The Kanzas news., 1857-06-06

fAoInlng towards holding the blacks IN slave
The first Congress which assembled
funder it. re-enacted the perpetual interdict
against slavery in the territories, which had
been applied by the ordinance of '87; the
krst executive government organized by it,
had Washington for It's head, stwhose stron-
gest wish, - he said In a letter, s.was to see
Islsvery abolished;'' for It's vice president,
i Ienn Adams, who had said, that s.consent-
ing 20 slavery would be sacrilegious breach
iof trust" and for its principal secretaries,
Jefferson and Hamilton, both conspicuous
Tor their hatred of the accursed thing; while
she first judiciary had for its chief-iustice
John Jay, president of the New York Abo-
iition Society, whose whole life was conse-
tefated to the extinction of what he termed.
the ..sin of crimson dye
Yet the present Chief Justice of the Uni
cd States would fain persuade us that the
noble men of those days were quite indif-
ferent to the condition and fate of the Afri-
can race, and legislated in utter disregard
OF their existence, and with an exclusive ref
eFence te themselves and their posterity.-
But we see by these testimonies how mis-
taken he is; and we shall see how mistaken
he Is, also, on another capital point, by what
is now to be adduced. He errs, not mere
ly as to the prevailing sentiment of the Faith
ers of the Republic and of the civilized world,
but he errs no less grossly in his special ap-
plication of that sentiment to the exclusion
of Africans from the rank of citizens His
logic, on this latter head, if put in the old
syllogistic form, would virtually run thus:
Minor. But degraded men can not be
citizens.
Conclusion. Therefore, no Africans were
citizens.
Unfortunately for such deduction,
however, it is as vicious in fact as it is
in logic. In large majority of the states
at and about the time the Federal
Constitution went. into effect, the tests of
citizenship were not derived from color or
race. The negroes were mostly degraded
class, no doubt, because negroes had been
slaves-like women and children, also, the
free colored men were not elected to office;
but, like women and children, they were,
nevertheless, citizens. Judge Curtis has
stated the fact broadly, in regard to the free
native-born inhabitants of .fUe of the states
of Massachusetts,, New Hampshire, New
York, New Jersey, and North Carolina
that, though African descent, they were not
only citizens, but possessed the elective
franchise, if endowed with the other quail
fcations, equally with other citizens But
Judge Curtis might have gone further; a more
complete examination of the records has
shown that, out of the thirteen original states,
only three of them-South Carolina, Vir-
gina, and Delaware-had restricte even
the right of suffrage to the basis of color;
while in all the others, either under royal
charters or independent constitutions, the |
only restrictions refer to age, residence, and
property. Six of these states-nameIy, |
Massachusetts,, New Hampshire, New York, |
New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carroll |
na-had formed constitutions before the
Federal Constitution went into effect, and |
wequote from the provisions of two of them,
which were the most largely slaveholding,
as specimens of all the rest.
Observation-Disclosures formed Aug IL |
I776
of right originates FROM the people, is founded in
compact ONLY and instituted solely for the good of
The uhole. g. That the people of this state ought to
have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the
internal government and police thereof. 8. That
the inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the
Lap Of England, and the trial by jury, ETC.
s. That the right, IN the people, TO participate in the
Legislature, is the best security of liberty, and the
foundation of all free government for this purpose
elections ought to be free and frequent, and eUery
man, haUing property in interest scith and
an attachment to- the community, ought to hace the
right Of suffrage
sTHE CONSTITUTION AND FoRM OF GovERNMENr-l
That the House of Delegates shall be chosen in the
foliowing manner: All free men above 81 year of
sge, having freehold of so acres of land in the
county In which they offer to vote, and residing
therein, and all freemen having property in this
state above the value of ESQ current money and
1a6 uxr-lin
10 vote, one whole year next preceding the cleo
tion shall have right of suffrage in the election
Of Delegates for said county" etc-Art. 2.
aNoRTH HCAKoIIkA.-Constitution formed Decern
Der lS, 1776.
Declarations of Rigkts.-l. That ali political
power is vested in and derived from, the people on
" 2 That the people of this state ought to have
The sole and exclusive right of regulating the inter-
nal government and the police thereof J. That 3
no man, or st of men, entitled to exclusive or
separate emoluments or privileges from the eommu-
nifty, but in consideration of public services. 6.
That elections of members to serve Representa-
ives in General Assembly, ought to be free. II
"THE CONSTITUTION OF. FoRE OF GoyERNHEST-I
That all persons possessed of freehold, any town
N this state having right to representation, and
llso all freemen Who have been inhabitants of any
,uch town twelve months next before and at the 4
lay of election and shall have paid public taxes,
hall be entitled to vote fer member to represent
uch town in the House of Commons, etc.
Two of the states es-Rhode Island and Con- s
,ecticut-at the time the Federal Constitu- f
ion was formed, still acted uuder the roy 7
il charters, which, of course, made no dis {
inctions of color; and two of them-Penn- II
Iylvania and Georgia-formed their consti- 4
utions subsequent to the Federal Constitu- b
ion; but neither of them required that vo- il
ers should belong to any particular race. Y
f negroes did not vote In these states, 1t / S
gas because they did not own sufficient
and not because they were negroes.
thus, South Carolina, Virginia, and Dela
vare, alone remain to support the decision
# Justice fancy, and as the ground of the v
weeping disfranehisement which he has q
4 I Il . II