Mr. CONGER-I offer the following amendment:

The SECRETARY proceeded to read tho amendment, as follows:

Strike out "thirty-two," the number of districts, and insert "eleven."

Strike out "four," the number of years of service, and insert "three."

Strike out "one," the number of Senators for each district, and insert "three."

Amend other phraseology so that one Senator shall be elected each year.

our duty will be best performed by abolishing the [gency, which existed previous to 1846, those Legislature altogether, and by electing a Governor halcyon days after which my friend from Ononwith the power of Louis Napoleon, to nominate daga [Mr. Andrews] seems to hanker." [Laughand without question to appoint his own Senators ter.] Establish a government such as they have -and, if you please, to go through the formality in France or England, or anywhere else, and of electing under executive supervision and abandon our representative government, which control, a subservient Corps Legislatiff, and thus has proved itself, on account of its liability to relieve the people from this great responsibil- corruption and rottenness, unfit to be the instruity, which, if these assumptions are true, they mentality of expressing the power of a great have proved themselves so incompetent to State like that of New York. perform. For myself, sir, I was glad to hear the The question was then put on the amendment remarks of the honorable gentleman from Mout-of Mr. E. A. Brown, and it was declared lost. gomery [Mr. Baker] and others on that subject, and I regret ed to hear the remarks of the honorable gentleman from New York [Mr. Evarts] following in the train of others, in answer to the suggestion which was made, and made upon the basis of historical truth, that the Senate of this State, under our present Constitution had demonstrated itself to be as honorable and as honest as any preceding Senate, for the reason that no man of its members had ever been expelled from the body, or specific charges made against them on which they could be expelled. The answer was, in substance, that the whole body of the Senate was so corrupt Mr. CONGER-The plan that seems about to that it would not expurgate itself from its dishon- be adopted by the majority of the committee fails ored and its corrupt members. Sir, it is an in many important particulars. You have the old allegation, and an imputation that is undeserved single senate district system, and you have memby the Senate of this State, and is an unmerited bers elected every other year from the alternate slander upon the people of this State. Historical districts. What is the first cousequence? That ly, how is it with regard to the charges which have you have only one-half of the Senate in at a been made of corruption? In 1812, I believe, time, and you have no majority of the Senate Governor Tompkins prorogued the Legislature retained in place and possessed of experience on of this State on account of alleged corruption the eve of any election, and thus the great couserof its members, in connection with the old Bank of vative powers of a Senate sought to be secured, America. Charges of bribery and corruption were are effectually swept aside. The first proposition made against that body, and the Governor pro- made by the committee in favor of large districts rogued it. Now, sir, if these foul charges which is utterly slaughtered. The great object of attainare made against the last Legislature were believed ing conservatism in the Senate, is to have at all to be true, I ask if the Governor of this State had times a majority in that body, not exposed to the the power (which perhaps he has not), did he not risk of any new election. Unless you have a fail, miserably fail, in the discharge of his duty, majority that remains, with experience, that is that he did not prorogue the Legislature on personally suggestive of mischiefs, you have no account of its corruptions, and because they failed more effective provision against the inexperience to expurgate themselves from their corrupt mem-of new members than is to be gained by the bers? Sir, that Governor has not failed in the printed register of the doings of the last body. discharge of important duties. He has the cour- Sir, the lobby manages legislation by taking age, the high standing in community, the inde-advantage of the ignorance of inexpert and unadpendence, to discharge that duty if it was in his vised meinbers, and perhaps also through the power, and if he believed it ought to be dis- insincerity or duplicity of some of the old charged. And I will show you the fact histori- ones. I remember well, that a claim which cally, that but a few years since a member of the was advanced against the State, of nearly Assembly, sitting in this hall by virtue of the $20,000, from the Sing Sing prison, which was votes of the people of this very county, was effectually resisted during two regular, aud charged with corruption in connection with the ex-one extra session of the Legislature, in 1852 and ercise of his functions as a member of the Legisla- 1853, immediately after the assembling of the ture, and a gentleman who is a member of this Con- Legislature in 1854, was brought to the Senate vention, and probably within the sound of my and passed, was sent down to the House and voice, reported, after due examination, to the passed, the bill sent to the Governor aud signed House, charging him with having entertained and the money paid within twenty days after the corrupt propositions with regard to his official assembling of the new Legislature. Shortly thereinfluence and action, and he was expelled from after, a resolution was presented by a member of that body, and the votes of only eight members the lower house, and the reason of his presenting of the one hundred and twenty-eight were the resolution was, that somebody had sent in found recorded against the expulsion. Sir, another claim from the same prison of some $30,if that corruption exists, as assumed and 000, and he desired to have the opinion of the alleged, I say we fail in the discharge of Attorney-General whether there had been any our duty if we do not abolish the Legislature validity in the claim presented and paid by the altogether and establish again the old Albany re- State, and if not, whether the money could not be

adopt the large district system, which divides the State into eight districts, and it would reconcile many who see now the disadvantages and mischiefs resulting from the single district system, to come in with the minority and adopt this plan. I hope, although I have been able but imperfectly to state its merits, it will receive some consideration, if not here, at least in Convention.

The question was put on the amendment of Mr. Conger, and it was declared lost, on a division, by a vote of 23 to 62.

Mr. BICKFORD-I wish, sir, now to offer an amendment.

The SECRETARY proceeded to read the amendment, as follows:

Amend by substituting the following for section 2 of the report:

recovered back, either from the parties, their sureties, or otherwise. Mr. Ogden Hoffman, at that time Attorney-General of the State, sent in a reply to that resolution, in which he said he had carefully examined into the merit of the claim audited and passed, that there had been no validity whatever in it as against the State; and no binding obligation on the State to pay it, but inasmuch as it had been voluntarily paid, the money could not be recovered back. Do you suppose such a state of things could have existed, if any sufficient portion of that Senate could have remained over in their place long enough to meet the new advent of this old trumped up claim against the State? Of what use then is the preseut plan, in order to prevent the Legislature of this State from being perpetually in the hands of the lobby, year after year, and term after term? SEC. 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-nine Of what use is it, when your lower house expires Senators, to be elected for three years; and the every year, to have every responsibility cast upon Legislature for the year one thousand eight huna Senate divided in halves? And with an incoming dred and sixty-eight shall divide the State into half of men incompetent of themselves to know thirty-nine districts, to be called senate districts; the past wiles of the lobby-what guard have you in each of which one Senator shall be elected. against such a claim as I have referred to being The districts shall be numbered from one to thirtypaid by such a Senate? It is all nonsense, in my nine inclusive. They shall contain, as nearly judgment, to think that you are going to have a as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, Conservative body, unless you can maintain at excludings aliens, and shall remain unaltered least two-thirds of that Senate always in its seat.until the year one thousand eight hundred The majority have heretofore voted down a prop- and seventy-six. They shall at all times osition to have three-fourths in its seat, and there consist of contiguous territory, and no is no other alternative now but to fall back upon county shall be divided in the formation the proposition of keeping two-thirds of that body of a senate district, unless it shall be equitably always in office, in order to resist the combination entitled to two or more Senators. The first elecof the lobby, and the indirect efforts and actions tion of Senators under this Constitution shall be of unprincipled men. This is the proposition I held in the year one thousand eight hundred and desire to present at this time, not that I have sixty-eight, and the Senators then chosen shall be much expectation that it will receive a majority divided into three classes; the Senators elected in vote of this committee, but it is hoped that the the districts numbered from one to thirteen incluhonorable gentleman from New York [Mr. Tilden].sive, shall constitute the first class; the Senators who has been detained by sickness, will be able to be here in his place in time to present his views on this subject; for, if I mistake not, this is the plan he favors. On this plan which I have proposed you have a very simple system; you have thirty-three districts virtually, but they are combined in eleven larger districts. The friends of limited representation cannot have much serious objection to this plan; because if two or more districts agree to come together to counsel on nominatious, they can place no great hindrance to the choice of the people of suitably well-known candidates; and, although the argument which was directed against four might apply against three, as having a common voice in the nomina tion as well as in the election, still I hope that on reflection gentlemen may be induced to change their views, and to come back to this as the simplest proposition for organizing the Senate so as to have a conservative portion of that Senate always in its place. You have no objection, such as is forced upon the gentlemen who advocate the single districts, of electing only one Senator in a district, in four years. Here you can elect a Senator in each district every year. I have no desire to detain the committee at this late hour, but I wish to present this proposition, and I present it seriously. Sir, I believe it has merits; it is at least a compromise measure, which may unite a great many persons in this body, who do not like to

elected in the districts numbered from fourteen to twenty-six inclusive, shall constitute the second class; and the Senators elected in the other districts shall form the third class. And it shall be determined by lot under the direction of the Senate in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, and during the two first weeks of its session, which of the said classes of Senators shall hold for one year, which for two years, and which for three years. And the Senators in the several classes shall hold office accordingly.

Mr. TAPPEN-I would like to ask the gentleman from Jefferson [Mr. Bickford] if he has any more amendments to offer, if he will not send them all up at one time. [Laughter.]

Mr. BICKFORD-I am entirely satisfied that the proposition to elect Senators for four years will not meet with favor from the people of this State. But there is a disposition to prolong the term, and I therefore have fixed upon this term of three years as an available compromise. I think the Senate should be increased as well as the Assembly, and I propose, if this amendment should meet with favor, to follow it up with an amendment increasing the number of Assemblymen to four times the number of Senate proposed, namely, 156. The advantages of this plan will be apparent to the committee, and it will be unnecessary to detain the committee by any remarks. I think it is the best proposition which

Mr. GEERY-I rise to a point of order, that the motion of the gentleman [Mr. Bickford] is a renewal in substance of the motion that the committee rise and report progress. The CHAIRMAN-The Chair rules it is a dif- session on the basis of said last mentioned enuferent proposition.

Mr. MERRITT-I move to amend the third sectionment shall be had on the basis of that census, tion, as follows:

as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, Mr. CHESEBRO-What I desired by my except aliens; and then it provides that no county amendment originally was to raise the question, shall be divided, other than those who are entitled which has been somewhat mooted both in comto at least three Senators. I think that enough mittee and in this Convention, as to what constihas been said here to show that the census of tutes a citizen. I supposed from the re1865 was inaccurate, and that after the United port made here that the design was to States census of 1870, an apportionment should go back to the Constitution of 1777, but be made on the basis of that census.

Mr. PARKER-I desire to ask the gentleman a question, if it has occurred to him, what would be the condition of things under his amendment, if the United States government should not order a census in 1870?

Mr. BURRILL-It is fair to presume that as it has heretofore ordered them, it will do so again; if it does not, then that portion of the Constitution will become nugatory, and we shall remain exactly as we are now until the State census of 1875.

Mr. OPDYKE-I move that the committee do now rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again.

it seems I was misled by some remarks made by the gentleman from St. Lawrence [Mr. Merritt], and I have nothing further to say upon that point. I will state the reason I desire to make this amendment. As I understand, after an examination, the definition given by the lexicographers and the best dictionaries in the law library, the word "citizen" means elector, and that as such elector, a person has a right to vote; and I was surprised to find in this section this language used, which would take us back to 1777. Mr. MERRITT - The language was inadvertently used; the idea was that all were citizens, although they might not be voters. I am very The question was put on the motion of Mr. Op-willing to strike out that part of it. dyke, and it was declared lost, on a division, by a Mr CHESEBRO-It brings it down to this vote of 21 to 66. point, as to whether any representation shall be Mr. CHESEBRO-I had prepared an amend-based upon all the inhabitants of the State, or ment somewhat similar to that of my friend from whether it shall be based upon the inhabitants, New York [Mr. Burrill], and I am in favor of his excluding aliens. I am opposed to excluding any amendment, as I presume he would have been of person who is governed by the laws of the State mine if I had first proposed my amendment. My from the ratio of representation. This committee amendment would have included the further pro-and the Convention have stricken out from the vision to strike out the words in line eight, "who Constitution of 1846 one class of citizens by are citizens of the State," leaving the section as elevating them into citizenship, who were formerly it was left in the Constitution of 1846 and the excluded from the ratio of representation, that Constitution of 1821-that is, it raises the ques- is, the class of persons of color who were tion as to whether or not the language "citizens not taxed; they have included them by of the State " means electors of the State, or raising them into citizens. I say it is unjust and whether it means inhabitants of the State. I unfair to exclude from the ratio of representation was induced to look at this question for the rea-that class of citizens known as aliens. I believe son that I saw the committee, in reporting this this to be the true principle of government that article, had changed the phraseology from that the ratio of representation should be based upon which was in the Constitution of 1846 and the all the inhabitants who are governed by the laws Constitution of 1821, and had gone back to what passed by the Legislature elected on that ratio is in effect, the Constitution of 1777. As under- of representation. I believe that should be the stood by the committee, the Constitution of principle adopted in this Constitution. They are 1777 provided the ratio of representation should taxed, they are required to perform the duties of be based upon electors of the State. The all citizens and of all persons, yet they are not Constitution of 1821 provided that the ratio included in the ratio of representation. Now, of representation should be based upon the there is no good end attained by this discrimina inhabitants of the State. The Constitution tion. Instead of taking out one class I say take of 1846 varied the language of the Constitution of 1821, and provided that representation should be based upon the inhabitants of the State, excluding aliens and persons of color not taxed. Mr. MERRITT-If the gentleman will allow me a moment, I am willing to accept his amendment to strike out the words "citizens of the State," if I can insert after the word "State" the words "excluding aliens."

Mr. CHESEBRO - That is my amendment. If the gentleman wishes to speak on my amendment I have no objections.

The question was then put on the amendment of Mr. Burrill, and it was declared lost.

Mr. CHESEBRO - My amendment is simply to strike out the the words 'citizens of the State," but not to insert the words "excluding aliens."

Mr. MERRITT-I cannot accept it in that

way

in the whole.

Mr. BARKER-I only desire to make one explanation. This expression which is different from the language now used in the same section of the same chapter of the Constitution of 1846, was not changed with a design to change the rule. The expression should, in my judgment, incorporate the language of the present Constitution, so that it should read "to contain as near as may be, an equal number of inhabitants of the State, excluding aliens." Hence, if we strike out the words "who are citizens of the State" and insert "inhabitants of the State, excluding aliens," then we will get the exact language that is in the present Constitution, and will exclude aliens from representation.

Mr. COMSTOCK-As I understand it, if the amendment of the gentleman from Ontario [Mr. Chesebro] prevails, the basis of the representation of this State will be the inhabitants of the State.

Mr. T. W. DWIGHT—They are not excluded. Mr. HARDENBURGH - They certainly are. SEVERAL DELEGATES-if they are not aliens, they are not.

In other words the population pure and simple, ex- | committee intended to give, as being those sojourncluding no class of people. I am in favor of that ing in the country, who are really foreign citizens), amendment. If that proposition prevails, the rule which is, that every single child who is born of of representation in the State of New York will those aliens who sojourn in the land is a native conform to that of every State in the Union, ex-born citizen, and declared by the law of this State cept one, and will conform also to the Constitu- to be such, every one of them. The first breath tion of the United States. We all know that the they draw makes them a citizen of this State, rule of representation in the Constitution of the and of course an inhabitant of this State. I refer United States was "all free persons and three- to the case of Monroe, reported in Barbour, 25 fifths of all other persons," which meant slaves. or 26, where the question was up before the Since slavery is abolished the rule of representa- Supreme Court of this State, where it is declared tion, as now fixed, is the population of the United that every single child born of a sojourner here, States pure and simple, excluding no class of peo-although he be an alien, is a citizen of the State. ple, unless it be Indians who are not part of our na- How many are there now? tionality. I have looked over the Constitution of the States and find that the State of Maine is the only State whose representation is based upon the citizen population, excluding aliens. The greater number of States have adopted the population, or Mr. HARDENBURGH - Certainly not, if they all the inhabitants of the State. Several adopt the are not aliens, but it is to the children of aliens born white population; but not one of them except on our soil that I refer. They are not included the State I have mentioned adopts the represent- although citizens. I cannot comprehend what ation which is now proposed for the State of New gentlemen mean by this particular construction. York, although I admit it has been the rule in The point I wish to make is, that the committee, this State since 1862. I think myself we had bet-in making this report, have included 45,000 neter conform to that rule which prevails generally groes, and have excluded in their estimate, by in this country. I am not convinced that there is which they make up their ratio, over 125,000 any reason for excluding aliens from the basis of white children of alien citizens, who are citizens. representation-they have all the rights and im- That I say is the fair purport and meaning of that munities of citizens, except the political privi-report. That is, in fact, what you have done in this lege of exercising the elective franchise. A report; you have added to, and included in it, this very large portion of them have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States. They are authorized by our laws to hold real property. Without statute laws, but by the common law they are possessed of personal property; they are taxed; they are elements of wealth and power and of progress; they are thoroughly incorporated into the society of the State. I am not convinced of any reason for excluding them from the basis of representation. I am, therefore in favor of the amendment of the gentleman from Ontario [Mr. Chesebro].

Mr. HARDENBURGH-I desire to say a single word in respect to the amendment now offered by the gentleman from Ontario [Mr. Chesebro]. It simply seeks to strike out of this report in the third section the words "who are citizens of the State."

Mr. MERRITT-I accepted that striking out of the words, and wished to insert other words. Mr. CHESEBRO-I supposed the gentleman did not accept it, without a modification.

negro population of the State, and have actually excluded those who are white inhabitants and citizens of the State, children of aliens, but children born on the soil. I submit, therefore, that the committee, in getting the average from which they have obtained their ratio, have in fact left out a portion of our population who are really inhabitants and citizens of the State.

64

Mr. CONGER · When I addressed you the other night I stated at the outset, and in very clear terms, the grounds of my objections to the scheme of the committee, to be principally to the basis of their report, and to the mode of distribution of senate districts proposed by them. The remarks I then made were either misapprehended or they were taken unnecessarily as a ground of offense, by two gentlemen of the committee. One of them, who complained of the remarks submitted by myself and by the gentleman from Richmond [Mr. E. Brooks] representing those two counties beginning with "R," which, in his mind's eye, appear intent to rasp" and "rack" and Mr. HARDENBURGH-I desire to call the at-"ruin" the structural contrivances of the comtention of the chairman of the committee that mittee, censured us very severely for the remarks reported this article, to the fact that while the used, which he supposed to be personal, and committee has taken the census as reported here charged that we designed to attack the report in our Manual, they have added to it that class unfairly. The honorable gentleman from Ulster of people who have been enfranchised-if I may [Mr. Cooke], like one who had rubbed his eyes use the term-by this Convention. I understand after waking, came in with the declaration that if they have incorporated into this figure which they he had thought of it sooner he would have done use, as the ratio of representation, the negro popu- it better and then offered in his place before he lation that has been now enfranchised, amounting sat down to make a better and more equitable to about 45,000. What I desire also to call apportionment as between the first three districts. attention to, is the very singular fact which Could any attack upon the report be more ominous seems to have been lost sight of, by than this? Now, sir, when I made the remarks every gentleman who has addressed the alluded to, which were necessarily compressed, committee (leaving out of view for the moment and within the limits of a twenty minutes speech, the definition of aliens, which I understand this glancing as I did over so large an amount of sta