Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-04-02

the Constitution of the United States,
every State bad the undoubted right to
confer on whomsoever it pleased the
character Of citizen, and to endow him
with all its rights. But this character of
course was confined to the boundaries of
the State, and gave him no rights or
privileges in other States beyond those Sc.
cured to him by the law of nations and the
comfy of States. Nor have the several
States surrendered the power of confer
ring these rights and privileges, by
adopting the constitution of the United
States. Each State may still confer them
upon an alien, Or any one it thinks proper,
or upon any class or description of per-
sons yet be would not be a citizen, ia the
sense in which that word is used in the
constitution of the United States, nor en-
Titled to sue as such in one of its courts,
nor to the privileges and immanities of
citizen in the other States. The rights
which he would acquire would be restric-
ted to the state which gave them. The
Constitution has conferred on Congress,
the right to establish an uniform rule of
naturalization, and this right is evidently
exclusive and has always been held by
this court to be so. Consequently no
State since the adoption of the Constitu-
ton, can by naturalizing an alien, invest
him with the rights and privileges secured
to citizen of state under the Federal
Government, although so far as the State
alone soas concerned, he uoald undoubtedly
be entitled to the rights Of a citiscr,, and
clothed a0lth all the rights and insmaanities,
sohach the Constitution and laos Of the
State attached to that character" 10Th
How. P. 400.
The power of State to confer right
OF citizenship, so far as it alone is con-
cerned, and which does not amount to
full citizenship of the United States, could
not be more plainly stated than it is in
the above extract. It is true, however,
that further on in the opinion, on page
422, the court says: -" So too person
I" may be entitled to vote by the law of
State, who is not citizen even of the
" State itself. And in some of the States
" of the Union foreigners not naturalized,
" are allowed to vote. And the State
may give the right to free negroes and
" mulattoes, out that does not make them
" citizens of the State, and still less o. the
" United States"
Still what is here said does not detract
at all from the broad doctrine stated in the
| former extract. 1t means no more than
this, that the State may confer the right
to vote without necessarily making those
on whom 1t is conferred, citizens of the
State even. This may possibly be true.
But the power of the State being conce-
ded, to confer the rights of citizenship,
within itself, upon whomsoever it pleases,
the question whether it he's done so or
not, is mere question of intention, to be
determined by proper construction of its
own constitution and laws, and one also
is to determine for itself.
This being So, although it may be pessi-
sible for a State to confer the right of
voting on certain persons without max.
! ing them citizens, yet l should think
it would require very strong evil
dences of contrary intention, to
overcome the inference of an intention
to create citizenship where the right of
suffrage is conferred. The remarks OF
Justice Curtis, in hio dissenting opinion ia
the bred Scott case, Is How. p. 5sl, state
the true effect which ought to be given to
the existence Of this right. He says
But further, though as shall presently
"more fully state, do not think the en-
"Joyment OF the elective franchise essen
"tial to citizenship, there can be no doubt
sit is one of the chiefest attributes of cit-
"zenship under the American Constitu
"tion and the just and constitutional
possession OF this right is decisive evil
"dence of citizenship. The provisions
"made by constitution on this subject,
must therefore be looked to, as bearing
"directly upon the question what persons
"are citizens under that constitution u
And this position is entirely in harmony
with all the established definitions of the
word " Citizen" Indeed it is often used
in general sense as meaning only per-
manent resident, That is one of the def
nitions given by Webster. So in Field ct
al o. Andreon ct al, 7th Maryland 2O9 it
was held that resident alien, who had
not declared his intentions, and was en-
titled to no political rights under the laws
OF the State, was still Citizen" within
the meaning of the attachment laws of
that State against " absconding citizens"
Yet it Is true that in a political sense
the word citizen implies the possession of
political rights. But the rights of voting
and holding Office are always given as the
most complete and perfect attributes of
citizenship. Thus Webster gives the fol-
lowing definition 6 In the United States
a person native or naturalized, who has
the privilege of exercising the elective
franchise, or the qualifications which ena-
BILE him to vote for rulers, and to purchase
and hold real estate" Bourier's defini-
ton is as follows: zone who, under the
Constitution and laws of the United States.
has right to vote for representatives in
Congress, and other public officers. and
who is qualified to fill Offices in the gift of
the people," Burrill gives the same def.
milton.
Bearing in mind then that the INQUIRY
relates only to such rights of citizenship
as this State could confer, with respect to
| itself alone, how should it be determined
upon our constitution and laws with re-
spect to the class of persons to which the
| petitioner IN this case belongsl The an
swer must be that there is no room for
doubt that it was the intention to confer
upon such persons, as far as it was possible
for the State to do SO, the full rights of
State citizenship. In the first place, those
persons had an equal voice with any 9th.
er citizens in establishing the constitution
itself. By section 9, article IA, they were
authorized to vote upon its adoption or
rejection. By the article On suffrage,
they are made qualified electors,
and are eligible to all Offices
except as governor, lieutenant governor
or judges. If the granting of these rights,
the right to participate in establishing the
very framework of the government, of an
equal voice in choosing all officers under