Mr. DELANO.Mr. Speaker, I was about to remark there are certain powers that may be exercised under this amendment of the constitution vastly important to the emancipated race. I have anticipated unfriendly legisation in the South; but have felt a consoation in the power of Congress under this clause of the Constitution toprevent certain unfriendly legislation which has presented itself to my imagination; for instance, to establish in the South a system of peonage, or any system of laws that would interfere with the liberty of this race. It would then be in the power of congress under this clause of the constitution to modify and prevent such legislation. We proclaimed freedom to this race, and reserved to ourselves the power to enforce it, but we did not reserve to ourselves the power to enter the States and regulate the domestic relations of life, liberty, and property. We did reserve to ourselves the power of preventing unfriendly legislation that would interfere with liberty. No lawyer who will reason like a lawyer, I think, can take that act and tell me that he believes that the right to testify or to inherit is a necessary condition of freedom, because we know from the whole history of our State legislation that such discriminations have been made. Aliens have been prevented from inheriting, and discriminations in inheritance, as well as in the right to testify, have been made by State legislation, and no one thought it an interference with the liberty of the citizen. I must say, therefore, that I do not. see how we can sustain the principles of this bill. I said in the outset that I wanted to see the provisions of this bill adopted or enforced upon the South, and it was with this.thouvht be ore me that I introduced, at an early day of the session, an amendment to the Constitution proquiring each State to provide for the security of life, liberty, and property, and the rightful pursuit of happiness, and giving to Congress power to enforce these rights where the States withheld them. That, in my estimation, is a better theory of proceeding on this subject than the one introduced by my colleague, which proposes to vest that power in Congress at once; because I want Congress to exerciseno more power over the local legislation of the States than is absolutely necessary, and I would not allow it to go in the 1st instance to secure these rights, but allow it to go only when the States refuse to apply and give such security under the fundamental law of the nation. I am still of opinion that if this subject is developed and investigated as it should be, that if we do an thing upon this subject at all, we had better O it by taking ii the amendment to the Constitution offers by my colleague, [Mr. BINGHAM] now postioned till April, modifying it in the form I have suggested, and making it the fundamental law, and then proceeding to secure the rights of these persons in a way in which we shall not be trampling down or endangering the fundamental law of the land. Iam not to be understood as denying the power of this Government, especially that rest war power which, when evoked, has no imit except as it is limited by necessity and the laws of civilized warfare. But, sir, in time of eace I would not and I cannot stand here an attempt the exercise of powers by this General Government which, if carried out with all the logical consequences that follow their assumption, will, in my opinion, endanger the liberties of the country. I will not detain the House any longer. I have not been able to illustrate as I would, had I had time, this question. But I have endeavored to present it in such a form as will awdren investigation and bring the minds of members to the consideration of this important question. For it is just as important that we should not swing back into the assertion of powers in this Government that do not belong to it, as that we should not go to the other extreme of asserting the existence of powers in a State that do not belong to it. Let us take a calm, philosophical, and statesmanlike view of the condition of things in which we are placed; proceeding under no impulse such as has necessarily grown up under the terrible training we have had; proceeding with caution and delib eration, and taking care to preserve the constitutional rights both of the States and of the General Government. We have a Government of which we may be proud, a Government that is to live, a government that rests upon ranted powers of a limited character; and if we sustain it and do not make it a tyranny, do not convert it into a usurpation, it will be a Government loved by the people, cherished by the people, wherein civil liberty will be established} trust, forever, and the power of man for self government be illustrated. {end of Mr Delano Speech from Appendix.}