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appears from the official returns of the last and the preceding census, and completely refutes the arguments which are founded upon this mis-statement. Will you, then, without necessity, and merely to gratify an unreasonable prejudice, stain the constitution you are about to form, with a provision equally odious and unjust, and in direct violation of the principles which you profess, and upon which you intend to form it? I trust, I am sure, you will not.

GEN. ROOT, after a few introductory remarks, and observations upon the order in which the amendments had been proposed by the honourable gentlemen from Albany and Saratoga, (Messrs. Young and S. Van Rensselaer,) proceeded to explain his views of the social compact.

Sir, said Mr. R. in the formation of a social compact, which generally grows out of exigency, when the people are but a little removed from their barbarous and rude state, they are not particular in enumerating the principles upon which they thus unite; but when they become more enlightened, they will undertake to say who shall belong to their family.

In my judgment, every one who is taken into the bosom of that family, and made to contribute, either in property or personal service, to the benefit of that family, should have a voice in managing its concerns. It cannot be denied, that the preservation of property is a much less consideration, than that of a security in our liberty and independence. Every member of this political family, who is worthy to be one of its members, will prize much higher the freedom of the country, than the preservation of property.

Sir, for the preservation, or protection of property, you require a contribu tion in property towards the public fund-you do this in the case of an alien, who may hold property and be protected by the laws of your country, in the enjoyment of that property; but he is not allowed to vote. An alien is sometimes permitted, by a particular law to hold property; and if he is an able bodied man, he is required to fight in defence of this country, yet he is not allowed to vote. The reasons are, that notwithstanding he may live among us and enjoy the benefit of our freedom, he may have a partiality for some foreign country; therefore, he is not to partake fully of our privileges till after a certain probationary season. The black population have a right to hold property, and are protected in the enjoyment of it by our laws: but, sir, in case of an invasion or insurrection, neither the alien nor black man is bound to defend your country. They are not called on, because it is supposed there is no reliance to be placed in them, they might desert the standard and join your enemy-they have not any anchorage in your country which the government is willing to trust. Then under this view of the subject, it appears to me they cannot complain at being excluded from voting, inasmuch as they are not bound to assist in the defence of the country; but have their liberty secured to them. It would be improper that they should come forward and vote for the election of a commander in chief, whom they were not bound to obey. We have been told by the honourable gentleman from Westchester, (Mr. Jay) and shall be again told, that we are about to deprive these people of a franchise, with which they are now yosted. Sir, it is impossible to remoddle your constitution without changing the relative rights of your citizens. It is said that these people are now entitled to vote under our constitution, and that it is proposed to deprive them of this privilege-Are there not others who are in a measure disfranchised by the report of this committee, which requires nothing but a residence, and to have paid taxes, to qualify a man to vote for governor and senators?

I am not disposed to follow the gentleman, who has referred us to the reso utions of the legislature for the two years past, instructing our members in congress on the subject of the Missouri question. Whatever our legislature may have done, it is not to affect the operations of this Convention, in deciding upon the great question before us. Their wisdom may be considered as worthy of some consideration, still I flatter myself it will not materially vary the result of this question. It is not necessary that we should enquire whether there is just cause of alarm, for fear that these blacks will hereafter disturb our political family. At present the number of blacks who are voters is so small, that if they were scattered all over the state, there would not be much danger to be apprehended; but if we may judge of the future by the past, I should sups

pose there was some cause of alarm-when a few hundred free negroes of the eity of New-York, following the train of those who ride in their coaches, and whose shoes and boots they had so often blacked, shall go to the polls of the election, and change the political condition of the whole state. A change in the representation of that city may cause a change in your assembly, by giving a majority to a particular party, which would vary your council of appointment. who make the highest officers of your government-Thus would the whole state be controlled by a few hundred of this species of population in the city of New-York.

This is not all, in time of war these people who are not called on to fight your battles, may make the majority of your legislature, which will defeat eve-ry measure for the prosecution of that war; so that instead of being an ganized corps" to fight your battles, they may be an " organized corps" to defeat the energies of the state with all its patriotic exertions.

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But although he was in favour of retaining some of the principles of the propositions submitted by the honourable gentleman from Albany, yet there were others which he disapproved. He, therefore, proposed to amend it (Mr. Young having withdrawn his motion to insert) in the following manner :

"But no person shall be allowed to vote for any elective officer in this state, who would not if an able bodied man, and within the proper age prescribed by the laws of the United States, be liable to the performance of militia duty, unless exempted by act of congress, or the laws of this state, on account of some public office, or being empl yed in some public trust, or particular business, deemed by the legislative authority to be specially beneficial to the United States or this state, or unless he shall have paid within the year next preceding his offering his. vote, a fair equivalent in money for his personal services and equipments, to be determined by the legislature, according to the estimated expense in time and equipments, of an ordinary, able bodied and efficient militiaman;. Provided that any such person, above the age required by law for the performance of militia duty, and who shall have, before arriving at that age, paid such equivalent, or been li able therefor, if an able bodied man, and then resident in this state, may be per mitted to vote at any such elections."

Mr. R. thought this provision would meet the views of gentlemen who enter→→ tained the same sentiments in relation to the black voters that he did, and at the same time preserve the delicacy of language which is observable in the constitution of the United States, which no where uses the word slave.

MR. EASTWOOD made a few remarks against the amendment.

MR. R. CLARKE said he rose with considerable embarrassment, knowing the weight of experience, talent, and elocution opposed to him. I am, said Mr. C. oppposed to my honourable colleague (Mr. Root) on this question, to whose judgment and experience I have generally been willing to pay due deference. I an unwilling to retain the word "white," because its detention is repugnant to all the principles and notions of liberty, to which we have heretofore professed to adhere, and to our declaration of independence, which is a concise and just expose of those principles. In that sacred instrument we have recorded the following incontrovertible truths—“ We hold these truths to be self-evident -that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of ́ happiness."

The people of colour are capable of giving their consent, and ever since the formation of your government they have constituted a portion of the people. from whence your legislators have derived" their just powers ;" and by retaining that word, you deprive a large and respectable number of the people. of this state of privileges and rights which they have enjoyed in common with us, ever since the existence of our government, and to which they are justly entitled. Sir, to this declaration we all profess to be willing to subscribe, yet by retaining this word you violate one of the most important maxims it con

tains.

It has been appropriately observed by the honourable gentleman from Westchester, (Mr. Jay,) that, by retaining this word, you violate the consti

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tation of the United States. Besides the clause quoted by that honourable gen. tleman, I think there is another upon which it crowds very hard. Free people of colour are included in the number which regulates your representation in congress, and I wish to know how freemen can be represented when they are deprived of the privilege of voting for representatives. The constitution says, representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the different states, according to the inhabitants thereof, including all free persons," &c. All colours and complexions are here included. It is not free "white" persons. No, sir, our venerable fathers entertained too strong a sense of justice to countenance such an odious distinction.-Now, sir, taking this in connection with the declaration of independence, I think you cannot exclude them without being guilty of a palpable violation of every principle of justice. We are usurping to ourselves a power which we do not possess, and by so doing, deprive them of a privilege to which they are, and always have been, justly entitledan invaluable right-a right in which we have prided ourselves as constituting our superiority over every other people on earth--a right which they have enjoyed ever since the formation of our government--the right of suffrage. And why do we do this? Instead of visiting the iniquities of these people upon them and their children, we are visiting their misfortunes upon them and their posterity unto the latest generation. It was not expected of us, that in forming a constitution to govern this state, we should so soon have shewn a disposition to adopt plans fraught with usurpation and injustice. Because we have done this people injustice, by enslaving them, and rendering them degraded and miserable, is it right that we should go on and continue to deprive them of their most invaluable rights, and visit upon their children to the latest posterity this deprivation? Is this just? Is it honest? Was it expected by our constituents? Will it not fix a foul stain upon the proceedings of this Convention which time will not efface.

My honourable colleague has told us that these people are not liable to do military duty, and that as they are not required to contribute to the protection or defence of the state, they are not entitled to an equal participation in the privileges of its citizens." But, sir, whose fault is this? Have they ever refused to do military duty when called upon? It is haughtily asked, who will stand in the ranks, shoulder to shoulder, with a negro? I answer, no one in time of peace; no one when your musters and trainings are looked upon as mere pastimes; no one when your militia will shoulder their muskets and march to their trainings with as much unconcern as they would go to a sumptuous entertainment, or a splendid ball. But, sir, when the hour of danger approaches, your “white” militia are just as willing that the man of colour should be set up as a mark to be shot at by the enemy, as to be set up themselves. In the war of the revolution, these people helped to fight your battles by land and by sea. Some of your states were glad to turn out corps of coloured men, and to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with them. In your late war they contributed largely towards some of your most splendid victories. On Lakes Erie and Champlain, where your fleets triumphed over a foe superior in numbers, and engines of death, they were manned in a large proportion with men of colour. And in this very house, in the fall of 1814, a bill passed receiving the approbation of all the branches of your government, authorizing the governor to accept the scrvices of a corps of 2000 free people of colour. Sir, these were times which tried men's souls. In these times it was no sporting matter to bear arms. These were times when a man who shouldered his musket, did not know but he bared his bosom to receive a death wound from the enemy ere he laid it aside; and in these times these people were found as ready and as willing to volunteer in your service as any other. They were not-compelled to go, they were not drafted. No, your pride had placed them beyond your compulsory power. But there was no necessity for its exercise; they were volunteers; yes, sir, volunteers to defend that very country from the inroads and ravages of a ruthless and vindictive foe, which had treated them with insult, degradation, and slavery. Volunteers are the best of soldiers; give me the men, whatever be their complexion, that willingly volunteer, and not those who are compelled to turn out; such men do not fight from necessity, nor from mercenary motives, but from principle. Such men formed the most efficient corps for your country's defence

in the late war; and of such consisted the crews of your squadrons on Erie and Champlain, who largely contributed to the safety and peace of your country, and the renown of her arms. Yet, strange to tell, such are the men whom you seek to degrade and oppress.

There is another consideration which I think important. Our government is a government of the people, supported and upheld by public sentiment; and to support and perpetuate our free institutions, it is our duty and our interest to attach to it all the different classes of the community. Indeed there should be but one class. Then, sir, is it wise, is it prudent, is it consistent with sound policy, to compel a large portion of your people and their posterity, forever to become your enemies, and to view you and your political institutions with distrust, jealousy, and hatred, to the latest posterity; to alienate one portion of the community from the rest, and from their own political institutions? I grant you, sir, that in times of profound peace, their numbers are so sinall that their resentment could make no serious impression. But, sir, are we sure; can we calculate that we are always to remain in a state of peace? that our tranquillity is never again to be disturbed by invasion or insurrection? And, sir, when that unhappy period arrives, if they, justly incensed by the accumulated wrongs which you heap upon them, should throw their weight in the scale of your enemies, it might, and most assuredly would, be severely felt. Then your gayest and proudest militiamen that now stand in your ranks, would rather be seen "shoulder to shoulder" with a negro, than have him added to the number of his enemies, and meet him in the field of battle.

By retaining the word "white," you impose a distinction impracticable in its operation. Among those who are by way of distinction called whites, and whose legitimate ancestors, as far as we can trace them, have never been slaves, there are many shades of difference in complexion. Then how will you discriminate? and at what point will you limit your distinction? Will you here descend to particulars, or leave that to the legislature? If you leave it to them, you will impose upon them a burden which neither you nor they can bear. You ought not to require of them impossibilities. Men descended from African ancestors, but who have been pretty well white-washed by their commingling with your white population, may escape your scrutiny; while others, whose blood is as pare from any African taint as any member of this Convention, may be called upon to prove his pedigree, or forfeit his right of suffrage, because he happens to have a swarthy complexion. Are you willing, by any act of this Convention, to expose any, even the meanest, of your white citizens, to such an insult? I hope not.

But it is said these people are incapable of exercising the right of suffrage judiciously; that they will become the tools and engines of aristocracy, and set themselves up in market, and give their votes to the highest bidder; that they. have no will or judgment of their own, but will follow implicitly the dictates of the purse-proud aristocrats of the day, on whom they depend for bread. This may be true to a certain extent; but, sir, they are not the only ones who abuse this privilege; and if this be a sufficient reason for depriving any of your citizens of their just rights, go on and exclude also the many thousands of white fawning, cringing sycophants, who look up to their more wealthy and more ambitious neighbours for direction at the polls, as they look to them for bread. But though most of this unfortunate class of men may at present be in this dependent state, both in body and mind, yet we ought to remember, that we are making our constitution, not for a day, nor a year, but I hope for many generations; and there is a redeeming spirit in liberty, which I have no doubt will eventually raise these poor, abused, unfortunate people, from their present degraded state, to equal intelligence with their more fortunate and enlightened neighbours.

Sir, there is a day now fixed by law, when slavery must forever cease in this state. Have gentlemen seriously reflected upon the consequences which may result from this event, when they are about to deprive them of every inducement to become respectable members of society, turning them out from the protection, and beyond the control of their masters, and in the mean time ordaining them to be fugitives, vagabonds, and outcasts from society.

Sir, no longer ago than last winter, the legislature of this state almost unani'mously resolved, that their senators be instructed, and their representatives requested, to prevent any state from being admitted into this union, which should have incorporated in her constitution any provision denying to the citizens of each state all the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens of the several states." These instructions and requests, it is well known, particularly referred to Missouri; and were founded upon a clause in her constitution, interdicting this very class of people" from coming to, or settling in, that state, under any pretext whatsoever." Whether these instructions and requests were proper and expedient at that time or not, is not necessary for me to inquire; and I only refer to them to shew, how tenacious the representatives of the people were, at that time, of even the smallest rights of this portion of their citizens-rights of infinitely less importance to the free people of colour of this state, than those of which you now propose to deprive them. About the same time, my honourable colleague, then a member of the assembly of this state, introduced a bill, declaring that, according to our declaration of independence and form of government," slavery cannot exist in this state." I shall give no opinion upon the propriety of passing such a law at this day; but I will say, that even the advocating such a humane proposition, gave honourable testimony of the benevolence of his heart. And is it possible, that the representatives of the same people should be found, in a few short months afterwards, entertaining a proposition, which virtually and practically declares, that freedom, that liberty cannot exist in this state; and this proposition receiving support from the same individual who last winter was the champion of African emancipation.

Sir, I well know that this subject is attended with embarrassment and difficulty, in whatever way it may be presented. I lament as much as any gentleman, that we have this species of population among us. But we have them here without any fault of theirs. They were brought here and enslaved by the arm of violence and oppression. We have heaped upon them every indignity, every injustice; and in restoring them at this late day, (as far as is practicable) to their natural rights and privileges, we make but a very partial atonement for the many wrongs which we have heaped upon them; and in the solemn work before us, as far as it related to these people, I would do them justice,and leave the consequences to the righteous disposal of an all-wise and merciful Providence. The honourable gentleman from Genesee (Mr. Ross) has said that they were a peculiar people. We were told the other day that the people of Connecticut were a peculiar people. Indeed this is a peculiarly happy mode of evading the force of an argument. I admit that the blacks are a peculiarly unfortunate people, and I wish that such inducements may be held out, as shall induce them to become a sober and industrious class of the community, and raise them to the high standard of independent electors.

COL. YOUNG expressed his intention to vote against the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Albany (Mr. Van Rensselaer) on the express ground that it did not contain the limitation of white. He should use no circumlocution nor disguise. He was willing to express his opinion openly and fully, and to record his name in the journals of the Convention, and thereby transmit it to posterity. He was disposed to discharge the duty which he owed to the people without fear or favour.

The gentleman who had just sat down had adverted to the declaration of independence to prove that the blacks are possessed of "certain unalienable rights." But is the right of voting a natural right? If so, our laws are oppressive and unjust. A natural right is one that is born with us. No man is born twenty-one years old, and of course all restraint upon the natural right of voting, during the period of nonage, is usurpation and tyranny. This confusion arises from mixing natural with acquired rights. The right of voting is adventitious. It is resorted to only as a means of securing our natural rights. In forming a constitution, we should have reference to the feelings, habits, and modes of thinking of the people. The gentleman last up has alluded to the importance of regarding public sentiment. And what is the public sentiment in relation to this subject? Are the negroes permitted to a participation in social intercourse with the whites! Are they elevated to public office! No,

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