New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-12-26

juya eri,as, expressed by one OF my predeeenoTs)
without, telling whit PARTICULAR rights they are nor what reis
tion they hsve.i any with citizenship And they suggest
without affirming that there may be different grades Of citizen
ship Of higher and lower degree point Of legal vftue and
efficacy one grade ain the Of the Constitution and
another inferior grade made by State aud not governed BY
the Constitution.
In my opinion the Constitution the word citizen only
express the political quality ofe individual in his relations
to the nation decre that he is member Of the body poll
tic ard bound TO by the reciprocal Obligation oil allegiance
tho side and protection the other And nave 10
knowledge ofony other Kind political citizenship higher or
lower .a al OF national Of any other sense in which the
word Las been used in the Constitution can be used prop
ey in the laws Of the United States The Phrase citizen
of the United sta,es" without addition qualification means
neither more nor less than member Of the nation And all
such are politically ard legally elus.hc child In The cradle
aud Its father tho Senate equally citizens Of the United
States, And needs argument to prove Tia. every citizen
OF State IT, necessarily citizen Of the United staie and
il is equally clear that every citizen Of the United states
i, citizen Of the particular State in which he Is domiceL
And a. to voting and holding Office as that privilege is not
essential to citizenship the deprivation Of 1t by law is not
pya.ion Of citizenship No more so IN the case Of
nesro than IN case Of white child.
In common speech the word citizen, with or less o.
truth and pertnolcy has variety of meanings Sometimes
4, IL used In with soldier; sometimes with farmer or
country sometimes with alien OF orefpe speaAins"
particular nbn ask Is he citizen or sodieri meaning
/, he engaged H. civil OF military pursu' is be citizen or
country meaning. does be live in the city or In the
country Il he citizen alien meaning, is he rem
Der Of our body polite Of ether nation The fret
two rfedces relate only TO the pursuits and to the place OF
abode of he person. The las; always and wholly political
aud concerns only tie political and governmental relations oil
the individual Aud is only in this last sense the political
that the VOID used in the Constitution aud statutes Of
the United States
We havo natural born citizens Constitution article 2 sec
tion 81 not made by law otherwise but born Ana ms
class ~. large sjsy IN fact tie Of our citizens
or all others exceptions specially provided for by law
As they become citizens 10 the natural way by BIRTH 20 they
remain iycns duiiGs their natural lives unless ~ ihe own
voluntary act they expsrste themselves ala become e
Ems or sutjecis OF smother nation For we have no
law 10. the Frerch haye) to decizenze citizen who has
become such either the natural process Of birth or by tue
legal process Of adoption And in this connection the Cor'
n,ion say. not one word and furnishes not hint Ia rea
ton to the color the ancestral race o. the natural BON
citizen" Whatever may have been said In the opinions Of
Judges and Law yes and in State statutes about negroes
muattoe. ard persons Of color the Constitution h wholly
scn, upon that subject The Copsi'ui'n Itself does not
m,ke tie citizens it is in fact made by he) Il only In
tends apd such Of them
AID poyid fer the naturalization Of such Of them as were
slenforeisnbornmakins the latter sr nature viii
elbow Ike tho former.
Ard am not aware any provision Ia laws TO warrant
as In presumu9 the existence, in this country OF class Of
persons intermediate between citizens and aliens In England
there Is uch clearly defined by law and called den
zsn denizen (ssy Sir Wiism Blackstope) IL an alien
born but who La. Obtained dnaions rSs letters patent
mex him an English subject hgh ard incommu icable
branch OF the royal prerogaye donzen IL In sind OF
middle Ate between alien snd Natural born subject aud
rartske. OF both Il them"-(Shsrswood's b. Conn., ia
IL this country know Of but one legal authority tenens'o
show tho existence Of such class smOrg On- Of my
20. a. nufu hat
there my he such class and ,hp free cooTtd persons may
bo IT, Yet in tia, opinion he declared that
free man Of color native Of this country be sdnited
70 the privileges Of preemPouer under the 10Th section Of
the act lh September. 1871" And that act declares
that PIE ptioner must be either citizen 4 the United
States person wi had declared Lis intention TO become
citizen requiisd By the naturalization laws or couIse
tie coored have besn citizen he could not
hve entered the land under that act Of Congress ii not
citizen then, BY virtue Of lis native bhh he never could be-
con by force law for our laws eIie-d he pv ges Of
naturalization to such pef.ons only aliens. bcug free
white persons" ana he neither; rot alien, bocau'e
natural the country, and not free white person, be-
eause, though nee, ooE'e sse-y "A man Of color"
1t hat the discussion Of this sea. subec, Of
neioaa zenzhp been mach embarrassed and obscured
h the fact that it Is best with artificial difficulties, Insic
TO il sad having little relation TO s great po
cal and national characteristics Aud these dG;n,e &
seems mr. flow msinly from two ,opca Frs, the exist
among Of large class Of people whose physical quail
ties vsby dstinuisA them iroia the Of our people snl
marx different race and who for the part held 10
ollsge. This visible difference and erye connection pref,
en-. dcultie. hard be conqueed for they unayoilaby
lead 10 more complicated system OF Government both egis
ls'iye tnl administrative than would DO required II al our
people were Of one race and uudngushbs by outward
sgns And Thu without counting the eec, upon tho opui
passions and pndice o. men, Second, the common haiti Of
many Of our lest and learned The wo aptitude o!
n tier
cal status and governmental relation Of people By stand
ards drawn from the laws and history Of ancient Greece and
Rome who think, taking sufficient account Of The
organic difference between their Oovenmen,s and onrs
very learned writer upon the politics Of Greece eeren
Banoos translation 1867 informs thu; the essential
character Of the political form assumed by Greece
sisted in the circumstances that tie FREQ States which
formed we're nothing but cities with their districts. md t
constitutions were, consequently, only forms Of city
rnen This point Of view he learned author must
never be lost sisIt Of"
And the wise observation Of tho suhor applies to i,ul
well; for the earliest; free cities Of Italy bat Grcean
colonies which bringing along with them the higher civil
zson of their parent country aud s better notions Of civil
poity) by degrees dfued the Hsh Of knowledge,
squeny e love OF liberty among tie then bafbarous people
Of the Italian pooiaula Tho saDs pfcAuS by the good
Itple founded cities Of their upon the Groocisn
models. and each Italian city bscsge independent
State How long this condition Of things continued know
not bat continued until Rome ou'sc" Ell the neishDoihs
communier cnd ,ubdued then all ho Oreeian colonies In
cuddl under power s! the ely ruled ssd from time
10 time granted to such it would (snd Withheld from such
would tito Of Roman. and tho rights Of Roman cs
In process Of time when the dominant power Of Rome hsd
eYoandei owe. Greece aud Western Asia the same cy po
va, sl continued As 1t had been ia Italy. so It in
Greece ara Asia In tho countries aud kingdoms sublued ~
he Roman Ar. snd transferred into Roman Pfovlnce the
same system Of Government still prevailed. Rome, by her
proC osu other GOyonos ruled the conquered nstions
viii, absoluto sway Aud the ruling at Rome, whether