Mr. Stevens has proposed in Congress a new amendment to
the Constitution, intended ftehave the effect of represeixting the.varicaui -States in proportion only to the numbers. of the classes which send up voters to the .polls. At present a SoutheraState, having. no. longer anyslaves, would be. entitled -ta. a- number of „representa- tives.:in Congress in‘proportion, .toita la population. That is, farinstance, South Carolina's number-of :representatives would-be .calculated fora-population of about seven hundred thousand, -while the whites,: the only • voting: class, number ! only 200,000. Of coursethe. _North :cannot -concede to the Southern States. an influ- ence in:Congress:proportioned to the whole population, if all, the friendly part:of itis to have no influence in electing deputies: It would be like obliging, the absentees in the Peers to give their -proxies to the Opposition. Mr. Stevens proposes therefore "that. -whenever the elective franchise shall be denied or abridged inany State, on account of race or colour, all persons of such race-or .colour shall be excluded from the basis of representation." The Democrats of course oppose this- amendment, as they wish, to. :strengthen the enemies of the Republicans, whom they counton, as their- own -allies.
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