Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-07-02
From the Now Orleans Creole.
The Power TO Grant the Right OF suffrage
In Congress Alone.

EFohu tu0 wow Otlouub OENOics
The Power TO Grant the Right OF Suffrage
In Congress Alone.
The American party assumes the pssitien that
Congress alone can give the right Of suffrage in
the States through general naturalization law !;
+" that the natuyalitati6p lava shSuid be hnif6rIn
throughout the United states, and no State should
admit foreigners TO the political rights OF citizens
the right of suffrage especial -uness they
have been first naturalized according to the laws
of Congress" In asserting this principle, the
American party is but maintaining the provisions
of the Federal Constitution. The second section
Of the first article provides that 9 the House Of
Representatives shall be composed Of membefs
chosen every second year by the people Of the
several States, and the electors in each State shall
have the qualifications requisite for electors Of the
most numerous branch Of the State Legislature"
The eighth section Of the same article declares,
that Congress I" shall have power to establish a
uniform rule or naturalization throughout the Unit
ted States" Now, If each State has right to
admit foreigners TO vote In the most numerous
branch of its Legislature, Independent of and d.
rectly in the teeth OF the laws passed by Congress-
of what avail is the power delegated to Congress?
the power to convert an alien into citizen of the
United States by the force and operation Of its own
enactmenss.
The Supreme Court Of North Carolina, in the
case Of RouChe Us. Williamson, e Ire Rep. l41
decided that the Constitution of the United States
having conferred on Congress the power /" to ed
tablish an uniform rule Of naturalization" and Con-
gress having accordingly prescribed the mode by
which aliens may be naturalized, that part Of
the forteth section Of the State constitution which
declares that every foreigner who takes the oath
of allegiance to the State and resides therein for
one year, shall be deemed free citizen, Is no
longer in force. To enable foreigner to become
"free citizen" then he must be naturalized nc
cording to the laws Of Congress. In support Of
this position, the American party can call to Its
aid the opinions Of the ablest urists and most dis
tinguished statesmen Of whom the country can
boast. We ask attention to what is said by Judge
Story on this subject. (Com. on the Con-, vol. 3,
p. ~
The propriety Of confding the power to estab-
lish an uniform rule Of naturalization to the ma
tional government seems not to have occasioned
any doubt or controversy in the convention" For
aught that appears on the Journal IT was conceded
without objection. Under the Confederation the
State possessed the sole authority to exercise the
power, and the dssimilarity Of the system in diff
ferent States was generally admitted as promi-
nent defect and laid the foundation of many deli
cate and intricate questions. As the free inhabi-
tants of each State were entitled to all the priyi
leges and immunities of citizens in all the other
States, it followed tht single State possessed the
power of forcing into every other State, with the
enjoyment of every immunity and privilege, any
alien, whom it might choose to incorporate into
its own society, however repugnant such admis-
sion might be to their policy, conveniences, and
even prejndices. In effect, every State possessed
the power Of naturalizing aliens in every other
State, power as miscellaneous in its nature as it
was indscreet in its natural exercise. In one
State, residence for short time might and did con-
fer the rights Of citizenship. In others, quafca-
tons Of greater Importance were required. An
alien, therefore, incapacitatcd by the laws Of the
latter, might by previous residence and natural
ization in the former, elude at pleasure all their
salutary regulations for selfprotection.
Thus the laws Of single State were preposter-
ously rendered paramount to the laws of all the
others, even within their own Jurisdiction. And
it has been remarked with equal truth and justice,
and it was owing to mere casualty that the exer-
else of this power under the Confederation, did
not involve the Union In the most serious embar-
rassment. There is great wisdom, then, in con-
filming to the national government the power to
establish uniform rule Of naturalization through
out the United States 1t is Of the deepest inter
est to the whole Union to know who are entitled
to enjoy the rights of citizens in each State, since
they thereby in effect become entitled to the right
of citizens in all the States If aliens might be ad-
mitted indiscriminately to enjoy all the rights Of
citizens at the will of single State, the Union
might itself be endangered by an influx of foreign
ers hostile to its institutions ignorant of its pow
err and incapable ofa due estimate of its prnciples
IL follows, from the very nature of the power,
that to be useful II must be exclusive, for con-
current power in the States would bring back the
evils and embarrassments which the uniform rule
of the Constitution was designed to remedy. And
accordingly, though there was momentary hest
tation, when the Constitution first went into ope-
ration, whether the power might not still be eIer
csed by the States subject only to the control Of
Congress, SO far as the legislation of the latter
extended, as the supreme law, yet the power Is
now firmly established.=( Chirac VS.. bChirac, 2
Whea. Rep. $50; Rawlie on the Constitution, p.
81, 8 to 8; Houston w. Moore, Whea. R., as
Golden VS.. Prince, 8 Wash. s., sls) The same
doctrine, and similar process OF reasoning to sus-
tain it, may be found in Kent's Commentaries on
the Constitution, vol. ], p, AS. Both Clay and
Calhoun, during the debate in the Senate Of the
United States, In 1885, on the bill 10 admit Michi.
gan as State, advocated with great real apd abil
ity the same doctrine. In truth, the argument of
Mr.. Calhoun has never been answered, and cannot
be. In such hands the American party may
readily consent TO leave the defence of this branch
Of their principles, and under such reasoning and
authority they are justified in concluding that no
1htc hnouiu W the prtfutBto VI CitiAohuutp
foreigners who have not first been naturalized ac-
cording to the laws Of Congress, and that unless
the States carry out in good faith this sslutary
provision Of the Federal Constitution, we cannot
escape the dangers Of foreign influence, that bane
full foe TO republican governments.
Mr.. CALHous.--The following Is an extract from
the speech Of Mr.. Calhoun, delivered on the occa-
sion Of admitting Michigan into the Union. Itisa
full endorsement Of the principles Of the American
party touching foreigners and our naturalization
laws. Let Il be read by every friend to the Union;
In comforting the power TO pass uniform laws
of naturalization" says Mr.. Calhoun, "a the framers
Of the Constitution must have had two objects in
view; one to prevent competition between the
States in holding out Inducements for the emigra-
ton OF foreigners, and the other to prevent their
improper influence over the general government,
through such States as might naturalize foreigners,
and could confer on them the right Of exercising
the elective franchise before they could be suffi-
GENTLY informed Of the nature Of our institutions,
or were interested in their preservation. Both Of
these objects would be defeated, If the States may
confer aliens the right Of voting and the other
privileges belonging to citizens. On that SUPPOSE
ton, 1t would be almost impossible 10 conceive
what good could be obtained, or evil prevented by
comforting the power on Congress The power
A.. IL. -. l.fI