The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1850-10-04
Judge Wood and Negro suffrage.

fcr lhe DriIy Scioto Gzet'e
Judge w YOOd and Negro suffrage.
At the December term (lSl2) ofthe Su
prrmc Court of Ohio in Bank, the cuurl
briug cnnIp"sed nfEbenezer Lane, Chiel
.Insilre. RLuBgN WOoD, the Dem"cialic
candidate for Governor of Ohio, Mathew
BIZ chald and Natbaniel e. Read, ,Jnlses,
rhe case If Edwill TbOcker vs. John
Hawk, ri. al, came up before that court.
upon a writ Of error 10 tho court Of Com.
mon Pleas ui Gali:a county.
The original action wos against the de
f.ndant, Hawk et al. Trustees ofs tow n.
ship, lUrrcfnsins tn receive the Plaintiff 5
vote, Of an election for Justice Of the
Peace.
On the Trial. il was proved that the plain
tiff had negro blood in hum The plain
iiil moved the court Of Common Pleas 10
inslracl the jury, that If he was nearer
white than half blood or mnlatto, he was
entitled 10 yute;- but the court instructed
tue jury that if the plainllfrhod any negro
blood whstever in him. he was not en,i'
tied to vote.
Exceptions we're taken To this drec
ton ofihe court, and the case was taken
10 Bunk, to settle the question. That
court decided The direction given t0 the
Jury by the court Of Common Pleas. was
wrong aud following the rule they had
laid down al the same term (in the case
Of JeHrccs vs.. Ankeney) decided, "fha'
all Rrayer white Than H0ck, or 9fthe gradc
5etween tie mulattocs and tie whites. Der1
entitled to cajoy evcSy p"litical and sOcial
pririicge efMe white citisen.'
In this opinon three Of the judges OF
the Supreme Court--Lane. Woop and
Richard concurred Read dssenied Sec.
IL Ohio Reports. JetTiies vs.. Aukeney,
page 375. Thacker Va. Hawk, ct. al,
page 37o.
Any person desirous Of understanding
the whole ground f fohjecrlon to this most
extraordinary. aud az think, mischev
uus and Unconstitutional decision. will de-
we'll to read the very able opinion o.
Judge Read in that case. 1t is no part o
my present purpose To discuss it, cal
the attention Of the people to it, that thej
may know where the Democratic candl
date for Governor of Ohio stands on the
question Of NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
1t is well known that portion of the
people nr Ohio desire Tor profess To de
sire the extension of"all political and 50
cial privileges" to the free negroes il
Ohio aud they have sent delegates Il
the Constitutional Convention. instructed
to insist upon incorporating Ncgr" Sui
lragr into tho new Constitution ahuut Il
be fnrme,l. Should Reuben Wood be Q
lected Governor OF Ohio. with this opu
ion standing upon recoid, how rAr it ma.
be claimed as evidence ofpublc npiuio'
uron this question, time viii show lpre
diet that the Convention, on its Assem-
blage in Cincinnati, will be told that. b.
the election Of Judge Wood, the people
have virtually, instructed them. at leas
SO far to modify tho provision of the ex
isling Constitution, as not to coniine th'
right ofsuifrage exclusively tolhe whites
belong to class of people who hay,
Iprcjudjccs If you please, on this subject
land | will vote for ~ man for the Office
ofGoveruorof q Ohio, who holds the opinion
that all "nearer white than black" shoul,
be entitled to enjoy every political an,
suciaI privilege of the white citizen"
lfit be said that Judge Wood, in lhi
opinion. was merely giving a consIrncIio
to tho Constitution Of Ohio. as ho foun
il Il answer. that Judge Wo0d is, q
ught 10 he, familiar with the history u
that instrument, He knows. or onght Il
know, the eiiarts that were made IN III,
Cnuvenlinn Of 1909, by ameudmsnts, DC
To procure some modification orthe word
white cilizens". land how decided,
that body efused any such Modification
Thai in the language Of Judge Burnet
tho Convention intended that "a Consti
tuition should he formed for the free whih
population uflhe district who, atone, ,wer,
represented in Convention. That il
phraseology should be 80 guarded as /,
show lhO, people q co'or were no, consid
cred ss paIties To the compact; aud al
they had M ogcncy in its formatino, Sc
they should have none in its adminiStIu
ton" A Fuse WHrrE CiTlzgN.
.------.-.----. -----------------
n CONGRESSIONAL ELECrmN IN VER
. MOST, The second trial fnr the election
Il