Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-12-07

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/ sHeen o. paper or different leaveg Of one sheet.
Letters and communications solicited upon all such
ana subjects as may be Of information interest he public
no attention
Correspondents should write only upon one side OF the per
we cannot undertake to return rejected communications
AL letters on business should he directed to MeSsrs
EASTMAN 4 CO., and not personally to either Of the Pr
prietOrs
Speech of VIVA. II. RarksdaIe, on the bill
for the expulsion of free persons of col
or from this State.
Mr. Speaker: The subject we have under con
sderstion, is bill for the expulsion of free person
of color, from this State 1t is one Of great i'm
portsnce, In which is involved the public good,
the canse Of humanity. This being true, it call
into action the calm and solemn judgment of thos
who are required to act upon il. We all are COL
sciOus from the surrounding circumstances, tina
we must act In the premises in order to eradica
tn evil that IS among us, and at the came time "
should temper our actions with humanity; for tn
negro, though ignorant, has feelings common t
man. As Legislators, it would be heartless in t
pass any Law not demanded by the public good, tina
would operate hsrshly or cruelty On them. The in
terrogatOry has been propOunded as to he suthori
" Of the Legislature to expel them, ard some hav,
| denied that il has any such power believe tbs
| power to be as clear, as if expressed in so many
words in the Constitution This power is not pro
hibiled to the Legislature, unless it is done by the
Constitution of tie United States or by the Consti
tuition of Tennessee, and We can by examination OF
| the provisions of these instruments, determine
whether it would be usurpalion in the Legislature
| TO pass this bill We will first INQUIRE whether il
violates the Constitution of the United States and
secondly whether it violates that of tennessee. The
Constitution Of the United States is an ordinance,
sn establishment of government by the people OF
| the States that compose the Union, and the pow
ers Of Congress are guaranteed by this instrument.
And it can do nothing not authorized by strict
1 E al IN
therein guaranteed, or prohibited, reserved to
the States. What provision Of the Constitution au-
thorizes Congress TO say who shall be residents
Of the States ? What clause prohibits the State
from saying who may be her citizens? These are
police regulations, and belong especially to State
government. II Congress possessed the power 10
declare who should not be residents of TIE States,
and could deny to the STATES the right to confer cit
izenship within their limits, Siate-sovereignty
has no signilcstion, but is myth, chimera of
politicians.
Ii Congress possess these lights nothing remain s
to the States We then clam, with lmpuUity, the
right in Congress to regulate the relation of master
slave, husband and wife, parent and child; and
that assumption being true ours is splendid con-
solidated government. l do net think it will Je
claimed that Congress possesses such power, or
that this is a subject of Congressional! legslations
hence 1t resolves itself into State question and if
it does not violate the State Constitution it is be-
yond doubt legitimate subj of legislative action
Do the provisions Of this Bill Violste the State Con-
stiutiOn? The Sh Section Of the lst Article touch
es directly the point which reads follows:
THAT no free man shall be taken or imprisoned, or
dsseized of bis freehold liberties privileges, or
out-laWed or exied, or in any manner destroyed or
deprived Of his life liberty properly, but by the
judgment of his peers, or the law of the land
The State of Tennessee is o sovereignty and governs
ITSELF independent of all ether States It's power is
plenary all subjects provided 1t does infringe
the powers of the federal gOvernmtnt Mt. The object
in forming the Constitution TO restrict the &C
ton of tie Legislature and prevent 1t from inva-
ding certain rights that are inalieDable aud indie
feasible. 1t differs from the Federal Constitution
from the fact that Congress can do nothing, unless
the power is granted by the Constitution and TIE
Legislature can do anything under the State Consti
tuition prohibited, thereby Ia order to a clear
understanding of our Constitution, and especially
the 9Th Section of the Declaration of Rights, we
must take into consideration the circumstances I'M
der which it was made, by aud for whom, it was
made. All government is made for the good of the
governed. Men meet together and make mutual
concessions. and yield up rights which they could
exercise in state Of nature, IN view of better seeu
riiy OF rights that are held more sacred aud invio
late. The Constitution made by the sovereign
people of the State, Wio are the white men. They
met in convention and entered into solemn cove
nant with each other in order to more perfect pro-
lection of life, liberty and property. 1t was fOIm-
ed for the benefit of those who ordained and ests0
ished the Covenant and others have the right to
claim the benefits Of it without consent; therefore,
the Free negro has vested rights under it, But it
is claimed that the 9Th Section of lst Aice uses the
word "Freemen" and thereby includes and gives
rights to the free negro. That common sense
vieW-tbey were no parties to the covenant, and
as a natural consequence could not be the benef-
Charles to it. All negroes in the Unietd State
were brought here, and subjected to slavery,
for slavery is their nominal condition and It is
supposable that the wise meu who formed our
Constitution intended to place the negro who is Of
degraded race, on equal footing with the white
man. | think it is forced hypothesis, to imagine
that they were incorporated INFO society. From
the time the first negro was brought from Africa TO
our continent, III 1890, colony State has ever
acknowledged their equality, but the contrary in
every act of legislation, judicial adjudication
they have been declared inferior to, and subject to
the domination Of the white man. Even in States
where they contend that slavery is the abnormal
condition Of the negro they are not allowed equal
rights and declared incapable of becoming oili-
zens. l admit some States have allowed them pO-
iticsl rights, and they have exercised the elective
franchise, which was allowed in Tennessee before
the present Constitution was framed, which would
not make them freemen in the sense of the 8th Sec
of Let Art of the Constitution, if they had that
right at present. The free negro is called free in
oontradistincon to his former conGiiion of slavery
and it is not freedom in the sense we use it when we
say the white man is free. The free negro is free
be cause he is not enslaved the white man is not
free because he is not enslsved, but because of a
divine right, and mis- crpscity for elf-government
In view of all these facts staring them in the face
it woald have been an anamoly the history of a
slave State to have adopted Bill of Rights for the
free negro. Taking the whole of the 9Th section to-
gether, which must do in order to a proper con-
strue.ion, we it says that freeman shall not in
m ha ivad Of ne
erty, b1t by the judgment of his peers " The word
peer is used. A peer is an equal, therefore peer
and freeman are Synonymous terms and if we ad-
nit that free negro is freeman it follows that he
is peer, which is the most favored class in the
government, and gives the right to vote hold Off CO.
sit on juries to testify in courts, which has ever
been denied them. | will not let the subject rest
here; fortunately for we have judicial decisions
both Federal and State, in point The decision III
the bred Scott case holds the doctrine that the ne
gro belongs to inferior race Of beings and is n Of
& citizen of the United Sts,es; and the SuUreme
Court OF Tennessee. in the ise Of the State vs.
Claiborne, decided upon the 8.h section of the Bill
of Rights, IS follows; tU when section your aten-
ton has already been directed: 1T is contepded
that this act is in derogstion of the 8h section of
the Bill Of Rights of this State. We think the word
'Freemsn. as used IN the Bill of Rgh s. is of
equally extensive Specification with the W rd citizen
as used in the Constitution of the United States !:
anu IoaI LuS ny MS enumeration
in Kentucky, obtsined qualified freedom he did
not become freeman in the sonse of Magma
cbarts, or Of our Constitution
:" In these instruments the word is used in its
largest sense, and means, as does citlzeun in the
constitution Of the United States, one who is en-
titled ali the privileges and imwuuities of
the most favored class Of the comnuuIty"--
Neig's Rep. 8. Al.
1t decides that freemen, meant citizen, and tina
the citizen is Of the favored class and that the
free negro was not q citizen thereby bushes into 81
ence the idea, that the Bill Of Rights included free
negroes. This decision leaves for reasona-
BILE doubt TO cling to, on the subject. The decision
further adds: "the language must therefore be
restricted to freemen of tnis State for the protec
ton of whom alone, the provision is made" There
fore, the Bill of Rights was made exclusively for
the benefit Of tSe ffeemen, snd free negroes h I'VE
no vested rights under it.
| / next propose to examine the power to expeI
! them. In Tennessee there are two elssses-citi-
Gems and subjects Citizens are the most f4vored
class, having all the privileges and immunities OF
free government, who are the white inhabitants moi
sleRs Subjects are those who are in subsection "a
the laws of the State, without full participation
in its sovereignty and all their rights are grant.