Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1864-02-20
Qualification or yOtcrs.-.Letter From
Attorney General May nard.
ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE,
Nashville, Feb. 3, 1864

.
the qualification of voters at the coming
March election, beg TO submit copy of a
letter addressed by me, on the Sth of De.
cembcr last, to Mr.. John L. Spurlock, OF
Warren county, and TO call your attention
10 the concluding paragraph 1t is us fol-
lows:
"Thc constitution of the State, in prescribing the
qualifications Of the voter requires that he be ~
citizen of the United States The fair intorprcta-
ion manifcstly is that he be- who recognizes and
avows his allegiance to the government Of the United
States in other words, luyal and not disloyal
'iti2on, 1t will clearly be the duty of the officers
persons holding the elections 10 observe this con-
atutiona provision, and permit no 10 vote whose
hvsty is not established When 'hcrs is any doubt
tie oath of allegiance to the United States taken
ail subscribed before the judges, would be convc-
nent test and when taken in good faith, with an
honest intention to observe it, ought TO be conclu-
syci not otherwise
The Governor, in conformity with this
opinion, issued proclamation on the 2Gth
Of January, which you Of course have seen.
pNs.ribng the oath Of allegiance to be ta-
ken. The form and spirit of the oath. are
evcelNcnt better think than any other of
tie various forms which have, on different
OCCASIONS, been prescribed, But were it
Otherwise, il is matter within the Gov
crnors province to decide and his decision
must stand, Observe, however, the taking
Of this oath is not conclusive evidence of
loyalty, unless taken in good faith uih an
hpaeSt intention TO oJserue IT, If the conduct
and declaration Of II party are such as to
show that he would take the oath with no
Intention Of observing it, with feeling Of
hostility towards the United States, and
merely to gain admission to the ballot box,
hr ought not to be allowed to take it, or if
inadvertently administered, it should not
give the perjured traitor passport to the
polls,
Since writing the letter to Mr.. Spurlock
the Presidents amnesty proclamation has
been received, and new questions are raised;
shall one who has taken the amnesty oath
be required, also, to take the oath Of allegi-
alreY The effect of the amnesty oath, as
declared by the President, is that "a full
pardon is hereby granted to them, and each
of them persons who have directly or in
directly participated in the existing rebel
Gqn) with the restoration Of all rights of
property, except ms to slaves, aud in prop.
erty cases whore rights of third parties sh ali
have intervcnod" This and nothing more
1t aonfers no immunity from obligations
thai rest upon men always loyal and in no
nedl Of an amnesty, who have never direct
ly, hor by implication, participated in the
present rebellion. BY taking it, the disloyal
mah is made no better surely than one who
has always been true to his Government
Anl if to keep treason from the ballot box
it j found convenient to prescribe the oath
Of allegiance, even to the soldiers fighting
and bleeding under the stars and stripes in
detnce Of the country, before he shall be
permitted to vote, shall not as much bo re
qulred of one who. it may be, has been
fighting under the Rebel flag for the dcstruc.
th of his country, although by taking the
oath of amnesty he has Obtained full par
don for his crimes, and has secured his prop
erty from confiscation. Should the pardoned
R,bel be more favored at the polls than the
loral man who needs no pardon2 This is
tln question, and it requires no answer.
Another question may seem to present
myrc difficulty. BY the Constitution of
Tennessee the voter must have been, for six
months preceding the election, "a citizen Of
the county where he may offer his vote. -
The Supreme Court has docided* in respect
to this requirement that an alien is not en-
titled to vote until six months after he has
been made citizen of the United States by
naturalization, even though he may have
resided in the country for years previous
How does the pardoncd Rebel differ in this
respect from the alien2 Though originally
citizen of the United States, he has by
every act Of which he was capable, dcnuded
himself of his citizenship. BY his vote for
separation his oath of allegiance to the
Southern Confcdcracy," by taking up arms
against the United States himself, or urging
others to do so privately or in public speech
cs, and through the press, and furnishing
them with money and subsistence while en-
gagged in armed hostility to the United
States by denouncing loyal citizens Of the
United States MS alien enemies, imprisoning
their persons and confscating their property
as such, by scizing the property, and debte
OF Northern men, in defiance of the consti-
tutional provisions that "tho citizens of each
State shall be entitled to all privileges and
mmunitics of citizens in the several States,
BIZ voluntary eXpatriation, fleeing at the
approach of the flag, and taking refuge with
ts enemies the Rebel has renounced his al
lgiance and repudiatcd the character of an
American citizen. And while ho has not
relieved himself from liability to punish
mpnt for these acts, whenever the Govern
ment may have tho disposition and the
power, he has absolvcd the Government
of its obligation to protect him, and has
thrown away all his other rights as a citi
zen. The Government, assuming at it's dis
cretion the character of sovereign or of bcl-
ligcront, may treat him as criminal or as
an enemy. If by an act of amnesty accept
Cd by him, he returns and rcassumes his
citizenship, with the consent of the Govern
ncnt, does not his present character date
only from that time, assuming his own po-
siton which rs against him it is proper to
do2 Prior to his taking the oath of amnes-
tr, he denied that he was citizen Of the
United States, and claimed to be citizen of
another Government. Now he avows him
self citizen of the United States. When
did his present citizenship begin? Accord
a., 20 lie ooooupt ,rbnn bn took tbo oath