status of acting because he failed confirmation by the Senate due to differences between him and Virginia Senator William Mahone. During that time, Goode visited British Columbia to represent the United States in an extradition case. In 1892, Cleveland appointed Goode to the United States and Chilean Claims Commission which settled several disputes between the two countries. 1902 Virginia Constitutional Convention Although he had lived in Norfolk and Washington D.C., Goode continued to own property in Bedford County, Virginia, where his family lived. Bedford County voters elected Goode to represent them at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901 and 1902. Fellow delegates unanimously elected Goode as the convention's president. In his acceptance speech. Goode denounced both the Reconstruction Amendments and the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, saying, "Congress not only committed a stupendous blunder, but a crime against civilization and Christianity when, against the advice of their wisest leaders, they required the people of Virginia and the South, under the rule of bayonet, to submit to universal negro suffrage." The convention ultimately stripped the 1868 state constitution's clauses which denounced Virginia's rebellion against the United States and outlawed slavery. The convention also forbade the education of white and black children in the same school. Disenfranchisement became the subject of much debate; delegate Carter Glass explained how it would inevitably cut 4/5ths of the African American voters. Large sections of the final document restricted voting to war veterans and their sons, property owners who paid at least $1,000 in taxes during the previous year, and any man who could give a satisfactory explanation of any portion of the state constitution. It also allowed the legislature to establish further voting restrictions. Despite pre-convention promises that voters would have a choice of ratifying the final document, the delegates voted to proclaim it as in effect as of July 10, 1902 and never submitted it to voters. Lawyer and Readjuster John S. Wise pursued two federal cases which contested that the lack of submission, as well as delegates' intent to disenfranchise African-American voters. However, federal judges relied on an 1895 case arising out of the South Carolina convention to find a lack of jurisdiction. When that decision was appealed, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved. Supreme Court Justice David J. Brewer elaborated, citing that in the William Jones case, the U.S. House of Representatives seated his opponent despite complaints, noting "the thing