Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-08-03
RUTLAND HERALD.
THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1866.
The Chief Justice ON Negro suf-
0rAge.

. defined his position" on the negro sur
frage question. Considering the exalted
judicial Office he fills, his views are OF
the highest Importance. He did not
adopt the state suicide theory, but
maintained that the Southern states
have in no sense been out OF the Union.
The conspiracy to oyerturn the govern
ment has been destroyed; slavery has
been destroyed everything else remains,
The Southern states and their eonstitu-
tons and laws remain, but they are
without legislative and executive Off
GERS. The people Of those states have
only TO re. organise and elect state officers
and members of congress. In other
words the governmental machinery OF
the states has been temporarily obstruct-
ed. The machinery remains as it was
before the rebellion, and the people have
only to set IL again in motion. So far
the Chief Justices theory Is the same
as that of President johnson. From
this point however they diverge. The
Chief Justice says that as slavery has
been abolished by the emancipation pro-
clamation, which will be maintained
and enforced as legitimate act Of war,
the freed slaves necessarily become
citizens, and to them belong all the
rights and privileges of citizenship, from
the very nature of the case and without
any additional decree, executive or other,
The suffrage is thus the right of the
freedmen in all the reclaimed states, and
neither the president, the congress, nor
any other power can exclude them from
that right. If the other judges Of the
Supreme Court should agree with the
Chief Justice, the freedmen will obtain
the suffrage in spite of president, con-
gress, and state constitutions or laws
They have only to claim the right and
appeal to the Supreme Court for its main
tenance. (Why could not this be as
well done by the black citizens Of the
Northern states 2?
as the constitutions and laws of the
Southern states remain as they were be-
fore the rebellion providing always that
slavery is abolished by that legitimate
war measure, the emancipation procla-
mation), therefore the limitations of
suffrage existing in those constitutions
and laws remain. The national execu-
tive can exclude from the ballot box |
certain individuals as punishment for
their treason, but cannot e@tend the suf-
frage to those excluded by the state |
constitutions and laws. The people of
the states who were legal voters at the
time Of the breaking out of the rebel
lion, under the state constitutions and
laws, are the legal voters now, except
such as are deprived of their former |
legal rights as the pcna,sJ
treason. To them belongs the reorganiz-
alton of the state governments and to
them belongs the extension Of the suf-
frage to the freedmen by amendment OF
their state constitutions and laws.
We have no good reason to believe
that President johnson is not as favor
ably inclined to the extension of the suf- |
frage to the blacks, as is Chief Justice |
Chase. But they draw different conclu-
sions from the same premises, Pfesi- |
dent Johnson believes his power in the |
matter is limited that he cannot
override state constitutions and fores
the loyal white voters Of the South |
to extend the suffrages to negro
citizens. Chief Justice Chase believes
that as the freed slaves become citizens
by virtue of the proclamation abolishing
slavery, ali the rights and rrsy.irgys VI
citizenship ..-~V.uding the right of suf-
frage, attach to them at once,
There is no difference Of opinion
among unprecedented people upon the
general proposition that all citizens,
without distinction Of race or color,
should be treated alike-should be put
upon an equality In respect to their
legal rights. Whether the right OF suf-
frage should be made universal, or
should be restricted 70 such, without
distinction of color, as can read and
write, is question about which there is
difference of opinion. In either case,
equality Of suffrage between the races
would be secured. How this equal sui
frage can be rightly attained is q prob
lem concerning which, as seen above.
those high in official position and
whose opinions are entitled to great
consideration, materially differ, THAI
the problem will in due time be satlsfac-
torily solved we have no doubt. Let the
people possess their souls with patience.
rs l-y-At Sheffield, that notorious hater
of America, Mr.. Roebuck, made long
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