Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-06-08
Alien Suffrage.

the regulation OF the right of ruffrage in the
Territories, which was made to the House Of
Representatives by Mr.. Zollicoffer, of Tonnes
see. from the Committee ON Territories. The
report concludes with recommending the pas
sage of law by Congress restricting the
rights of suffrage and of holding Office in the
Territories to citizens Of the United States, natives
and naturalized. The introduction OF this
bill and report is, we hope, but the beginning
of the agitation in Congress OF subjects of vi
| tai political importance that the American
party has sedulously urged upon the attention
of the people of this country. 1t cannot be
denied that alien suffrage and alien office-hold-
ing, in either the States or Territories, are in
tolerable and very dangerous evils. The prac-
| tice of permitting aliens to vote, which has
been introduced and encouraged by the demo-
| gogues of the Democratic and Republican
parties, cannot be indicated upon any prin-
| ciple of right, of justice, or of expediency.
! 1t is political right peculiarly appertaining
! to citizenship, and above all other privileges
it should be confined to those who are citizens
There can be no good reason, says a consider
| ate contemporary, for admitting aliens to vote
| if there is to be any such thing as citizenship
| maintained. The Constitution confers upon
| Congress the right to make uniform laws on
| the subject of naturalization and 1t has pre-
| scribed the terms upon which foreigners may
! be admitted to citizenship and the obvious
gress, was to limit the right of sutfrage-the
sovereignty of the country-to its own citi-
zens. native and naturaliZed, according to law.
This intent has been wholly defeated in sever
al of the States-Ilinois among the number -
by the passage of separate naturalization acts
of their own, completely multiplying the re-
strictions imposed by Congress. This p1ac-
tice has been justified upon the ground of
State sovereignty and by the plea that every
Tot haI ri IN w
any portion of its inhabitants might vote for
State officers and take part in other operations
of the State government.
If the State government alone were concern
ed, there might be force in this argument: but
by the Constitution the qualification for cleo
tors of members of Congress is made the same
as that of voters for the most numerous branch
of the State Legislature. When State, there
fore prescribes the qualifications of voters for
it's own State officers, it is also prescribing
rules for the election of members of Congress.
The result is, that, while New York excludes
foreigners from the right of suffrage, Illinois
admits then and the " uniformity " which the
Constitution expressly empowers Congress to
secure is utterly destroyed. 1t is well ask
ed in this report of Mr.. Zollicoffer, I" By what
rightful authority can Congress presume to ex-
tend those potential rights of citizenship to
unnaturalized aliens, who no allegiance to
the Government, who cannot be required to
take up arms in its defence, and who could not
be punished for treason should they arm them
selves and toage against ii IN time OF iodr.'
This suggestion contains the whole gist OF the
matter Although thoroughly imbued with
the opinion that outside of the Federal Con-
stitution each separate State in the confedt racy
is sovereign in itself, and has the right to re-
gulate its own domestic affairs in its own way
we cannot accord even to the State the right
to permit aliens to exercise the privilege of suf-
frage for officers of the Federal Government,
who are to act as trustees of the people OF
these United States and to legislate for them.
The sole object of the establishment of a
uniform naturalization law as directed by the
Federal Constitution was to prevent the very
state of case which now exists. The question
has been argued generally, but not practically,
in this report of Mr.. Zollicofer. The evils of
the alien suffrage may be brought home to
every individual citizen by a little cOnSidera-
ton of its effects. Were New York. the larg-
est and most populous State in the Union, to
Incorporate it in her organic laws, and give to
every foreigner who lands at her ports the right
to vote immediately for State and federal of.
cers, it is evident that these foreigners, total
ly unacquainted with the theory of our Gov
eminent and altogether un-Americanized.
would thus be invested with political power
of vast and vital Importance to the whole
country.
The whole object of combining the passage
of naturalization laws to the Federal Govern
ment is defeated by the action of States like
that of Illinois and Indiana. The Uniformity of
naturalization is thus destroyed. a citizen in
Illinois is not according to State laws,
citizen in Kentucky. The Federal Consttu-
ton is set at naught and rendered of no effect
whatever in this particular. With all our
admira ton for the doctrine of States rights
and the separate and independent sovereignty
of the several States under the Constitution,
we are clearly of the opinion that no State
has the right to confer the right of suffrage,
at least for federal officers upon any Others
than citizens of the United States, native or
naturalized. More especially, therefore, should
this right be thus restricted in the territories
in which the right of suffrage is prescribed by
Congress itself in the organic act of the ter
| ritory.
1t has been we'll and truly said in this
report that our government was established
| for the benefit of citizens of the United States.
| 1t was not intended by the wise men who
| framed our Constitutions that foreigners
| should be admitted to the rights and privie
| gees of citizenship until they had passed
| through probation intended to fit them for
| the exercise of these great privileges. Neither
| the Federal nor the State Governments have
| any right under the Constitution to confer
| the right of suffrage or of holding Office upon
| any others than citizens tor whose benefit and
protection they were established. These rights
| peculiarly belong to the citizen, and any con-
| ference of them upon others must be regar-
ded not only as impolitic aud unjust, but as
against the spirit and the letter of the Con-
sfitution and "a derogatory of one of the
dearest and most cherished rights of Ameri-
can citizenship.-Lou Jour.