Mr. KASSON. Mr. Jefferson declared, as follows: “The true foundation of republican government is the equalright ofovery citizen in his personand property, and in their management. Let everyman who IEHHISIOX pays exercisehis Just and equalright in elec IO. Again he says: "Among men who either pay or fight for their country no line can be drawn.” Now, sir, without aing this question at length, I desire to state ere, and to place my self upon record, that I am in favor of the Jet fersonian and Lincolnian proposition, and opposed to the extension of the right of suffrage universally to everybody in the U.S.A. I am opposed to this bill, because it does not exclude rebels from voting at the elections in this District. I am o posed to it. also, because it imposes no qualicationlat all 1866. 239 Jupon the new people who are to be permitted to exercise the right of suffrage. Ita so makes no provision for the registration of voters, and we now that the class of persons which this bill is intended cspeciall y to reach are a very migratory people, an(it ought to be well guarded in that particular before it is passed by this House. Much has been said in this cbate about the gallantry of the negro troups, and about the number of negro troops in the war. Gentlemen have declared here so broadly that we were in debted to them for our victories as to actually convey the impression that the won nearl all the victories accomplished by the armies of the U.S., and that to them are we indebted for the salvation of our country and our triumph over the rebellion. I do not agree with them in the extent of their praise, nor the grounds upon which it has been placed. One gentleman, I think it was the Gentfrom Pennsylvania, speaks of our debt to the negroes, because they have fought our battles for us. That I may not misrepresent him, I quote his language: “I cannot hear to be coaded and taunted by those whom I treat as inferiors, that in the hour of my danger when I refusedor was unable to tight, they took up my battle and healed m wounde honor. The negroes fought for me. an God forbid that they should ever taunt me or my descendants With the fscltrthat I was aningrato to the soldiers of the republic.” Now, sir, I say that this is a falsification of the condition of the negroes, and Of the history of the country in this particular. Those negroes fought for their liberty, which was involved in the preservation of the Union of the States. They fought with us to accomplish the main tenance of the integrity of the country, which carried with it the liberty of their own race and whatwould have been said of the negroes if they had not, under such circumstances, come for ward and united with us? I told the people of my State, and of other States, during the war, that one effect of our success in it would be the emancipation of the negroes and the establishment throughout the country of the great principle of human liberty. When I urged the support of the Government in carryin on the war, was told by the Opposition, an I admitted, that we were fighting in such amanner that the negroes should be free. Isay now that we, the white race, fought the battles of the negro as well as our own; and if the negro himse fhad not come forward and enliste in our armies, we should have been obliged to mourn over it, and to say that no element of manhood existe in that race. Now, sir, we are able to say that the element of manhood does exist in them; that they became our auxiliaries that they came forward as the white men did, with additional motives beyond our own, but no better than the white men; and that we of the white race, filling in our armies by 100s of 1,000s, welcome their aid. Both races fought gallantly. But when gentlemen say, as I think the distinguished Representative from Ohio [Mr. BlNGllAM] did the other day, in his interpolation in the remarks of the Gentfrom NewYork, [Mr. CHAXLER] that they fought and wonfor us the victory, I protest against it in the name of the gallant armies composed of white soldiers throughout the U.S. Who was it that broke the arch of the rebellion at Fort Donelson? I find thata regiment of Iowa troopswhite troops, not colored troopswere the 1st to cross the bristling abattis and charge upon the enemy, leaving many a length of white manhood upon the ground; but I see no negro troops at that time. I look at Vicks bnr, and I find among the 1,000s who died in the trenches and in the assault simply white soldiers. I find the black troops and the white together at Port Hudson. hen Shermans army made that grand march which has become historical; when, with the steady force of a slow moving glacier, and with the audacity of an ava lanche, that great military leader descended from the North, and dissipated the enemy in front, and made that famous march to the sea; when he returned from the sea to the mount ains of the North, sweeping resistlessly every enemy before him, and accomplishing a result that has not only made his name historical but has made in the history of this countrya chapter reading like a romance; when he arrived at the termination of his march, and crushed the last fragment of the rebellion between the uppermillstone of Grants army and the nether mill stone of the and western army I do not read that one blag: soldier was with him to aid in accomplishing that great result. When Sheridan turned the right flank of the enemy before Richmond, and succeeded in gaining the fatal advantage of the rebel army, though dirpeted by the most gallant commander of the rebellion, do we find negro troops among those who inflicted upon the head of the rebellion that decisive blow? No, sir, they were white troops that won success in that gallant enterprise which has covered the name of Sheridan with imperishable luster. Let us, then, do justice to whte and black. Let us defend and give credit to those who deserve it, and to those to whom credit is due and not cloud the fair fame of 900,000 brave men of our own race by excluding them from the fame acquired by their glorious achievements and are we to be told here, in the face of these facts of history, that it is to the black race alone that we are indebted for the accomplishment of our great victory? I protest against any such assumption. While I yield to the negro troops the credit of having exhibited bravery and manhood when put to the test, I do not yield to them the exclusive or chief credit of having won the victory for the Government of my country in reserving this Union. Let us not, under also assertions of fact, send out to the country and the world from this floor the declaration that the white race of this count are wantingin the allantry, the devotion, and by the patriotism which ultimately secured for our armies triumph, and for our nation perpetuity. Let the by ac s who gallantly fought go and vote, let the white men who giallautl fought go and vote, let all these who did o an fight, and who can read and write, and t us onderstand the system of our Government; who can read the ballot with which they are attempting to control our country let all these men go and vote if you will an aid in the government of our country. but I have been taught, and so have you, so have we all, that unless intelligence exists in this country, unless schools are so ported and education diffused throughout the country, our institutions are not safe, and either anarchy or despotism will be the result; and when on propose substantially to introduce at once t ree quarters of a million or a million of voters, the great mass of whom are ignorant and unable to tell when the ballot they vote is right side up), then I protest against such an alarming in usion of ignorance into the ballot box, into that sacred alladium, as we have always called it, of the iberties of our country. Let us introduce them by fit degrees. Let them come in as fast as they are fit, and their numbers will not shock the character of our institutions. I turn for a single moment to call attention to the philanthropy of the proposition. If you introduce all without regard to qualification without their being able to read or write, an thus to understand the questions on which they are to decide, what wou d be the effect? You will take away from them the strongest incentive to learn to read or write. As a race, it is not accustomed to position and property; it has no homesteads, it has no stake in the country; and unless the are required to be intelligent, and qualifie to understand something about our institutions and our laws, and the questions which are submitted to the people from time to time, you say then to them, No matter whether or not you make progress in civilization or education, you shalPhave all the rights of citizenshi, ” and in that way you take away from them a1special motive to education and improvement. On the contrary if the ability to read and write and understand the ballot is I made the qualification on the part of these people to exercise the right of voting, the remaining portion will see that color is not exclusion. They would all aspire to the qualification itself as preliminary to the act. You can submit no motive to that race so powerful for the purpose of developing in them the education and intelligence reaired. I say therefore, on whatever grounds you put it, whether you regard the safety of our institutions or the light of philanthropy, you should insist on qualifications substantially the same as those required in the State of Massachusetts. I have a copy of the clause of the constitution of that State which seems to be the proper one on this subject and let me sayt at, takin the State of Massachusetts as an example of the result of general intelligence and qualified suffrage, and aearefulguardianshipof the ballot box, know of no more illustrious example in this or any other country of its importance. With a credit that surpasses that of the U.S., with a history that is surpassed by no State in the Union, with wealth that is almost fabulous in proportion to its population, with a prosperity a most unknown in the history of the world, that State stands before us today in all her dignity, strength, wealth, intellience, and virtue and if we, by adopting simi ar principles in other States, can secure such results, we certainly have an inducement to consider well how far this condition is to be attributed to her diffused education, and to the provisions of her ponstitution. The electoral clause reads as follows: “No person shall have theright to voteor beeligible to officewho shall not beable to read the constitution in theEnglish langu o and writo his ow nname: provided, however, That the provisionsofthis amendment shall not a ply to any person prevented by p1ysical disability roni complying mt its requisitio. nor to any person who now has the right to vote, nor to any person who shall be 60 years of ageor upward at the time this amendment 5 all take effect.” It was thus that Massachusetts provided an improved element of suffrage witiout taking own any existing rights. lhe policy of exclu in those who now have the right of suffrage should receive serious consideration before we adopt it. It is easier to withhold the right from a class who have not yet received it, than to take it nwa from those who have it. So far as it is pprohibitedfor the future, as in the constitution of Massachusetts, it is comparatively free from objections.