The Grand Haven news. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1858-18??, 1859-05-25
From the Detroit Free Press.
A FIXED MOVEMENT.

The following is the amendment in full
Of the constitution of the State of Mass
achusetts which has just been adopted:
No person of foreign birth shall be
entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to Of
flee, unless he shall have resided within
the jurisdiction of the United States for
two years subsequent TO his naturaliza-
lion, and shall be otherwise qualified nc
cording TO the constitution and laws Of
this Commonwealth; provided, that this
amendment shall not affect the rights
which any person of foreign birth possess
ed at tho time Of adoption thereof; and
propided further, that it shall not effect
the rights of any child Of citizen of the
United States, born during the Temporal
ry absence Of the parent thercfrom."
The following is the resolution in favor
OF similar measure for New York which
passed the Republican State convention
of that State:
Resolved, That the principle embod-
led in our present State constitution. Of
requiring some time to intervene between
the net Of naturalization and the subse-
quent exercise Of the right of suffrage, is
sound and just, and we recommend such
an extension of the intervening time as
will preclude the future naturalization of
voters under the auspices of partizan com
mittees, with view to using the voters
SO procured at pending election"
We cannot at this moment lay our hands
upon similar resolution Of the last Re-
publican State convention of New Jersey,
but that convention did pass such reso-
luton.
In the last Legislature of Michigan The
Republicans brought forward resolution
by which negroes possessed Of property of
the value of $3.50 should be permitted to
vote, and voted down proposition, bro't
forward by Democrat, by which unnat-
uralized foreigners should be permitted to
vote on the same terms.
We group these facts-and we might
add many others-to show how certain
are the Know Nothing tendencies of the
Republican party. If Massachusetts, stood
alone in this prescription it could not be
fairly charged that the Republican party
elsewhere is responsible for it. But she
does not The truth is that the whole
Know-Nothing element Of the Northern
States is part and parcel of the Republi-
can party, and sooner or later this element
will require the adoption of the Massa-
chusetts prescription in every State where
the Republican party shall be in power.
The movement is n fixed one. We have
seen how it has been persisted in Massa-
chusetts. That is but an example of the
persistence which will be witnessed here
after in other States.
Is it doubted! Why, that purpose is
not sought to be disguised in some quar-
tiers. There is no disguise in the subjoin-
cd paragraph which we take from the
Washington correspondence of the New
York Commercial ADVERTISER:
The result of the popular vote in
Massachusetts to-day, upon tho question
submitted for an amendment of the con-
stitution, whereby aliens will be deprived
Of the right of voting till two years after
their naturalization, is looked 10 with
much interest. The restriction would, no
doubt, be wise and useful, and ought TO be
generally adopted. A uniform law on
this subject in all the States would be
useful, but it is not likely ever to exist"
This is frank. The Commercial Id
yertiser is, Of course, a Republican paper.
1t is undoubtedly true that uniform law
on the subject in all the States will not
exist, because the Republicans will never
have the power to pass such laws in all
the States. Possibly the greater danger
is that the Republicans of the North and
the Know-Nothings of the South may
obtain majorities in the two houses of
Congress and extend the eriod of natu-
rallzation to twenty-one years, as was at
hrst proposed in Massachusetts,.
" The restriction would" says the fore
going writer, abe wise and useful, and
ought to be generally adopted" Is there
room for any body 70 doubt that the move
ment is fixed ones