Mr. BLAINE. My purpose in taking the floor"at this time is to say very briefly that whether amended or not I bill; shall vote for this but at the same time to exPress the earn est hope that it may be amended in one important feature. I hold in my hand a provision which I trust may be incorporated in it, and I appeal to my distinguished and venerable friendfrom Pennsylvania [Mr. STEvoNs] to allow us at least the privilege of a vote upon it. I propose, it as an additional section to the pending bill, and I ask the attention of the House while I read it, as follows: SEC. Abife:, That when the constitutional amendment proposed as article 14 by the 39th Congress shall havebecome a part of the Constitution of the U.S. by the ratification of 3/4ths of the States now represented in Congress, and when anyoneof the late socalled confederate States shall have given its assent to the same and conformed its constitution and laws thereto in all respects; and when it shall have provided by its constitution that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed equally, and impartially by all male citizens of the U.S., 21 years old and upward, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude, except such as may be disfranchised for participating in the late rebellion; and whensaid constitutions h?if have beensubmitted to the votersof said State, as thus defined, for ratification or rejection; and when the constitution, if ratified by the popular vote, shall have been submitted to Congress for examination and $o:said State shall, if its constitution be approved by Congress, be declared entitled to representation in Congress, and Sens&Reps shall beadmitted there from on their taking the oath Prescribedby law, and then and thereafter the precedingsections of this bill shall be ine perative in saidState. Now, I ask what more does the bill passed today in regard to the civil government of Louisiana demand of that State than this demand of all the States? That applies to only one State; you have said nothing of the kind to the other nine; you propose no civil government for them. You do not know what may be, the fate of that bill. If you incor porate this amendment in this bill and send it to the Senate, whichever bill the Senate may, adopt we shall have achieved something as a basis of reconstruction, and we bring Congress up to the declaration of making equal suffrage a condition precedent to admission. We have never done that yet, and for lack of that deotion we are weak before the country to ay. It happened, Mr. Speaker, possibly by mere accident, that I was the 1st member of this House who spoke in ComWhole on the President's message at the opening of this session. I then stated that I believed the true interpretation of the elections of 1866 was that, in addition to the proposed constitutional amendment, universal, or at least impar tial suffrage should be the basis of restoration. Why not declare it so? Why not, when you send out this military police authority to the lately rebellious States, send with it that impressive declaration? This amendment does not in the least conflict with the bill for the civil government of Louisiana which we passed today. It need not conflict with any enabling act you may pass in regard to the other 9 States. If you choose you may follow up this action at the opening of the 40th Congress _ T. _ by passing enabling acts for the other 9 States. A declaration of this kind attached to this bill will, it seems to me, have great weight and peculiar significance. It announces to these States what it is important for them to know, and what alone the Congress of the U.S. can authoritatively declare. In the 1st place, it specifically declares the doctrine that 3/4ths of the States now rePresented in Congress have the power to adopt the constitutional amendment, and it does not even by implication give them to understand that their assent or ratification is necessary to its becoming a part of the Constitution. It implies that their assent to it is a lofion for themselves; merely an evience both moral and legal of good faith and loyalty on their part. We specially provide against their drawing the slightest inference in favor of their being a party in any degree essential to the valid ratification of that amendment.