Weekly national intelligencer., 1857-06-27

respect to the inhabitants of such territory safely
be said that the citizens Of the several States were
zens of the United States under the Confederation
That Government simply confederacy of the sew
eral States possessing few defined subjects
of general concern each State retaining every power
urisdction and right not expressly delegated the
United States in Congress assembled And no power
thus delegated to the Government of the Confedera
tion, to act any question of citizenship or to make
any rules in thereto The whole matter was left
stand upon the action ohe several States and the
natural consequenceof such action that the citizens of
each State should be citizens of that Confederacy into
which that State had entered the style whereof was
g The United States of America
| To determine whether any free persons descended
from Africans held in slayery citizens of the United
States under the Confederation and consequently the
time of the adoption of the Constitution of the United
States, is only necessary to know whether any such
persons citizens of either Of the States under the
Confederation at the time of the adoption of the Con-
stitution.
OF this there can be no doubt At the time of the ra-
fcaon of the Articles of Confederation all free native
born inhabitants of the States of New Hampshire assa
chusetts, New York. New Jersey, and North Carolina
though descended from African slaves were not only
citizens of those States, but such Of them had the
other necessary qualifications possessed the franchise of
electors, equal terms with other citizens
The Supreme Court of North Carolina in the Of
the State Manuel "a Dew. and Bat, 20) has declared
the law Of that State this subject, in which
believe to be sound law in the other States have
enumerated as it was in North Carolina.
According to the laws of this Sate says Judge Gason
in delivering the opinion of the court, all human beings
within it, who slaves, fall within Of classes
Whatever distinctions may have existed in the Roman laws
between citizens and free inhabitants they
institutions Before Revolution oil free persons with
in the domnions ofthe King of Great Britain whatever their
color complexion native born British ube those
born out of his allegiance aliens. exist
England but it did in the British colonies Slaves
in legal parlance persons but property The moment
the ncapacy the disqualification of slavery removed
they became persons and then either British subjects
not British Subjects according they
born within the allegiance of the British King Upon the
Revoluton other change took place the laws North
Carolina than consequent the transition from colony
dependent Europeah King free and sovereign State
Slaves remained slaves British subjects North Carolina
became North Carolina reemen Foreigners until made
members of the State remained aliens Slaves manumtted
here became eemen and therefore if born within North
Carolina citizens of North Carolina and all free persons
born within the State boru citizens of the State The
Constitution extended the elective franchise every
who had arrived at the of and paid public
tax and is matter of universal notorety that under it
free without regard color claimed and exercised
the franchise until it taken from free of color few
years since by our amended constitution"
In the State Newcomb, Is Iredelps r. 253 decided
in 1874 the court referred to this of the State
Manuel, and said 'sThat underwent very labo
rious investigation both by the bar and the bench The
brought here by appeal and felt to be
of great Importance in principle 1t considered
with anxiety and worthy of the principle in
volved and which give it controlling influence and
authority all questions of similar character
An argument from speculative premises however well
chosen, that the then state of opinion in the Common
natural rights of people of color who born that
SOIL and that they not by the constitution of 1880
of that State admitted to the condition of citizens would
be received with surprise by the people Of that State
who know their own political history. tbs true, beyond
all controversy, that persons of color descended from
African slaves by that constitution made citizens
of the State and such of them have had the
sary qualifications have held and exercised the elective
franchise, citizens, from that time to the present
See Com. .. Aves, Is Pick. r.. 210.)
The constitution of New Hampshire conferred the
elective franchise upon eyey nhabant of the State
having the necessary qualifications of which color
descent not
The constitution of New York gave the right
'severy male nhabtant, who shall have resided" &c.,
making discrimination between free coored persons
and others. (See Con. of N Y, Art 2 Rev. Stats of
N. Y, vol. l, p. 1861
That of New Jersey all inhabitants of this colony
of full age who worth ESQ proclamation money clear
estate"
New York, by its constitution of 1920 Anred colored
persons to have qualifications psIequsites for
voting which white persons need possess And New
jersey by its present constitution restricts the right
vote TO white male citizens But these changes have
other effect upon the present inquiry except show
that before they were made such restrictions ex
listed; and colored in with white persons were
not only citizens of those States, but entitled to the
elective franchise the qualifications white
persons, as they in New Hampshire and Mas
sachusets shall enter into examination of the
existing opinions of that period respecting the African
race into any discussion concerning the meaning Of
those who asserted in the Declaration of Independence
that all created equal that they endowed
by their Creator with certain inaenable rights; that
among these are lfe liberty and the pursuit of happi
ness My own .opnion is that calm comparison of
these assertions of universal abstract truths and their
individual opinions and acts would leave these
under any reproach of inconsistency that the great
truths they asserted that solemn occasion they
ready and anxious to make efecual wherever a neces
sary regard to circumstances which statesman can
disregard without producing evil than good, would
allow; and that it would be just to them nor true in
ITSELF to aege that they intended say that the Creator
of all men had endowed the white race exclusively with
the great natural rights which the Declaration Inde
pendence asserts But this is the place to vindcae
their memory. As conceive, should deal here not
with such disputes, if there be dispute concerning
this subject but with those substantial facts evinced by
the written constitutions of States and the notorious
practice under them And they show, in a manner
which no argument obscure, that in some of the
original thirteen States free coored persons before and
at the time of the formation of the Constitution were
citizens of those States. tes@9f
The fourth of the fundamental articles of the Confed
Grafton follows: The free inhabitants of each
OF these States paupers vagabond and fugitives from
justice excepted shall be entitled all the privileges
and mmunities of free citizens in the several Sates
The fact that free persons os color citizens of
some of the several States and the consequence that
this fourth article of the Confederation would have the
effect to confer such persons the privileges and imu
mites of general citizenship, not only known to
those who framed and adopted those articles but the
evidence decisive that the fourth article intended
to have that effect and that more restricted language
which would have excluded aeliber
On the 18th of June LIS, Articles of ConfeaerH-
ten being under consideration by the Congress- the
delegates from South Carolina moved to amend this
fourth article by inserting after the word ree and
before the word inhabitants, the word "white, SO