Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-20

being temporarily deprived of the right of
suffrage and of eligibility to certain Offices on
account of not possessing freehold; but in
no civilized country of the world, other than
the United States, has day description Of persona
other than citizens euer been alloscod The rights Of
suffrage and Of holding Office. In this govern
ment, more especially than in any other, the
rights belonging to political sovereignty
ought to be restricted so those who owe-to the
government allegiance This Is strictly cleo
tive government, with written constitution,
averring in its very text that it is designed for
the benefit of its citizens. 1t should, therefore,
in all its elective processes. be held strictly
and perfectly under the control of this body
of citizens. It's Territories are confessedly
acquired for their benefit; its mission is avow-
fedly to secure to them "the blessings of lib
erty;" and surely its control, and the power
of control in its Territories, should not be
loosely intrusted to other and strange hands.
When it becomes necessary, Congress has the
right TO establish temporary governments
over the Territories; in doing so. it must act
within the scope of its constitutional authori-
ty. 90 The powers of the government says
the Supreme Court I. and the rights and priv.
ileges of the citizens. are regulated and plain
Iy defined by the Constitution itself. And
when the territory becomes part of the
United States, the federal government enters
into possession in the character impressed up
on il 6y those scho created II. 1t enters upon it
with its powers over the citizen strictly de-
fined and limited by the Constitution, from
which it derives its own existence, and by
virtue of which alone it continues to exist and
act as a sovereignty. 1t has no poarer of any
kind beyond IL; and it cannot, when it enters
Territory of the United States, put off its
character and assume discretionary despotic
posoers aclich the Constitution has denied TO a. 1t
cannot crete for itself new character, sep
arated from the citizens Of the United States, and
the duties II them under the provisions Of the
C0rlsitutlon ,csh their respective rights defined and
marked OUT The right of the citizen to "hold
the power and conduct the government" can
not be ignored, because it is one of those
stltution." When the federal government
does so " trustee for the "people of the
kind beyond it:'' it cannot confer political
power upon aliens in any other way than by
:! uniform rule of naturalization 1t cannot
give to aliens the rights belonging to the
people or citiZens) of Suffrage and of holding
office, by which they may % hold The po,cer and
conduct the government against the citizens. 1t
cannot create for itself a neW character separa-
ted from the citizens of the United States and the
duties ores them under tie provisions Of the
Constitution" For these reasons the committee
are OF opinion that a general law should be
enacted, applicable to all the Territories, res
tricting the rights of suffrage and of holding
Office to citizens of the United States; and
they therefore recommend the passage of the
accompanying bill: