His language was, therefore, a distinct threat to override the Constitution in order to strip the negro of the political power which the Constitution had conferred upon him.

This threat was so serious and so lawless that it should have received more attention than was bestowed upon it when first put forth.

It was not uncommon to hear brazen defiance of Constitutional obligations from Southern speakers addressing Southern audiences for mere sensational effect.

But his was an announcement made in the Senate of the United States, not hastily and angrily in the excitement of debate, but with reflection and deliberation, in an official report which had been studied for months and subscribed to in writing by Mr.Bayard.
The common apprehension assigns to Mr.Bayard a high standing at the bar and positive rank as a man of culture.

As a lawyer Mr.Bayard has doubtless cherished no ambition as he has attained no prominence, while in point of education he never enjoyed facilities beyond those of the common school or the private academy.