Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-06-23


CgT1 ~ DAvENPORT.
TUDsDAY MORNING.. JUNE -. 1857.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Ssc 4. No religious test shall be required
~ qualification for any office Or publ,
trust aud no person shall be deprived Of any
u his rights, privileges or capacities. OF
disqualified from the performance of any oi
his public or private duties. or rendered III
csnpetent TO give evidence in any court ei
law VI equity In conseq uence Of his opinion
On the subject Of religion and any parfs
10 any Judicial proceta,sy shail haze the righ,
10 Sse a. a scffssss, or take the testimony o)
ssy other person. not disqualified on accoun,
Of interest. who may be cognizant of any
fact material to the ease; ana parties to suit
may be witnesses. as provided by law.
Our readers have heretofore bee.
presented with our reasons why tn.
proposed new Constitution ought no,
to be adopted by the people Of tbs
State. We pointed out some Of the
grosscst defects of that raw instrument
and the consequences following thciI
practical operation. The above See
ton from Article |, is another BEAUTIFUL
feature Of that instrument. II makes
the testimony OF Indians, Ne5rocs,
Convicts Of States Prison, aud epery
other person, competent witness in any
suit ri law or in equity, IN which they
are not legally interested. Such
constitutional provision is the product
Of "moral insanity" 1t WAS begotten
in minds ievercd by a morbid sentI-
ment OF negrophobia, that excluJedflou'
their miuIs every other consideration
than that Of the complete equality OF
Negroes. They forget that n this
provision the squaiiid, rcvengcfnl,
brutal Savage, as well M the callous
soulcd Prison CON, let re made com
petent witnesses. Not being willing
to leave this question Of the quallfica
tons for witnesses in the Legislature,
these blind fanatics have put constr
tutional bar to all legislation, that
shall exclude the worst vagabonds
in Society from the witness stand,
where life, liberty and property are at
the disposal Of testimony, whether true
or false. Are our citizens willing to
have their dearest rights placed at the
mercy of these merciless knaves of the
red and black races, and these worse
villains whose crimes have made them
Infamous, Are our citizens prepared
TO 20 TO the bar of our Courts, and
there meet the testimony Of persons OF
this class, who are proverb'ally reck
less Of their oaths and who care as lit
tie for the ''periIs Of perjury as they
do OF punishment by their God, Wh'
are the Negroes that intest or will ii
future infest this State. They are i
wandering and shiftlcss race, immoral
hating tho race whose faces are white
than theirs, and generally known mor'
by their crimes than their virtues,
They are to be made competent wit
nesses, and being birds of passage, the,
can be hired to swear with impunit,,
by those who seek to wrong another
through false testimony. OF the In
dams the same argument may be used
They hate the White race with 3
hatred peculiar to the red II an and the
Devil. They look upon him as the
robber Of his lands, the usurper of hi
dominions, and want but the opPortu
pity to extcrminate the whites with /
brutal ferocity unparalleled in tn
annals Of carnage. They are trcachcr
Gus, thieving, and have become tn
pest Of this border country. Yet tn
crazy fanatics crowd them all into tn
general clause that makes the Ncgr'
competent to testify against the whit
man. But the worst Of this whole al
ticle is the way it opens the door TO
the entrance into our witness boxes, G
the convicts and other vagabonds rem
dcrcd infamous by high crimes. Th
testimony Of amy person" whether i
Jail or not; whether convicted Of muI
der or Of treason, is competent to b
offered, and cannot be excluded by
law Of the Legislature, or a rule Of tn
Courts! II it becomes important for
villain, arraigncd on an indictment 70
BURGLARY or murder, to obtain tn
deposition Of his foul associate, VIII
may be serving out his pinality for
like crime in the Penitcntiary, IT ca
he done under this article Of the Cor
stitution, and il could not be exclude
from the Jury if offered to be read o
behalf Of the prisoner. Such are som
Of the excellencics crowded into th
Section by men eager to put tn
Negro uror level with themselves j
the enjoyment OF all the rights secure
70 the white man. The same Sectio
also gives the Legislature power
make psrties to a suit competent wi
nesses for themselves. Thus is I'll
door thrown widely open for perjur
aud fraud in Courts Of Law. This is
legitimate consequence Of that spirit I
Black Republicanism which pours il
foul abuse upon the Supreme Court I
the United States. and advocates tbs
Higher Law that makes every man HI
own Judge. -