Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-10-09
John ReII w. Foreigners

| New Constitutional cXgencieS may OCCASION
the necessity for aiiiti"" to pIat!urln from
one quadrcnnial Convention to another. But
the entire i;g"oring of platform formerly
adopted, or the omission Of its essential and
vital features, is such a bold step in political
action, that nothing but contempt for the intel
liscncc Of the people could lead party to
adnpt it. Yet such is the step taken by both
the so.caIlcd Union and Black Republican par
ties
The Union party is admittedly composed OF
the same elements which constituted the Know.
Nothing or American party, and yet the issues
upon which they then entered the arena are
now entirely ignored This is all very well;
but arc our forcign-born citizens disposed to
forget their proscrlptive principles: There is
such Il thing as i party record, and let every
intelligent, naturalzcd citizen go TO the record,
when considering the claims Of the respective
candidates.
Now, we assert that John Bell was not only
thoroughly identified in principle with the
Know, Nothing party, but went a step in adj
vance of the majority Of their leaders in as
sailing the privileges Of foreigners. With an
instinct Of federalism which would have done
honor to the author of the Alien and Scdition
laws, he assaulted the legislation Of the State
Of Virginia, on the ground that in asserting the
right 10 regulate the qualifications Of her own
voters she violated the Constitution Of the
! United States Forgetting or diSrcgardns the
fact that the proposition allowing the Congress
to fix the qualification rf voters in the States
was expressly rejected in the Contention
which framed the Constitution, and that the
Constitution provides that the electors (vot-
crs) IN cach State shaN hdtG the 9natihica-
tons requisite for electors Of tic most numcr-
Gus byunch of the State legislature forget
ing, we say, or ignoring these facts, Mr.. Bell,
in his speech on the Minnesota bill, delivered
in the Senate in 1857, declared that the power
'to establish uniform rule Of naturalization,
carried with it the power to prohibit State
from allowing persons of foreign birth to vote
before being naturalized.
In no other words the power expressly re-
served by the States Of regulating the qualifi-
cations Of their own sullragans, was to be
usurped by Congress. And for what purpose?
TO exclude foreign born State citizens from the
ballot box We quote Mr. Bells language
used in the speech referred to-
at is said that there is Il law Of Virginia
comforting citizenship upon aliens, under Ger
tain stringent conditions, who have not been
natnralizcd according to the law Of Congress.
1t is Of very little weight with ruc what the
law of the State of Virginia may be, or may
have been, on that subject. Whether il falls
only a little short of conformity with the spirit
or requirements OF the acts Of Congress regu-
ating the subject, or is in perfect compliance
with the principles Of these acls, It is all one.
! If the Legislature OF the State Of Virginia has
given the right Of suffrage to aliens, since Con.
grcss exercised the power given TO il by the
Constitution over this subject II is in my opln.
ion clear violation of the Constitution, and
no power Of this kind can be set up by pre-
lieve that Virginia is not the only State that
sets up THIS lrete!Sion 10 clotlie Will SuhI"Sel
aliens, not naturalizcd, according to the laws OF
the United States regulating that subject II
am not misinformed, the State Of Illinois has,
at some period since she became State, il she
does not now, conferred all the privileges OF citi
xcnship, including the right of suffrage, upon
aliens or foreigners resident within her terrific
ry-lnaking them electors in choosing mem,
! Der. Of Congress and President Of the United
States.
I Thus it will be seen that Mr. Bell. not con-
tent with prescribing foreigners by Federal
| legislation, would drive them from all refuge
! within the pale of State sovereignty. Can
j they forget these things:
.