Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1860-01-11

the Constitution fihe State of North Carolina
for the purpose of determining what rights
this class of persons once held in that State.
And the enquiry is pertinent for as will
be seen. our own Constitution in some i'm
poriant particulars is a literal copy Of that
Instrument; our own State being an off shoot
of the sovereignty OF the Old North State.
/ desire to refer first, to the Declaration of
Rights of the State of North Carolina, Sec
l2-fss is in the following language, viz
THAT no freeman ought to be taken, i'm
prisoned or disseized Of his freehold, liberties
| or privileges or outiawed or exiled, or in
/ any manner destroyed or deprived of his life,
! liberty or property. but by the law ofthe land
| Sec. ID. That every freeman restrained of his
| liberty is entitled TO remedy to enquire
| into the iawfuluess thereof, and TO remove
the same if unlawful, and that such remedy
ought not 10 be denied or delayed"
/ Ia the Constitution of the same State
: adopted at the same period (l776) we find
! the appeilation, " freeman, employed to
| denote those TO whom certain rights attached:
Sections and are in the following words.
viz: ..Tbat all freemen of the age of twenty
/ one years. who have been Inhabitants of any
one County within the State twelve months
| Immediately preceding the day of any cleo
| ton, and possessed of freehold within the
| same county of fifty acres of land for six
| months next b, fore and at the day of election
Senate. That all freemen of the age Of
| twenty one years, who have been Inhabitants
of any county within this State twelve
months Immediately preceding the day of any
election and shall have paid public taxes.shall
be entitled 10 vote for members of the House
OF Commons for the county inswhich be re-
| sidesn
Now what desire TO call the particular
attention of the House TO, is. who were in
cluded in the privileged class denominated
| '.freemen." Did this class under the consti-
tuition of the State of North Carolina in
clnde the free man of color? The Supreme
Court of that State has decid, this question.
In the case # the State ps. Manual. a Dew.
and Bat. 20), Judge Castor decided that
According to the laws of this State all hu-
man beings within it, who are not slaves.
fall Within one OF two classes Whatever
| distinctions may have existed in the Roman
laws Jettreen citizfns and free iRhdJh0nts. they
are unknown to our institutions. Before our
Revolution, all free persons born within the
dominions of the King of Great Britain.
! whatever their color or complexion, were
native-born British subjecfs--ihose born ont
of bis allegiance were aliens Slavery did
not exist in England. but it did i'm the British
/ colonies. Slaves were not in legal parlance
persons, bu. property.
The m.ment the incapacity, the disqualifi-
! cation of slavery was removed. they became
| persons, and were then either British Subjects
or not British subj cts, according as they
were or were not born within the allegiance
of the British King. Upon the Revolution
| no other change took place in the laws OF
/ North Carolina than was cOnseque IT on the
! transition from colony dependent on
European King. to a free and sovereign State.
Slaves remained slaves, British subjects in
| North Carolina became North Carolina free
men. Foreigners, until made members of tie
fuf ad oil.
| have, became fTeeraen and therefore, if born
within North Carolina citizens of North
Carolina. and all free persons born within the
| State are born citizens of the State The
Constitution extended the elective franchise
! to every freeman who had arrived at the age
| of twenty-One years and paid public tax:
and it is a matter of universal n otoriety. that,
under il, Tree persons, without regard TO col
or, claimed and exercised the franchise. until
it was taken from free men of color few
| years since by our amended Constitution
You will fLd this decision confirmed
| III 9th 1r, deils X. 253. So that according
to the most authoritative Interpretation the
word ''freemen." descriptive or a class in the
Constitution of North Carolina did include
III that class the ''iree negro.o
/ desire now to call your attention to the
| first Constitution formed for the State of Ten
| nessee; and | desire you to remember that
| Tennessee was originally part of the State
of North Carolina: and further. that her first
constitution was ordained prior TO the alter
alton in he fundamental law of North Caro-
lima, mentioned in the decision of Judge Gas
| ton already referred to. As was natural,
Tennessee engraited in her Constitution
many of the principles of the Mother State,
and employed in their expression terms
which the judicial decisions of North Carroll
ma had rendered definite and unambieuous.
! This term free man" we find retained in the
Constitution of Tennessee, formed in 1896.
| Section 3D. article LIST, of that constitution
declares Every freeman of the age of TWEEN
! ty-one years aud upwards, possessing free
| hold in the county wherein he may vote, and
| being an inhabitant of this State, and every
| freeman being an inhabitant of any one coun-
| ty in The State six months Immediately pre-.
ce6ing the day of election. shall be entitled
| TO vote for member of the General Assembly
| Tor The county in which he shall reside
Article Il. Sect 8. declares: That no free
man shall be taken. or imprisoned, or dis
seized of bis freehold, liberties, or privileges,
| or outlawcd, or eIiLed, or in any manner de-
stroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or
property, but by the judgment of his peers or
the law of the land"
Again, in Section IA: THAT no freeman
shall be put TO answer any criminal charge,
| bat by presentment. indictment or impeach-
mento And in Section 10Th. That the ir, E.
men Of this State have a right 10 keep and
| to bear arms for their common Defence 1t
is .of universal notoriety.' that under tht Sc
! provisions of the Constitution OF 1895, the
| free negro did vote, did .'bave right TO keep
and TO bear arms, and was possessed of all
the rights which attached to the class denom-
| mated .'freemen,n and that he could net be
! deprived of any one of those rights, except
| in the manner prescribed.
We come now TO notice in what particular
| the Constitution of 1896 has been altered, or
rather how the rights, lmmunities and privi-
! leges of the 'frreman" mentioned in said
/ Constitution have been abrogated or re-
strained by the convention which assembled
ION the third Monday in May, A. ID. 1884,
| for the purpose ct revising and amending
| Tor ehangiDg) the Constitution
Upon a somewhat careful examination, /
/ discover but two of the rights which attached
/ to .'fr.emen," under the old constitution
! abolished or in any way intrrfercd with by
! the provisions of the new. In the Dcclara-
lion of Rights, Section s. we find the appel
! iatiOn "ireeman" retained to designate the
ciass to whom certain privileges aud immu-
mites attached, and these are the same rights
| treated of in the Old Constitution where the
same term is employed. The section reads
thus-"TKa no FREE1AS shall Be taken or I'm
pTiSoned, d,sssized Of has freehold, liberties
privileges or ollficed OF exied, or IN any nsdIaer
destroyed, depriptd Of has i.e, liberty or props,
IL. bus By ls Judgment Of hs Pe.rs, or fhe taar Of
/ tie Lzad.H Section l4-.That no freeman
| shalt be put to answer any criminal charge
| but by prcsentment, indictment or impeach-
ment.,
Here you will perceive the same rights are
| spoken of and the same language used 10
| designate them as inthe old Constitution: the
! same appellation too is used TO signify the
class TO whom they attached. ii therefore by
l the judicial decisions, aud universal consent
OF all, the negro Was included in this class
under The old Constitution is he not also un
der the newt But we have additional and
positive proof that the framers IF our pres-
ent fundamental law did intend TO include
che free negro in the class 10 whom the rights
i ,..ntions.l =, sae.tons = aud II tsaion,r They