Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-12-24
Washingtan gsntinel.



In compliance with the request made by you |
few days ago, / now submit for examination |
the opinions entertain as to the power of the |
federal and State governments over the subject |
OF citizenship. The consideration OF this
question derives increased interest and import !
ance from recent manifestations of the popu- |
lar feeling, and from the introduction into the |
two houses of measures intended to correct the
supposed evil. 1t is alleged that the exercise |
OF the right OF suffrage by naturalized citizens
has been productive of great evil to the inter
ests OF the country, and the remedy is sought
in federal legislation acting upon the power OF
passing uniform naturalization laws How
far, then, Congress can by its act control the
right Of suffrage is the question which lies at
the very threshold of the subject
Ii is commended that the power conferred by
the Constitution to establish uniform rule
OF naturalization" is, when exercised by Con-
gress, necessarily exclusive of any similar
power in the States. We may admit this TO be
true, and still the question remains Did the
States, in granting this power to Congress,
yield up their right to regulate political suf
frage within their own limits?
The constitution of the United States con-
tains stipulations in reference to the quali6-
cation of the .tunctionayies who are to ad.
minister the federal government. A repre-
United States for seven years; senator for
nine years. The President is required to
have been naturalborn citizen, or citizen
OF the United States, at the time of the adop-
ton of the constitution, and fourteen years a
resident of the United States But while the
constitution thus exercises its control over the
qualifications of the functonaries, it nowhere
undertakes to regulate the qualifications of the
constituency. Recognising the principle that
It was ordained by the people Of the several
States, each acting for itself and by itself, the
only qualification of electors to be found in its
provisions is, that for members of the House
OF Representatives the electors in :" each State"
shall . have the qualifications requisite for
electors of the numerous branch of the State
legislature"
There is neither an express grant of power
to the federal government nor prohibition to
the States IN reference the right of suffrage
and the clear implication from the clause lust
quoted is, that it was left with the several par
ties to the compact as a matter of State iuris.
diction.
1t is supposed that this original Jurisdiction
OF the States has been impaired by the cd sec
ton OF the 4th article, which provides " that
the citizens OF each State shall be entitled to
all privileges and immunities of citizens Of the
several States But | submit il never was
hhSShhSu W luiS W COLSUHudle the government
by melting down into one common mould the
rights of citizenship. A citizen of New York
does not become ipso tocto a citizen of Ala.
bama, so as to be invested with all the political
rights OF citizenship. It,is within the State
power to require any length of probation, or
TO discriminate between native-born and foreign
ers, or even wholly to exclude foreigners. And
as the States are foreign to each other, except
In cases under the control of constitutional sti
pulations, it may be well to reflect that the day
may come when the prejudices now sought to
be organized for political action may lead to
laws of exclusion even among the native-born
citizens OF the different portions Of the confed-
eracy.
What, then, are privileges and immunities'
IN a constitutional sense? We answer. with
the court of Maryland, they mean that the
citizens of all the States shall have the pecu-
liar advantage of acquiring and holding real
as well as personal property, and that such
property shall be protected and secured by the
laws OF the States in the same manner as the
property of the citizens is protected. They
mean that such property shall not be subject
to any taxes or burdens which the property of
the citizens is not subject to. They may
also mean that as creditors they shall be on
the same footing with the State creditors in
the payment of the debts Of a deceased debtor.
SeSuIe ahd pEOteCt PERSONAL rights, Dut
they do not confer the right of voting or hold
ing Office. The contemporary history of the
Constitution contributes very much to enforce
the view here taken Of these terms. The same
words are used in the articles of confederation.
The free inhabitants Of each Of the States
DC, shall be entitled to all privileges and i'm.
munities OF free citizens in the several States ;
and the people of each State shall have free
ingress and egress to and from any other State,
and shall enjoy therein all the privileges OF
trade and commerce, subject to the same du-
ties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhab.
itants thereof respectively" 1t would seem
10 be clear that political rights were not in
tended TO be conferred by this clause. The
right Of suffrage being in a representative gov.
eminent the highest right of citizenship, il is
not to be supposed it would have been omitted
in the specific enumeration to be found in the
article from which we have quoted, and thus
left TO mere construction or implication. while
minor rights were carefully and expressly pro-
vided for. 1t will be seen that the privileges
and immunities" are not even by this provision
confined TO citizens, but are extended to IN.
hGbitdnts." This must be conclusive, it seems
10 me, Of the construction under the conlede.
ration. No intelligent mind could suppose
that the States which were sovereign and indie.
pendent ever intended that a mere "inbabi.
tAhL VI Ouc VI tnelH snOulu eASTClbe the rlgnt
Of suffrage which belongs only to full citizen.
ship in every other State.
Now, if am right in this, il is certainly not
a strained argument to insist that the same
words, used in the same connection, when
transferred into the Constitution, meant the
same thing. The force of this view is also
strengthened by the consideration that this
clause in the convention which framed the
Constitution gave rise to no discussion or re-
mark, which il certainly would have done il
the meaning Of these terms had not already re.
ceived fixed Specification.
That the constitutional use Of the word citi-
zen does not necessarily include full citizen
ship, but that the distinction between full and
partial, or general and special, citizenship is
recognised, is seen in that provision which
coAfers jurisdiction upon the federal Judiciary
in controversies between "caieens Of different
States" 1t has uniformly been held by states
men as well as jurists, that in this connection