Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-09-03

Ian is q piece of advice which the Democratic
,apers and statesmen will do well to lay to
,eart, "Om Northern friends must in future
oe more cautious" in stating what are the
avs about foreigners in Democratic South
Carolina Very true. But how coolly those
Democratic Journals of the South take the ex-
stence of such law discriminating between
citizens. While every Republican press in
the land, in Massachusetts, and out of it, has
denounced as unjust the recent similar enact
ment in that State, the Democratic Journals
of South Carolina seem to consider it all right; |
and the leading Democratic organ at the Cap |
ital of the State very coolly observes that |
EXCEPT as to uotes % and as to being etegi- !
Die to the Legislature and Executive Depart |
ments, and as to seruing as jurors, there is not
recalled, at present, any discrimination be-
tween native born and naturalized in South
Cardinal These exceptions cover the whole
ground.
1t is true, that in defence of Democratic
South Cardinals unjust suffrage laws, Demo
cratic journals have urged that naturalized
foreigner, who has been ten years voter in
Virginia, and a native citizen during ten years
a voter in Alabama, would both, on remov-
ing into South Carolina, be compelled to re-
side two years before they could vote. This
they style "the equality Of hardship" 1t is an
evasion of the point at issue. We admit the
hardship presented in the ta0o instances thus
supposed, is about equal but the instances
are wide of the point under discussion. how
does that kind of equality apologize for the
gross inequality and practical notification OF
the laws Ct the United States, which oblges
all foreigners from Germany and Ireland, set
Ting originally in South Carolina, 10 wait seven
years before being allowed to vote, though the
| U. S. laws make them citizens at the end OF
five years? Citizens from other States NOV
ing into South Carolina, must, it is true, wait
two years before exercising the privilege OF
suffrage This plainly is done merely to es-
tablish their residence in the State-to prevent
temporary and floating population from col
onzing the polls and ruling the State against
the wishes of the permanent inhabitants
But the resident foreigner, of five, or ten, or
twenty years standing, though his residence
is gained long before, and is undoubted, is
treated by Democratic South Carolina the
| same as an entire stranger, and is insulted
with the suspicious requisition that he, too,
must remain two years after bis citizenship,
on ''good behavior" we suppose, before he
can be allowed to participate in the elections
Is this not exactly the same as it is in Massa-
chusetts? Most certainly!
MOVEMENT BY A DEMOCRATIC u.
| s. SENAI OR FOR 2I YEARS RESI-.
DENCE BEFORE VOTING!
| But we have not done with the disposition
heretofore shown by Democratic presses and
statesmen to prescribe white men on account
of the place of their birth, as well as other
men on account of the shade of their COM
plexion. No Republican euer offered a reso-
luton in Congress to alter the Naturalization
Laws so as to abridge the privileges now con-
coded in the United States to the European.
But Democrats have more than once done so
on the floor of Congress More than once
Democratic Congressman have moved to de-
prive foreigners of the privilege Of voting
One instance is notorious. On the 18th of
June, 1856, Senator Adams, of Mississippi,
in the United States Senate, made motion
looking to an Extension of the Period of Pro-
baton before Foreigners could become Citi-
zens, to Twenty-Five Years! He was De-
mocratic Senator from the South. He made
speech sustaining his views. He wanted it
so fixed that foreign convicts and paupers Cor
poor people,) should neuer have VOTE and
that all others should remain 81 years before
voting! He urged that the interests of the
South were opposed to free and speedy nat
uralization laws. They helped tho North to
grow, while the South stood still. Senator
Adams did not succeed in carrying out his
views of 81 years Naturalization Extension
but it shows the disposition of leading De-
mocrat, and what he would have done if he
could, though in a party which would have
foreign-born citizens believe loves them so
dearly and so exclusively!
MORE DEMOCRATIC PRESCRIPTION
OF FOREIGNERS ON THE PASSAGE
OF THE MINNESOTA ENABLING
ACT.
! One other instance of the general unfriend-
illness of the Southern Democracy to Foreign
Born Citizens, occurs to us as worthy of
mention, particularly as it interests especially
the foreign born voters of Minnesota. This
is the case: When it was thought time the
Territory of Minnesota should come into the
Union as a State, Congress proceeded to pass
the usual law called the Enabling Act, pre-
scribing the steps her people might legally
take to elect Convention to form State
Constitution. When that Enabling Act was
about passing through the United States Sen
ate, and was under discussion in that strong
hold of Democratic Power in the Nation, Mr..
Biggs, the Democratic Senator from North
Carolina, another Southern State, moved to
amend the Bill as it came from the House of
Representatives, by inserting the following
prOviso
provided that only citizens of the United
States shall be permitted to vote at the cleo
ton provided for by this act"
| This amendment was advocrted by Messrs
Biggs, Broadhead, Brown, Mason, Butler and
Clay-every one Democrats-and opposed by
Messrs. Seward, Wilson, and others
The vote on its adoption was as follows:
Heas-Messrs. Bayard, Bell, of Tenn, Ben
jamin, Biggs, Broadhead, Brown, Butler,
Clay, Crittenden, Evans, Fish, Fitzpatrick,
Foote, Geyer, Green, Houston, Hunter, liver
son, johnson, Jones, of Tenn, Mason, Reid,
Rusk, Slidell, Thompson, Of KY, and Thomp-
son, of N. J.-27.
| Nays-Messrs. Allen, Bigler, Bright, Cass,
Collamer, Dodge, Douglas, Durkec, Fessen-
den, Fitch, Foster, Hale, Jones, of Iowa
Nourse, Pugh, Seward, Stuart, Toombs,
Trumbull, Wade, Weller, Wilson, and
Wright-24.
So the amendment was agreed to-every
| Republican Senator voting against it, except
Foote, of VT, and he subsequently changed
| his vote.
Now, fellow citizen of Minnesota of for
| eign birth, look at the above action of the De-
| mocratic Senate and then cling to the Demo-
cratic Party simply because it exclusively
cares for your rights, if you honestly can -
Senator Biggs and his Democratic knew
at the time they voted on is amend
ment, that were deliberately depricing tens
of thousands of Germans, Irishmen, Swedes.
Norwegians and others, of the Right of SUI:
rage which they had enjoyed in Minnesota for
gears
The knew that by the organic act creating
the Territory of Minnesota, foreign residents
who had declared on oath their intentions to
become citizens and to support the constitution