Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-06-24
he Anti 5lauerp B u9le.
salem. onio. June 81. 1854.
THE TEST OATH.

denominations. Certainly human genius and skill /
cannot calculate its terrible consequences for evil
The New York Evening Post calls attention to
the 23d section of the bill, which is as follows:
See. %. Aad be IL .far1hef enacted, That every
free white male inhabitant above the arc of twenty
ono years. who shall be an actual resident of said
territory, and sAai possess the qualifications here
matter prescribed, shall Ire entitled to coic at tie
'& efecttoR, and shall be eligible to any Office with
in the said territory; but the qualifications of
voters, and of holding Office at all subsequent cleo
tons, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the
Legislative Assembly Prociled, That the right of
suffrage and Of holding Office shall be exercised
only 6y citizens Of Tie uaHed States, and those ,rho
sbaN hare declared on oath their ntention 4, become
steh, and shall hare taken an oah 10 suppo,tAe Con-
sttuton IF he United States ead re provisions Of
Mis dcf; Ind procidcd, fiufke, That no officer,
soldior, seaman or inarinc or any person in the
army or navy Of the United States, or attached to
troops in the service of the United States, shall be
allowed to vote or hold Office in said territory BY
reason OF being ON service therein.
shc postrlaccs the provisions of this section be-
fore its readers, distinctly:
First ereyy one may vote al the f5sf election, who
Is in the territory, if white.
Second, After the first election, the Legislature
prescribes the qualifications of voters with a pro-
ris0.
Third, This proviso PREVENTS the Legislature
ne QUALIFICATIONS PRESCRIBED BY CoNCREss.
Eeurh, These qualifications arc cHiacaShip nat
etai OF acquired. and an odM to support the consti
tatiun, anu THE NEBRASKA BuL.!!
Filth, TIE declaration Of intention referred to is
Ndt maintained in the naturalization acts and the
oath to support the constitution is that taken at the
emu OF tive years residence after Il declaration of
intention None but citizens--those who are born
IN the. country, or, by five years naturalization
have become citizens-swear to the constitution.
nd l.sN,,
ably so hold, and exclude all others from the polls
We maryelled at the exclusion OF the CLAYTON
amenda'cnt by the House on lis final passage and
also at the case with which the Senate rcccded
from this its own proposition. BY the above it
would seem that they did not rccedc except only in
form. The franchise reguisition is even more
odious than the original Clayton amendment seemed
to make 1t. In fact, the right of franchise will
only be in the hands Of Shareholders Not only all
foreigners. but all the honest emigrants from the
free States-all who are opposed to the ntroduc-
tion Of slavery, and have conscience enough not to
swear to introduce it into the territory, will be ex-
cluded from the polls. Not only must they swear
to support conceded proslavery constitution, but
in addition, they must directly and positively, in
30 many words, swear to support the Nebraska
bill, rcquisition unprecedented and undreamed
OF before, This is the popular sovereignty" and
the rights of conscience" as defined and protected
by their champions in Congress- and by the faith
tul democratic newspapers in Ohio. A man must
believe in the Nebraska bill, and swear that he be-
lievcs in it, he can't vote or hold Office in that
territory. That is the indispensable qualification.
So that in Nebraska and Kansas, the only men who
can cast vote after the first election, must either
bn such villains n N n frop ,ot;o - G.,
the Nebraska perG3y, or willing to commit per-
jury. Such.are the qualification for Office in Kansas
and Nebraska.
What now becomes Of the plan so laudcd for the
last few weeks, Of forcing free emigrants into the
territory to forcstal and out-yoc the Shareholders
We have never been able to see any hope from such
method of contest Now it must evidently be
futile for none such will bo permitted to vote.
To be sure, it is nothing new in principle or fact,
thata man should be required to swear to support
slavery as condition of voting Ever since the
Constitution was adopted such has been the fact
therefore we cast no vote. And in this progressive
age, it is not wonderful that Shareholders should
make progress in the application of this Internal
principle, and extend it to the laws of Congress-
Petitions are now going up to Congress from Bos-
ton for the repeal OF the fugitive slave law 1t is
vastly more probable that Congress will answer
theirpctions bya special law requiring every voter
agd Office holder to swear that he believes that law
both righteous and constitutional than that they will
repeal the law. They will now find precedent
for such law in this popular sovercgnty-N Ne
bFaska bill, and necessity for it. in that it is open
ly everywhere spoken against, evaded and resisted
What more reasonable than that they should en-
force this test of good citizenship" Look out
for that next. Itwould be "ca,7yiag om Of pyin-
ciples-" For this, slave holders are remarkable.
We quot5 portion Of the Leaders comments
upon this article of the Post.
But the prorision which should rouse the whole
land, and lire it with indignation, is that tchich
makes tic Nebraska bill and lie Consiifiou of eoyol
sancty; rhich comJ'ets The roter 10 DEFEND SLAVERY
ElFcRe he VOTES, When, in all the past has an
-Ame'dtdn been required to swear before God that
he would support an act Of Coagress2 Where,
before has SUFFRAGE and OFFICE been made depen-
dant upon such an oath In what State, ever, has
'hc extension of Slavery been raised to The lecel of
Constitutional dutyW
Under this section, nearly all those who go from
the free States, all foreigners crey citizen cko 1c
not swedr to support Me Nebraska fraud ariU be
ct,oed From the polls; and shareholders and their
panders, with pro-slayery Judges, pro-slavery
Governor, Marshal, &C., will rule the territory as
they please for none others can take tie oath required
SzLLs oet. Eeery foreigner, too who settles in the
territsry after the first election, neither vote
sor hold office for fire years. We must confess
that this section OF the BILL and its monsrous des-
potism and internal treachery 10 freedom had es-
capped attention, SO far as We know, until revealed
by the New York Posi-. But let it be read every
where; let journals print If at the head of their
columns and puipits publish it let it be scattered
by tracts and handbil!s, until the 23d section of
the Nebraska, and the 9th section of the Kansas
bills, in all their Tiliainy is known by every voter
In the land; for under it, we repeat the MAJORITY
OF TDE PEOPLE, EyES II NATIVE BORN, CANNOT VOTE
AXE sLsytpoLSJHc MINORITY WILL RuLE IN SPITE
Of ecery principle rhai To- freedom dear to free
men
SiDoe WHITING the abore, we discover from the
G