Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-06-09
POLITICAL EQUALITY."l

"The absolute equality of all men before the
the leaders of the movement that eliminated in
the Cleveland Convention are in the habit of point
ing their most effective sdjurations. If by this
maxim they mean that every human being is enti-
tied to equal protection in the enjoyn ent of the
civil rights secured by the laws of tue land, they
But if they intend by this phrase that all men
should enjoy an equality of political privileges it
is evident that they make the premise Of their
syllogism altogether too vague to justify the
logical predicate which they derive from it.
When the "absolute equality of all men" is af-
to signify that "the absolute equality of all
men and children is equally matter of natural
right under this head7 If not, why not? For
if in respect Of political privileges, there may pro-
perly be determinations founded on considerations
of sex age, it is obvious that this whole ques-
tion of political privilege passes from the sphere
of natural and universal right into the province of
human convention and arrangement, according to
some conserved rules of right and propriety de-
pendent on other elements than . mere computa.
tion of polls. Equality of civI rights under the
law which ascertains and appoints the status Of
every subject of government is one thing equa-
liyof political privieges respects the right of
suffrage, eligibility to Office, &C. is quite another
and different thing, though, from the confusion
of speech which prevails in the use of these terms
it would seem that there is in many minds no little
s,pfusion of ideas on the subject II is no viola
ton of civil equality or of natural justice to deny
equality of political privileges to those who are
really disqualified by any cause, whether it be
by their sex, their age, or other iucapacty
for the wholesome exercise of such privileges
Even among the privileged political class all voters
are not equally eligible to all Offices in the United
States, but we have never heard this fact urged
being a violation of "the absolute equality of all
men before the law" which, however, it must be
held and considered to be, if this maxim portends
all that its literal terms convey But if those who
use it as party watchword could be brought to
lyze the of theirlanguage they would probably
find that under the guise of uttering very profound
philosophical truth they succeed only in enunciat-
ing very shallow ard illogical fallacy. 1t is to
be observed that many smoDg those who advocate
and those who oppose the policy OF negro suffrage
betray an equal nnrowne.s of understanding in
the grounds on which they base their respective
opinions For, in the case of masy among the ad-
herents of each party ohis subject, the opinions
which they severally hold are nothing more or
better than prejudice-on the part of those who
oppose the policy, prejudice against the negro,
inspired by feeling of mere caste, which is as
senseess it is unjust, and on the part Of those
who espouse the doctrine as one universally true,
prejudice in favor Of the negro which, in its de-
sire to confer all possible political privilege upon
him, without regard to his present qualifications to
enjoy them, ignores the whole theory which the
practical exercise of those privileges is based by
the State Those who cheaper the elective fran
chise, by lowering the standard of qualification
necessary to its exercise, nvert the order of true
reform, which consists, as has been often said, in
levelling up and not in evelling dozen.