Mr. WILLEY. Mr. President, at the last session of Congress I delivered my sentiments at length in reference to the question of negro suffrage. I shall not again enter upon that question generally; but I desire to make a sug. gestion or 2 in regard to the special propositions of the amendment which I have had the honor to offer, and which is now the subject of consideration before the Senate. It is proposed as a substitute for the 1st section of the amendment offered by the Senfrom Maine. It will be recollected that at the last session the 1st section of the amendment offered by the Senfrom Maine was amended, not on my motion, but on the motion, I believe, of the Senfrom Maine himself, so as to incorporate in lines 4, 5, 6, and 7 the words: “and excepting persons who may have yo.o: DistCol to give aio l and comfort to the rebels in th late rebellion.” In unC Mr. President, the State which I represent has adopted a policy in which I concurred most heartily, providing that for the present those who have been engaged in rebellion against the Government shall be clothed with no political power; but it strikes me that that question presents itself in a different aspect when you come to apply it to the DistCol. The people of the DistCol have no political power, they cannot by their votes affect the principles or the foundation of our Government, and therefore there will be no danger to the policy, principles, or integrity of our Government by extending to them the right of suffrage. But, sir, they are equally interested with the loyal portion of the people of this District in all its municipal institutions, interested in the assessment and payment of taxes, interested in all those local matters which affect them personally, and they are as responsiblefor the discharge of all municipal duties and local liabilities as the loyal portion of the people of the District are. It seems to me, then, that it would be rather hard to disfranchise even the disloyal portion of the people of the DistCol from the exercise of the right of selecting their local officers, who have no political power. They pay taxes, they are subject to taxation, they are under all the local liabilities of any citizens within the District. If we are willing to extend to them civil rights, if we are willing to protect them in the enjoyment of all their municipal rights, upon an equality with the loyal citizens of the District, it seems to me that they ought also to have extended to them the right of suffrage so far as the municipal affairs of the District are concerned, so far as civil rights and municipal regulations and interests are concerned. I would therefore, under this view of the subject, be opposed to depriving citizens of the DistCol, who only have municipal authority and power and no political power, of the right of suffrage, and my amendment does not propose to disfranchise them in that respect. Then again, sir, by reference to the amendment which I have had the honor to offer, it will be seen that the votes of the District are classified: 1st, all persons who were actually residents of the District at the last election in 1865, may be allowed to vote. There is another provision in it which disfranchises all persons who cannot hereafter read and who cannot write their names. I am perfectly aware that it is a very serious question how far we ought to limit the right of suffrage by a qualification of this character, and I think it would be hard to disfranchise any who has hitherto exercised that right; but then this amendment does not propose to do that; it only looks to the future. In many sections of the country this provision might operate harshly, where there are no free schools, where there are no provisions made, and no facilities afforded for education; but looking to the principles of our Government and the necessity of popular intelligence, it would seem to me that it would be not a very harsh provision of law if where free schools do exist, and where there are easy facilities for acquiring education, there were a provision of lawmaking it criminal for any person over the age of 21 years not to be able to read and to write. It seems to me, sir, that there ought to be some obligation, either in our fundamental laws in the States, or somewhere, by some means requiring the people to educate themselves; and if this can be accomplished by disqualifying those who are not educated for the exercise of the right of suffrage, thus stimu lating them to acquire a reasonable degree of education, that of itself, it seems to me, would be a public blessing. It will therefore be seen that my amendment does not propose to disfranchise any who are not able to read and write who have hitherto exercised the right of suffrage. The 2nd class of persons to whom I would extend the right of suffrage by this amendment, are all persons, residents of the District, who have been duly mustered into the service of the U.S. during the late rebellion, who have been or shall hereafter be honorably discharged therefrom, no matter what may be their literary qualifications or qualifications of intelligence. My amendment is based on the ground that he who has been thought worthy of bearing the bayonet and of periling his life for the institutions of the country should be entitled to the right of suffrage, no matter whether he can read or whether he can write his name or not. These, I think, are the only distinctions between the amendment which I have had the honor to offer and the 1st section of the amendment proposed by the Senfrom Maine; and for the reasons i.stated it strikes me my amendment is preferable.