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Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, March 30, 1868
Volume 142, Page 2170   View pdf image (33K)
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1868.] OF THE SENATE. 757

1. That, in a Republican Government, the right of repre-
sentation is a franchise which the people may not safely re-
linquish, and of which they cannot be deprived and remain
free. The right of a people to representation implies the
right for them to choose their Representatives, and a denial
of the latter involves a destruction of the former ; hence, a
Government is no longer republican when this right of the
people is destroyed.

2. The Constitution of the United States, which is the
creature of the States, and which constitutes the only bond
of the Federal Union, prescribes the qualifications which
must be possessed by members of Congress ; also the mode
of choosing them, and the right conferred by the Constitu-
tion on each House of Congress to "judge of the election,
qualification, and returns of its members," does not author-
ize the denial of representation to the people of a State or
district, nor authorize the application of any new or addi-
tional tests or qualifications for membership.

3. To reject a Representative duly chosen, because of any
political sentiments which he may have held or may hold, is
at once a flagrant violation of the Constitution, and a ruth-
less annihilation of freedom itself; because freedom consists
in the right to be represented by whomsoever a majority may
select : Provided, There be no disqualification in the mem-
ber so chosen embraced within the provisions of the Federal
Constitution.

4. Each and every of the Representatives elected by the
people of the State of Kentucky to the Fortieth Congress,
was not only duly elected, but possessed all the qualifications
required by the Constitution, and the exclusion for a single
day of any one of them, upon the grounds alleged by the
controlling power in the House of Representatives, was an
infraction of the constitutional rights of the people, which
demands our most unqualified denunciation; and in the
name of an injured and outraged people, we do most
solmenly and earnestly protest against such action, which, if
persisted in, and established as the policy of the Govern-
ment, will render the elective franchise a farce, and what we
have been taught to regard as constitutional liberty but a
solemn mockery.

Resolved, That his Excellency, the Governor of this Com-
monwealth, be requested to forward a copy of this declara-
tion, duly certified, to the President of the United States,
to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States, to each. of our Senators
and Representatives in Congress, and to the Governors of


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Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, March 30, 1868
Volume 142, Page 2170   View pdf image (33K)
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