house remain
unchanged; but should the legislature of 1865 fail to re-apportion
representation, the governor would be "required to submit to the vote
of the people four propositions, namely; (1) the suffrage basis, (2)
the mixed basis, (3) the white population basis, and (4) the taxation
basis." This plan was carried in committee of the whole and later,
with slight modifications, was adopted by the Convention.

The question of suffrage was settled amicably since the delegates from
neither section opposed an extension thereof. The privilege of the
ballot, therefore, was extended to "Every white male citizen of the
commonwealth of the age of twenty-one years";[33] paupers and others
usually excepted, not to be included.

The question of taxation was one of the important issues to be
settled. The eastern delegates opposed the white basis of
representation, chiefly through the fear that westerners would use
their newly gained political power to tax slave property to secure
funds for internal improvements.[34] The eastern members insisted,
therefore, that all property taxes should be ad valorem and that no
one species should be taxed higher than another. They were unwilling,
too, that Negro slaves under twelve years of age should be taxed at
all. It was finally provided that an ad valorem tax be placed on all
property according to its value, but that Negro slaves under twelve
years of age be exempt and slaves twelve years and over be taxed per
capita at not more than the tax on land worth three hundred
dollars.[35] The inhabitants of the west never became reconciled to
this discriminating arrangement and it was especially irritating
during the years immediately preceding the war,[36] when the price of
slaves often ranged from sixteen hundred to eighteen hundred
dollars.[37]

In this Convention the men of the west were less bent upon obtaining a
constitutional provision declaring for the gradual emancipation of
slaves than they were in 1829-30. Their efforts were directed towards
shifting the political balance of power from east to west, whereby
this purpose might be accomplished with less difficulty.[38] In this
they were not successful. Likewise the east was dissatisfied over the
apportionment of representation and the west did not want to accept
the principle of taxation.[39] The question of the extension of
suffrage was the only leading issue settled. This convention, like
that of 1829-30, was essentially a compromis