t
all white men over twenty-one years of age shall be voters, and all
black men who have two hundred dollars' worth of property, and if
there shall be ten thousand legal black voters in such State, upon
what principle will you place in the Constitution of the United States
a provision which would deprive these ten thousand legal black voters
of any representation upon the floor of Congress, or of being
considered in the basis of representation? And I wish to ask the
honorable gentleman who reported this amendment if that is not the
effect and result of the amendment reported from the committee."

In reference to the time and place of inaugurating constitutional
amendments, Mr. Marshall used the following language: "If any
amendments are necessary to the Constitution of our country, this is
not the time, and more especially is this not the place, to inaugurate
such amendments. I believe, notwithstanding the conceded wisdom,
ability, and virtue of this House, that the fathers who framed our
glorious Constitution were wiser, better, and nobler than we are; yet
every day we have offered here some dozen or twenty proposed
amendments to the Constitution, offered as if we were discussing
resolutions in a town meeting."

[Illustration: Robert C. Schenck.]

Among the propositions before the House relating to this subject, was
an amendment proposed by Mr. Schenck, of Ohio, providing that
representation should be based upon "the number of male citizens of
the United States over twenty-one years of age, having the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of
the State legislature."

Mr. Schenck addressed the House, and thus gave a history of his own
connection with the measure: "At a very early day in this session, I
was one of those disposed to ask the attention of Congress to the
subject, to propose in proper form the submission of the question to
the Legislatures of the several States. On the first day of the
session, on the 4th of December last, as soon as the House was
organized, I gave notice that I would on the next, or some succeeding
day, introduce a proposition to amend the Constitution. On the ensuing
day I did accordingly present a joint resolution. It stands as House
Resolution No. 1 of the session.

"In that I propose representation hereafter shall be based upon
suffrage. I propose that representation shall be apportioned among the
several States of the Union according to the number of v