Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-04-10

| foreigners are affected because Il portion OF the
people of Virginia, who regard il a question 81
| higi aud important public policy say and uh,'e
themselves for the purpose Of maintaining me
principle that foreigners should not be allowed
| TO have the political Offices Of the country
For what the rights of foreigners! The
| rights of foreigners under laws are 10 come
here and acquire residence aud carry on their
| business under the Hgis and protection OF our
| laws,-to sit down under their own vine and tg
tree, aud after Spending the term of probation
fixed by law to rnttlc them to the right al sun
rage. To exercise that right. and, - far a. the
Constitution permits to be capable Of eleetonto
any office II the people choose Ia confer II upon
them--and because portion o! the people IN the
exercise of their fundamental, ndisputabc aud
essential right, say we wont vote for you for this
off =, they are represented as acting in direct
/ conflict with the Constitution and the principles
of civil liberty. Fore gners have exactly the
same right, when they become citizens, tn say
wont vote for you, and | suppose no body
would preteni 10 say that that was n violation
and invasion of your rights. Why. gentlemen
do you know-and | suppose you don't, Tor you
Know Nothing do you know that this principle
destructive of the rights of foreigners, which
you have advocated and which yon stute j. one
of the rules of action for your organization, Is
not your thunder ut all. You the copvists
| merely. You have borrowed the thunder and Of
whom do you suppose We have a Constitution
here which, | told you time ago | had
read once or twice, and we find in that Constltu-
ton that no peason shall be eligible TO the office
of Governor unless he have attained the age of
thirty years. Is IA native citizen of the United
States, and has been citizen of Virginia 50
many years. The Lieut. Governor shall be cleo
ted at the same time aud for the same term, and
his qualifications and manner of election shall be
the same; SO that here is the Know Nothing
nciples-so fatal and destructive 10 the rights
# foreigners, 50 Inconsistent, with equal rights
OF all citlzens-lncnrporated into the iundanen
tai law OF the land, that if you want I'd to vote
for foreigners every one of you, the constitution
forbids your doing for the Office of Governor
or Lieut.. Governor Of the commonwealth. We'll
now you have only carried it n little further than
the constitution. The constitution does 1T pro-
hibit you from doing you propose i'll regard to
voting. Iii, matter left TO the exercise of your
will. Its perfectly competent for the citizen in
tie exercise of his fundamental and essential
right to select for himself any particular ndsid.
ual to vote for. The principles which GOV, RI his
action III this regard cannot of course be affected
by any constitutional enactment, nor can they
by any means be said 10 conflict with any pro-
vision III our constitution. But lest you might
peradventure, put II foreigner into the office of
Governor on Lieutenant Governor, our l. gisla
tors have put an insuperuble barrier in the con
sttnton--you cannot do 1t.
And now, gentlemen, who do you suppose in
lieted the violation of the rights Of foreigners,
and incorporated it into this con, ttution. In the
convention which formed the constitution it
moved by Mr. Hunter to amend the report by
striking thertIfom the word - native" 50 rs to
permit Foreigners to be elected to the office of
governor.
Mr. Letchcr moved to amend the amendment
bv striking out in tn, ID and 81 lines the words
shall be native citizen of the |. ="
Tie question upon the adoption of the said a
mendlnent being put to the convention, WAS de-
cided in the negative.
The question then recurring upon the motion
of Mr.. Hunter, was decided in the negative-aye
10. nays 53.
read from til. Journal.
Those who voted in the negative were Messrs
John Y. Mason, (PresidenD Banks, Beae, Boz
cock Bolts, Bowles, Braxton, Burgess, Richard
c. BOYD, Chambers, Chambliss, Chiffon. Cooke,
| Dcneal, Douglas, Edmunds, Edwards Faulkner,
Fimny Floyd Fultz, Fuqua, NJ. r. II. Garnet
Muscol Garnet Good, Hall, Hill, Kenny, Leake,
Lucas. Met andish, VIM. Martin, Moore, New
man, Price Reeves, Saunders Scoggin, Francis
W. Scott, Shell, Berry II. Smith, Jas. Smith,
Archibald Stuart, Taylor, Tonis Turnbull, J.
Watts, White, Wiley, Wingfeld, Wise, Wool.
! folk. WISER
We find among those whose names are record
! ed in the negative the elite of the Demacmcy.-
| The exclusion of foreigners, tlas dangerous vio-
! lation ofthe rights ot foreigners kept in the
! stitution by the reform convention ot Virginia
which boosted its pre-cmineut defence of equal
rights Can it he possible! Tell 1t not in Gath.
| Proclaim it not in the streets of Askalon. You
! Know Nothings do know nothing. is not your
invention ar all. Listen to it you foreigners who
| have been dcuded and bamboozled by this ella.
NOR tina, the American party Were your peeul
| liar enemies, because they were dcprYing you
of your equal rights. Those very people who
have aroused your preiudices and excited vour
passions, not content with saying that they would
not vote for YOU for the office of Governor rs pri
waite citizens, have actually put it into the
stitution that we shall not be voted for by any
body. Let the Hon. s A. Douglas hear it. and
/ learn that if his gallant and brave aud patriotic
| fellow citizen, General Shields, were here in
/ Virginia, although he were ready to shed. as
have no doubt he i ready to she'd hog>head of
blood fhe had it in defence of the coIntry-if he
were here citizen of Virginia, he would be inca
pablc by law. 10y the constitution, of receiving
the office Of Governor or the comparatively in
| significant office Of Lieut. Governor. although ey-
| cry American in the State were anxious to make
an exception in his favor to this general rule, in
| consideration of his great galantry and patriot
! ism. This has been done not by the accursed
Know Mornings but by majority of the Con
vention of Virginia, who have cngraftcd it into the
constitution to stand for all time
But gentleman nor was the reform conven-
ton entitled to this discovery of the wisdom and
! prudence of putting some safe guarantee against
! permitting the high political offices of the eoun-
| try ODE filled 10y tore gners, you have similar
/ provision IN the constitution of the United States
aud constitution of Virginia of 1881. and You
| have piece of legislative history in the law of
! Virginia even still more striking and remarkable.
| In the year 7S6 the Legislature of Virginia pas.
/ sod his law md IpAir II,