The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-11-20
From the New York Evening Post.
C0LORED PEOPLE NOT CITIZENS AND NOT no
BE ALLOWED PASSPORTS.

About ten days since, application was m, de
to the State Department, through Mr.. H.. a.
Rice, Clerk to the Superior Court in this Ct v,
for foreign passports for eleven persons of COZ ,r,
composing troupe of minstrels, who ws,re
about to start on q professional tour to Eurohe
The necessary papers and certificates were br.
warded with the application. From these it
appears that nine of these persons were bel
in the State of New York, one in Phiadelpk q,
and one in Portland, Maine. Concluding Ii at
there would be no difficulty in obtaining pa g.
ports from the Department, the troupe left on
Saturday last by the Hermann, with the int n
ton of remaining at Bremen until they recei, ed
their credentials, which their agent here , as
instructed to forward after them. This ,sx-
pectation has been Disappointed by the rect Ipt
of the following communication
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, Nop. 4, 1856
Sir Your letters of the 29th ultimo and I'd
instant, requesting passports for eleven colo. ed
persons, have been received, and am direc ed
by the Secretary to inform you that the pagrs
transmitted by you do not warrant the Depot
ment in complying with your request.
A passport is q certificate that the person to
whom it is granted is q citizen of the United
States, and it can only be issued upon proof of
this fact. In the papers which accompany
your communication, there is not satisfactory
evidence that the persons for whom you request
passports are of this description. They are
represented in your letters as colored," and
described in the afidavits as "black," frt.m
which statement it may be fairly inferred tkat
they are negroes. If this is so, there can be
United States.
The question whether free negroes are an eh
citizens is not now presented for the FIRST TINE.
but has repeatedly arisen in the administration
of both the National and State Governmer Is.
In 1871, controversy arose as to whether ee
persons of color were citizens of the Uni, I'D
States, within the intent and meaning of the
acts of Congress regulating foreign and coast.
ing trade, 80 as to be disqualified to comma I'D
vessels; and Mr.. Writ, Attorney General, lie.
cided that they were not; and, moreover, b. id
that the words, "citizens of the United State ~
were used in the acts of Congress in the ga, ne
sense as in the Constitution. This view is as
fully sustained In recent opinion of the Or ,s
emit Attorney General.
The Judicial decisions of the country are to
the same effect. In Kent's Commentaries. :, al
q p. 277, it is stated that in 1888 Chief just ca
Dagget, of Connecticut, held that free bla Re
are not "ctixens" within the meaning of se
term as used in the Constitution of the Uni ,d
States, and the Supreme Court of Tennessee. in
the case of the State against Claiborne, h>Da
the same doctrine,
such being the construction of the Consti n.
ton in regard to free persons of color, = ia
conceived that they cannot be regarded, VIXEN
beyond the jurisdiction of this Governmental
entitled to the full rights of citizens but the
Secretary directs me to say, that though Zoe
Department could not certify that such perse "a
are citizens of the United States, yet, if ga; l.
fed Of the truth of the facts, it would Civ,
certificate that they were born in the Uni I'd
States, and free; and that the Government
thereof would regard it to be its duty to protsct