its own will. I will not stop now to enumerate the great variety of these powers, but as to a single point will read again from Wheaten, page 132: Every State. asa distinct moral being independent of every other, may freely exercise all its sovereign rights in an manner not inconsistent with the oegucastlarbi shhtsinegf, aaltteorrinSgt, aotresa.boAlimshoinngg itthseoswenis muncipal form of government.” The colonies, then, became “free, sovereign, and independent States, ” and formed with each other a “firm league, ” by the Articles of Confederation, the 2nd of which reads thus, namely: “Am. 2. Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and eve power, jurisdiction and right which is not byt is Confederation expressly delegated to the U.S. in Congress assembled." The great variety of interests that were involved, as well as local prejudices and jealousies, notwithstanding the neeessit of union for the common defense, made it difficult for the Congress to agree upon these articles, and they were not finally ratified until 1781, 4 gram after they had been agreed upon by the delegates in congress. Upon the esta lishment of peace and the achievement of their independence, having no longer the motive of a common danger in duciu them to continue to acquiese e in the exercise by the Confederation of unranted power, the defects of their Government ecame manifest. Then it was that, with hearts bursting with love and trembling with fear for the future safety of that precious boon, liberty and inde cadence, which they had acquired these unse fish patriots aplied themselves to the task of remedying its de ccts. Their object was to form a Government which should possess all the power and energy necessary to constitute a national Government, and yet reserve to the several States the control of their own municipal affairs. Difficult as this task was, we all know how snce essfully it was accomplished. We can but imperfectly know how great were the dithculties, how various and conflicting the interests, how strong the jealousies, and how opposmg the views of the members of the convention. in the words of James Madison, Federalist, No. 37: “ The realwonderis that somanydifficultiesshould have been surmounted, and surmounted with a una nimity almost asunprecedentedas it must have been unexpected. It is impossiblefor any man of candor to react on this circumstance without partaking of pthioeu astonishment. It is impossible for the man of rotieetion not to crccive in it the flutter of that Almighty Hand which had been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stageof the Revolution." The result of this deliberation was that constitution under which we have lived so long, and to the peculiar character of which we greatly owe all that we have accomplished as a people and as a nation. it is not for me to sale ze their work, nor does this House need to e instructed in the nature of our Government. But I desire to present in contrast the Government as our others made it, and that Government, as Gentlemen would have it could they succeed in the adoption of the proposed amendment, to say nothing of the long series of amendments and legislative enactments of a kindred nature that have been introduced. Our Constitution having been framed and adopted by “free, sovereign, and independent States, ” bears upon its face marks of conciliation, concession, and compromise, without which it would inevitably have failed. The Government created by it is of a mixed character, partly national and part1 Federal. Its powers are delegated powers. being the creat ure of the States, it possesses and can right fully exert no wer with which it was not clothed at the time of its creation, or which it has not since lawfully received. “ it follows necessarily that all other powers are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." But to exclude any other interpretation, the 10th article of the amendments was adopted. The Government having been formed for national purposes, as the common agent of all the States, received all the power necessary for these purposes, while the States retained the exclusive control of their own municipal affairs. Our Constitution derives its chief excellence, and the Government the more strength, from the spirit of conciliation and compromise which animated its framers. It possesses a power of adaptation to all the various stages of our regress which it could not. have had it been named accOrdiu to the idea of some rigid theorist instead of being shaped and molded according to the requirements of the several States, until it presented a system of government without a model in the world. It cannot be judged by any technical rule. To illustrate and sustain the views I have expressed, the truth of which I have no doubt is conceded, I will read a few extracts from the Writings of James Madison, volume 4,page 61: “ It has been too much the casein expounding the Constitution of the U.S. that its meaning has been sou ht. not in its peculiar and unprecedented modications of power. but by viewing it, some through the medium of a simple Government, others through that of amerelcague of Governments. It is neither onenor the other, but essentially different from both. It must consequently, be its own interpreter. No other government can furnish a kcy to its truc charaeter. Uther Governmcuts present an individual and indivislblo sovereignty. The Constitulion ef the U.S. divide at he sovereignty: the portions surrenderedbytheStates composing the Federal sovereignty over specified subjects; the portions retained lei nting the BOYGIUltZnoiyf each over the residuary subjects Within its sphere." "The same, page 420: The more the political system of the U.S. is fairly examine the more necessary it will be found to abandon the abstract and technical modes of expounding and designating its character; and to view it as laid down in the charter which constitutes it. as a system hitherto without. a model, asneither a simple nor a consolidated Government, nor a Government altogether contedernte, and therefore not to be explained so as to make it either, but to be explained arid desienated according to the actual division and distribution of political poweron the face of the instrument. "A just inference from a survey of this political system is, that it is a division and distribution of political power nowhere else to be found; a nondescript.to be testedand explained by itself alone; and that it hun il illustrates the diversified modifications of which the representative principlo of republicanism is suse eptible, with a viow to t etions, opini0iis and condi habits of pnrticular communities." and again the same writer in the Federalist, No. 40, says: “The powers delegated by the proposed constitution tot O Federal Governmentare cw and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The formerwill be exercised prineipally on external objects, aswar, pence, negotiation and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will.tor the mostpart. becon nw ted. The powers reservedto the several States will extend to all the ohJocts which in the ordinary course of affairs concern the lives.liberties and properties of the puople, und the internal order, improvoment and prosperity of the State." Thus we I possess a system of government, which, to a orci n observer, may appear arti bend and complex, but which to us, who are furnished with the key, is simple in the extreme. That key is the jealousy which has been appar rent through all our history, for the right of each State to control its own domestic alfnirs, and the firmness with which that right has always been maintained. From all these various conflicting causes har mon has been evoked; and the most perfect equilibrinm is presented to our view in the equal distribution of the Federal powers, in the limitation upon State and Federal power, and the line that is drawn between them; like that huge mass of rock which nature has so nicely poised that a childs hand can disturb its balance, but a giants strength could not move it. from its base. That nicely adjusted balance is now, by this amendment, to be permanently overthrown. The line of demnrltation between State and Federal power, which has been already too much obse ured by the great latitude of construction given of late to the several grants of power, is now to be entirely obliterated. The arriers erected by the Constitution to protect the States in the absolute control of their municipal affalrs are now to be thrown down for the Federal Government to enter this wide domain, to roam at will, and bring prostrate at the feet.of Federal powoi the most iuetima his and most fondly cherished of all civil or political rights. That instrument, framed with such affectionate solicitude by the great and good men of the Revolution, who were actu ated by nothing but devotion to the common good, is now to be changed to gratify a savage sectional hate and an ine rdinate lust for power. its beauty has already been sadly marred; and it bears upon its face the recently inflicted blow of sectionalism; but this amendment will completely subvert our present system of Government, and is a long stride toward ultimate consolidation. That i am just in thus characterizing it, a brief examination of its provisions will show. It reads as follows: Anricmr. The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall bence emnry and proper to secureto the citizens of eachState nll privileges and immunities of citizens in the severall States and to all personsin the several States equal protection in the rights of life liberty, and property. The employment bore, in the 1st clause of this amendment, of the identical lauguage contain in article 4,section 2, of the constitution, seems like an attempt to force upon it a construction that has always been denied by judicial authorities and commentators upon the Constitution; and its use here, in connection with the remaining clause, can only be intended to enlarge its signification without being sufficientgy explicit to make its meaning undisulc. The full force of that section, namely “The citizens of eachState shall be entitled to all {lilglse gesand immunities of citizens of the several was most ably explained and illustrated by the honornbleGentfrom lndinna, [Ma KERR, in his speech 11 on what is known as the civi rights bill, and 1c sustained his position by a full array of authorities. I will not detain the House with any further remarks upon this point, except to say, that in m opinion, and as tar as I have been able to at ier from authorities, this section was only intended to relieve the citizens of each State from the disabilities of aliens when removing to, or sojourning in, the several States. But as the case of Abbott vs. Bayle, 6 Pick, 92, 98, expresses so fully all I would say upon this subject, and is always cited as an interpretation of this clause, I will give it somewhat at large: “ the jurlsdictions of the several Statesas such are distinct and in most respectsforeign. The Constitution of the U.S. makes the people of the U.S. subjects of one Government q creryt in within the national power and jurisdiction. but eaves them subjectsof separate and distinct governments. The privileges and immunities secured to the people of each State in every other State, can be applied only in case of removal from one State into another. By such removal they be comecitizens of the adopted stato without naturalization and have a right to sunand besued as citizens: and yet. this privilege is qualified aud not absolute.for they cannot e of the ht of In a or of eligibillt to ofieo. whibiiutsulcfiterm 9 rgsii denceus shaJ prescribed by the constitution and lawsof theSiminto which theyshall remove, They shall have the privileges and immunities of citizens, that.is. they 5 nil not be deemed aliens but may take and hold real estate and may, necor inf to the lawsof such State, eventually emoy the full rights of citizenship Without thenecessityof beingnatural se d. a constitutional provismn referred to is neceaiuily limited und unlified for it cannot be pretended that a citizen O RhdIslan cominginto this Stateto live is lpsofucluentitled to t a full privilogo: (I a citizen. if any term of residence is premum pal prrieglhimtsi.nar to the exerciseof political or the sevsrel States than remain severe rmtosomcp oses.an foreignto eachother as before the adoptio of the Constitution of the U.S., and especially in regard to the administratinn of Justice and in theregulation of property and estates.thelawsof marrio and divorpe and the retraction of the persons of t oss who live under airiurisdiation. Now, assuming this to be the true meaning of the clause referred to, why make the constitution repeat itself, or why empower cons to pass laws in respect to privileges and immunities which have never in the light of this interpretation been denied? But there can be no mistake in the meaning or intention of the latter clause. By it congress is authorized to legislate upon theinternal affanrsof the several States, and in so doing, the only restraint u )0“ its power will be its own conception O what is “necessary and proper.” The immediate object to be accomplished by this amendment I will advertto presently; but let us now consider the propriety of thus rob bing the States of their right to regulate their own domestic affairs, an putting such vast powe r in the hands of Congress. As I have said before, the great excellence of our Constitution consists in the separation between State and Federal power, and the assignment to each of its proper sphere. whilc, very properly, ts federal Government possesses all the powers necessary for the legitimate objectsof its creation, to the States has been reserved the exclusive control over all those matters which most deeply affect our welfare and hop iness as social beings. To the States alone O we look for “protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property.” The greatness of the whole is but the sum of the goatness of the several parts; and it is beneath c fostering care of the State governmentthat the growth and development of each separate political community has proceeded, cae having the power to devise just those measures best calculated to romote its own interest subject only to the constitution of the U.S. O are dependent upon the State vernment in all the relations we sustain in ife. To it and no other do we look for the administration of justice and the punishment of crime. By it are we shielded and protected in the quiet enjoyment of our own fireside. It regulates the transactions of business and trade, protects us in the acquisition of property, secures us in its enjoyment, and provides for its transmission to our posterity. From the cradle to the grave there is no right nor privilege essen tial to our security and happiness which we do not derive from our State government, and which we would not just as well enjoy if the Federal Government were blotted out of existence. It is right that this should be so. It is an axiom, I think, of political science that the nearer government is brought to the people the more conducive it is to the wcllbein of the governed. So it is much more likey that the people of a State, as a distinct political community, should know better how to advance their own interests than the people of another State or the representatives of other States could know for them, from whom they might differ in many important particulars. This was originally their right, and they have reserved it in the Constitution, which forms our Union and whatis nowproposed? We are seriously asked to pass this amendment, and invite the States to relinquish their freedom and independence and meekly submit to the interference by Congress in their internal order and Government. We are asked to invest Congress with authority to go coping and prying into all the mnltitudine us etails, which can possibly be embraced under the general term of “rights of life, liberty, and property ” and reulnte them by such laws as may c deeme “necessary and proper.” We are called upon to erect here the bed of properustes, y the several States upon it, and torture them into conformity to its proportions. While I have the power to resist, I, for one, shall never consent to so dangerous on innovation, so complete a subversion of our present form of Government. But while the amendment is thus couched in general terms, and is intended to confer this general power, we must not forget that it is ured for a particular purpose. gentle mcu have declaimed most eloquently on the broad principle of equality, fraternity; but it is nevertheless apparent that negro equality is what is meant. Manhood suffrage is a very pleasant euphemism; but when translated into negro voting it is not quite so “Equality before the lowY captivating is quite a bi soundingphrase, and, as a general princip c, is to be a mired; but when you come to apply it to all the elements of which our societ is composed, the effect is rather starth ng. ct us substitute the known for the unknown quan titydin this article, and then see how it would rea. The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the free negroes of each State all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States, and to free negroes in the several States equal protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property. I am not oul opposed to an limitation upon the power oftie States, but that opposition is increased, if possible, by the very ohject which is sought tobe obtained. The very fact that this amendment would authorize such legislation as the “ civil rights bill” is an additional reason why it should not be adopted. All the ar ments urged against the passage of that bil apply with still greater force to this; than h gentlemen have not waited until they con( I obtain constitutional authority for its passage. I certainly think that the negro shouldpbe protected in his life, liberty, and property, and believe that he has always enjoye this protection, and that at this very moment he stands in no need whatever of those who have constituted themselves his especial friends and clamor now so loudly for his rights. lint I also contend that in giving that protection, in conferring rights and privileges, the several States should continue to exercise, as they do now, the power of declaring what shall be their extent, and by what means they shall be secured. The object of government is not to benefit the individual, but to secure the welfare of the society over which, by common consent, it is established. The individual must yield to those restraints which a community for its own good sees fit to impose. Likewise, when there is a class which can be made certain and definite, it may be treated as an individual, and, if the eaee and good order of society require it. may become subject to the same restraints and disabilities. Now, the negro race in this country constitute such a class which is easily and we 1 defined and the weaceand welfare of a State, especially where they are found in great numbers, demand that the radical dificrence between them and the white race should be nized by legislation; and ever State srheocuog d be allowed to remain free and independent in providing punishments for crime, and otherwise regulating their internal affairs, so that they might properly discriminate between them, as their peace and safety might require. For the negro is not actuated by the same motives as the white man, nor is be deterred from crime except by punishments adapted to the brutal, sensual nature which characterizes him. They are not his true friends who are striving to thrust him up to the same level with the whites, when the inevitable result must be a war of races; nor are they true lovers of their countrys weal, who for such an object are willing to strike down the power of the States and consolidate the Government into a centralized despotism. As it is not likely that such an amendment as this will be adopted by 3/4ths of all the States, and as it has been reported for our consideration from the committee of 15 on reconstruction, the suspicion naturally arises that the committee intend that its adoption by the southern States shall be a condition precedent to their representation in Congress 1 will not say restoration, for peace has long since restored them to the Union, but their Representatives are excluded by the more exercise of arbitrary power on the part of the majority of this House. Whether I am correct or not in this suspicion, one thing is certainly true, that so far as legislation for the benefit of the negro is concerned, under the authority of this amendment, those States are chiefly to be affected by it. At the risk of being laughed at, I would ask if it is fair and honorable to take such a mean advantage of a fallen foe. They deserve a better fate at our hands. The met our armies in the Open field, and resists with a courage and endurance that compelled our admiration. Their submission has been as comlots as nu expected. This isaconstitutional government, however oblivious we may be of the fact. The cause of the war must have been a violation of the Constitution and laws. The power to car it on must have been derived from the Constitution, or it nowhere existed. Whatever may have been its secret object on our part, in legal contemplation, and according to declarations at the time, it could only be to ircse rve the Union and enforce obedience to the constitution and laws. This being the only object known to the Constitution for which the war was presecuted, and having succeeded upon our art, it follows that the Constitution and laws iave been vindicated and the Union ircserved; and the Representatives of southern etates have as perfect a right to their seats here as any gentleman on this floor. Their exclusit u is revolutionary and I seriously doubt whether this amendment if passed by Congress, as at present constituted, would be constitutionall iicfore the States for their adoption. For it could never have been deemed possible, when power was given to 2/3rds of both Houses to propose amendments, that a majority would have the power to exclude or expel asutheicut number to constitute itself 2/3rds, and then pass measures which it is conceded could not e passed were all the States entitled represented here. But these absent States are more immediately interested in this question, by reason of the presence amou them of a vast number of that inferior race whose condition has been so recently changed by the abolition of slavery. The negros idea O freedom is to do nothing but bask in the sunshine. The negro woman now disdains to pick cotton, and her present ambition is to “send her daughter to boarding school, and keep a piano and they are assisted very much int ese mischievous notions by such legislation as the Freedmens Bureau and civil rights bill. With these ideas, they must, as a class, become idle and improvident, and a ricvous burden upon those States. Already do we hear from many sections of Virginia that farmers despair of raising stock; that their poultry, pigs, and shoe ( isappear in the most mysterious manner. ow, it would be most destructive, just at this period of transition from one state of society to another, to fetter the power of the States while adapting themselves to this changed condition ofthings, by appropriate legislation to check their thieving propensities, ise ountenance vagrancy, and stimulate them to habits of industry. There ll no reason why the most ardent need fear that this power will be pahbiulasnetdh.ropis the people of the Sont are honorable nud high minded. When these creatures were their slaves they were treated as part of their house hold, with kindness and affection; and the exceptions to this treatment were not more numerous than were to be found in the relation of parent and child, or husband and wife. Give them time to adapt themselves to this sudden and complete revolution in theirnffairs. Give some heed to the following truthful suggestions of President Johnson in his objections to the civil rights bill: “ The white race and the black race of the South have hitherto lived together under the relation of master and slave – capital owning labor. New. sud denly. that relation is changed.and.asto ownership. capital and labor are divorced. Theystand now each master at itself. In this new relation. one being necessary to the other, therewill bea newadjustment. which both areequally interestedin making harmo nious. Each has equal power in settlingt e terms and, if left to the laws that regulate capital and labor, it is confidentlybelievedthat they will satisfactorily work out the problem.” But the saddest feature of all this scene is the vindictive spirit which gentlemen manifest in ererything that relates to the unhappy South. Have we had introduced here any measures for the relief of that sorely stricken land? Have gentlemen applied themselves to heal the rav ages of war and encourage a defeated, humiliated people to resume their former position and contribute, as before, their share to the national greatness and wealth? Alas! no. But what instead do we see? The carnival of death has ceased, but gentlemen are not willing yet to be cheated of their prey, and they carry on the war in another shape. Instead of sliot and shell these valiant warriors now fire at them such acts of Congress as the Freemens Bureau and civil rights bills; and when they think they have driven the iron still deeperinto the soul, added another pang to the tortures already inflicted, their excitation, as exhibited here a few days since, marks the intense malignity of their hate. Surely the war that is past has been punishment enough for the people of the South. It ought to satisfy the keenest thirst for venge ance. that their whole land has been swept with the “besom of destruction." that every hense is filled with mourning, and every hill side and valley shows the blackened ruins of a once happy home. Let us cease this unmauly warfare. The work before us requires some of the same spirit that animated our forefathers the spirit of kindness and conciliation. Let us apply ourselves now to the work of cementing wi Jrotherly love the fragments of a broken uuion. While, in the providence of God it may have been necessary that sectional hate and fanaticism should have nerved the arm that struck for victory, they have no office to perform in the duties of the present hour.