Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1857-07-31
WHOLE NO. $3.50.
DOUGLASS spRINGFIELD SPEECH.

DOUGLASS SPRINGFIELD SPEECH.
correspondent Of the Illinois State Jour
. nal has been reviewing the speech of Mr.
Douglas at longth. Tho following is No. 5
OF his rcvicw, and relates specially to his po-
sihons in regard to the bred Scott decision.
1t is rich
I Douglas took the ground in his speech.
that If the Supreme Court had decided bred
scott 20 be a citizen, it would have given the
negro the right TO vote, hold office. and mar
ry white women; as will be seen from the
sentence with which he winds up the long
extract of his speech quoted in my last arti-
cle
And then you will have secured TO the
negro nearly all the privileges that the decis-
ton of me Supreme Court HAS DENIED him.
Here, truly is "a second Daniel come to
Judgment! The declaration that the yiqht to
marry is a part Of citizenship. will certainly
immortalizo Judge Douglas as a iurist The
whole host Of legal writer's. from Cooke TO
Blackstone, never conceived so startling
proposition. They have hetoforc regarded
marriage, not as political. but social right.
over which each State had exclusive control
and as being beyond the Jurisdiction of the
General Government. But in the ewes of
Douglas, the old lawyers like the old states
men, were pack of fools. young Ameri-
ca y in law as well as politics is now the
motto of the little forked-tonguo compromise
breaker
/ For the sake. however,, of showing the
strange absurdity and recklessness of the
man. let us assume the argument of Douglas
to be correct, that to be entitled to sue as a
citizen IN a Federal court, also gives such
person a right to vote, hold office. and marry.
because he IS "citizen"
a male minor under the age of seventeen
years, is entitled to sue in United States
court as a citizen. Our laws do not give him
the right to vote or hold office, and expressly
prohibit his marrying. Yet according to
Douglas he has right to vote hold office.
and marry. because he is ''citizen,"
woman orer fourteen years Of age. is en-
titled to sue as citizen in United States
court. The laws of this State give such an
one the right to marry. but not to vote or
hold once. Yet according to Douglas she
also has the right to vote and hold office. be-
saHse she IS "ciizen."
But let us take a still stronger case. A
corporation is citizen" Don't start Mr.
Douglas, it is true as gospel-the Supreme
Court Of the United States has said it. Look
at the case of the Louisville. Cincinnati &
Charleston r. r. Co. as. Letson. Howards
Rep. page 407. Opinion by Wayne and no
dissent-Taney, Caron. Daniel. and others of
the present judges on this bench. The court
declared that corporation must be treated as
cd'zen' for all the purposes of suing or
Oeing sued. According to Douglas. then, a
corporation can vote. According to Douglas
a corporation can hold office--can plead at
the bar and sit in the jury box. According
to Judge Douglas, a corporation can MARRY
'chHe roneR. Just think of young, beauti-
iul and accomplished woman married to a
sordld, soulcss orporation--married to five
hundred blear-eyed rum -nosed Railroad cor
porators-oh horror!
But stop perhaps after all, this is the
little Giants real antidote to polypamy, in
the determination Of which he is becoming
perfect Don Quixote Perhaps ne was too
modest to announce in plain words so brill
liant an idea-perhaps he intends applying for
patent on this efectual panacea for this
"pestiierous Mormon ulcer"
Testing aside, it is beneath ridicule-it is
contemptible for United States Senator to
indulge in such sophistry as is contained in |
the proposition and doctrine laid down in his |
speech which have discussed in this article. /
Every man Of ordinary intelligence knows
that the word citizen is not an arbitrary term.
1t may have many meanings. A person may
be citizen and be entitled to merely legal
protection of life, liberty and property. He |
may be a citizen and entitled to vote, vet not /
enjoy the right to hold the office of Consta-
bic, and have no right to become Governor;
and a man may be eligible to the Governor
ship, and yet be disqualified from filling the
Presidential chair. So that there may be cit
izens of different degrees, and with various
rights, privileges and immunities. And as
regards the right to marry, aliens and citi- (
2ens, Constables and Presidents, all stand up /
on the same footing-the only requirement
being to find woman who will consent to
have them.
have already shown in former article
that the only privilege which Drod Scott
claimed a citizen was the right to sue for
his freedom in Federal Court 1t is for
denying him this right to bring suit that the
Republicans say the Supreme Court erred in
judgment And had he succeeded in obtain
ing from the Supreme Court recognition of
his "citizenship' it would only have confirm
ed to him the one right that of bringing suit
in a United States Court, and none other.
What has been said, therefore, establishes
clearly my first proposition, viz that had the
Supreme Court decided Dred Scott citizen,
it would not have given him the right to vote.
hold office, or marry white women, Douglas
to the contrary notwithstanding.
ILLINOIS.
~ The Dred Scott decision is likely to
make work enough for the lawyers, and to
bring about queer state of society A case