The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-08-12


ton to suffrage ofthe Constitution Of Rhode
Island, called, BY courtesy, free state =
though for what reason, the said Constitu-
tion gives no one to understand on first
reading nor have l been able to see the pro-
prety Of the phrase after diligent study OF
that mysterious document For the benefit
OF such of my fellow adopted citizens in
Minnesota as have not the facilities Of seeing
the constitutions Of all the States just when
they please, will transcribe q portion Of
that of a Democratic State: viz, the State
of Louisiana--a slave State" as the Re-
pubicans call it, as Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island were years ago, and would be
now if slave labor we're more remunerative
there than free labor is. The constitution
from which quote was adopted in 1852,
and Title II, (2) Article 10 thereof, reads
thus y ae
Every free white male who has attained
the age of twenty one years, and who has been
q resident of the State twelve months next pre-
cedng the election, and the last six months
thereof in the parish in which he offers TO vote,
and who shall be citizen OF the United States,
shall have the right Of voting but no voter on
removing from one parish to another within
the State, shall lose the right of voting in the
former until he shall have acquired it in the
latter. Electors shall in all cases, except
treason, fe lony, or breach of the peace, be
privileged from arrest during their attendance
at, going to, or returning from elections"
by this clause it will be seen that every
white male citizen of the United States
"shall have the right Of voting" in theAOr-
rible slave State Of Louisiana and pot on
ly so, but shall not, if he moves from one
county to ano ther, "lose the right Of yo-
ting in the former until he shall have &C.
quired it in the latter y and also, he8shall
be privileged from arrest, while in attend-
ance on, going to, or returning from the
election, if he behaves like good Citizen
during the day.
How open, frank and honest ins its ex.
preston is this clause Of the constitution of
the Democratic State of Louisiana How
plain aud simple to be declared verbally, or
TO be understood and remembered on Xmere
running perusal! How diilarent em the
terms in which the qualiiicatof cleo.
tors are set forth in the RepubHex1 Rhode
Island document, with its thousand "a one
mysterious, perplexing and harassing con-
ditions, OF a native citizen really andtruly
possessed in his own right Of real estate to
the value of sl34,' in fee simple" fee
tall without membranes, .festate in
reversion or remainder" conveyance Of
this estate by deed recorded dt hist ninety
days, go days, % hours, and 5g~0inutess
not being sufficiently certificate d, the
clerk that he has paid the tax" 5owa
oath not allowed) within ten dsJsof tho
time of voting, setting forth that he has
sufficient estate to qualify him as VOTE"
and so on, with as much and as evil net
work, politically speaking, as the House
of Hapsburg ever spread over the Hunga.
raus; or as MOORE says 10 IAlla Rookh;
ozark, tangled doctrines, dark Jas fraudcan
weave, - 4
Which simple votaries han on trust receive,
While crafsier teiga belief ill they betievs." :,
Such is the spirit oftbe oppositiou to the
Democratic party, as displayed By HE Re
publicans where they dare dspaAy il, or
where they have power 70 display It with
out fear OF adverse consequences; against
which | would caution IN good and patri-
otto citizens Of the United States, whether
native or adopted. 1t makes me almost
sick at heart TO hear the Republicans cry
out for freedom for the negroes of the South,
with which they have no concern under, the
sun. while they are inventing machinery
with which TO enslave the white men of the
North. The leaders Of that faction know
very well that their labor for the negro is
in vain-they know that they can never
abolish slavery in the Southern States as
that must be the work of those States them
se!ves-they know that negro servitude is
one of the compromises OF the United States
Constitution-they know. too, that negroes
are not and never can be citizens OF the
United Stats, and that they cannot obtain
passports to travel 10 foreign parts as cti-
zens-,hey know that when this government
was created, none but white persons were
recognized as the people, or aeSntitled to
the rights Of ci'izenshiRSstAen slavery
was an institution of every State, and they
know, too, that by all the clamor they can
make. they can never elevate degrees to
leve' with white men. But yet they clamor
{" such an extent a to say that negroes are
better than low-born white foreigners-at
least il is 40 here in Massachusetts,, and will
be 80 in Minnesota. dare say. il they ob-