Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-11-22

q
require posse other aid to execute civil pro,
cess. Our bench OF Judges have executed
their duties in a manner which would nave
given lustre to the Judiciary of any period IN the
History of the world. The steadness with which
our Judges have held the scales of justice has at
last exto: ted praise from those who at hrsf
studied to malign them. A few of the agents OF
the Freedmen's Bureau, and, L grieve to say. a
few of our own people who seek to propltlate the
favor of our conquerors by furnishing aliment to
their unjust prejudices, have sought to make the
impression, at the North, that freedmen and Union
men could not have justice at the hands OF ou1
Courts. To this end emissaries have been en-
poyed to traverse the country and record er pd7te
statements to cast odium on the administration OF
iiustice-petitions have been cOvertly got up by
some of our own citizens and sent to the President
of the United States, charging disloyalty to our
people and favOritsm to our Courts, to emDltteI
against US the virtuous classes of the North
Amongst us these Vaccinations are well under
stood. The yirtuous and intelligent men
| of the North who have settled among US, and
especially the soldiers who stood in front of the
fight, On both Sides in the late conflict OF arms,
despise these ISLANDERS. Through the agency OF
whole-souled men public opinion, it is hoped will
soon reach healthy state. Our Judges, unmoved
| by these unworthy imputatiOns, and unaWed by
intimations that they would be suspended from
the exercise OF their functions if their adjudca-
tons did not accord with the dominant power, have
silenced SANDER itself. No murmur is now heard
against the fairness with which justice is admins
tered in our Courts. The fearful increase of
crime the natural sequent of civil war in which
disrespect for the rights Of non-combatants was
authoritativey countenanced, if not encouraged,
is being rapidly repressed, ard reverence for JUS
| tice is having its natural triumph. Our Lcglsla-
| tive Department has been anXously endeavOrinS
to alter our Code to suit novel situation, and
| to bring order out of the chaos produced by the
late CONFUSION. This review CT national at
fairs brings to the present period. In June last
| | received from the Honorable William II. Seward,
Secretary of State of the United States commu-
nication herewith transmitted to you. covering an
atteSted copy of joint resolution of Congress,
proposing fourteenth article amendment
to the Constitution of the United States. 1t pro-
poses:
First That cali persons born or naturalized in
the United States, subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens Of the United States and Of
the State wherein they reside
Second. That ono State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or i'm
munties of citizens of the United States"
Third Thai no State shall deprive any person
Of life, liberty or property without due process Of
law, deny to any person within it's jurisdiction
the equal protection of its laws"
Fourth. That representatives shall be ap-
portioned among the several States &C
cording to their respective numbers, count
ing the whole number of persons IN each
State excluding Indians not taxed. Butwhen the
right to vote at any election for the choice of cleo
tors for President and Vice President of the Uni
ted States, Representatives in Congress, the eX-
ecutive and Judicial officers OF State or the
members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to
any of the male inhabitants of such State, being
twentyOne years of age and citizens of the United
States, in any way abridged, except for partiCi-
patton in rebellion other crime the basis of rep
resentation therein shall be reduced i'll the pro-
portion which the number of such male citizens
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
tWenty-One years of age i'll such State"
Fifth. That . no person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, electOr of Presi-
dent ana Vice President or hold any office, civil
or military, under the United States under any
State, who, having previously taken an oath, as
member Of Congress, or as an officer of the Uni
ted States, or as member of any State Legisla-
ture, executive or judicial officer OF any
State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in instruction or re-
bellIon against the same, or given aid or comfort
to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by II
vote of twO-thirds of each House, remove such
disability
Sixth. That "validity of the public debt of the
United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing instruction or rebellion,
shall not be questioned
Seventh That &C neither the United States nor
any State, shall assume c. pay any debt or obi
cation incurred in ali IF Instruction rebellion
against the United States, or any claim for the
loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts Obllg atOns and claims shall be held illegal
and void
8th. That the Congress shall have power to
enforce by appropriate legislation, the provisions
of this article
The Constitution provides that " the House of
Representatives shall be composed of members,
chosen every second year by the people of the
several States" and that s. the Senate of the Uni
ted States shall be composed of two Senators from
each State' This proposition is not made to us
by Congress so composed; this State, with
eleven others, being denied representation IN the
body which proposed thus to amend the funda-
mental law. 1t was the clear intention OF the Con-
stitution that every State should have right to
representation in Congress proposing alterations
in the original articles of compact and, on this
account alone, no State pretending to have rights
under the Constitution. can, with proper, scru-
pulOusnesS or dignity, ratlfy amendment thus
proposed. 1t is remarkable that this proposed
amendment contemplates, under one article, to
change the Constitution in eight particulars, some
of them altogether homogeneous, to be ratified as
a arltOle. We are not allowed to ratify such of
them we approve, and reject those we disap-
prove. This is the first attempt to introduce the
vice of omnibus legislation into the grave matter
of changing the fundamental law. In 1889, Con-
gress proposed to the States pursuant to the 5th
article, of the original Constitution, twelve new
articles, amendments. Ten of these were rati-
fed by three-fourths of the States. The resolu-
ton, by which these articles submitted to
the States, authorizes the State to ratify all or
any Of Nen.'" Ten of them were ratilied-two
were rejected.
Each of the other three amendmendments which
have been adopted, to wit the EIererh, recon-
mended in 1794-the ItCelftt in 1903-and the Ttir
tee2ttt in 1856 was confined to one matter
To some of the provisions of this proposed Four
tee'th article constitutionally, submitted to us,
there would probably be no objection. TO others
or to the Heterogeneous whole-it is hoped the
State will never give her assent.
commentary on all of the proposed amend
nately long few remarks, on one or
two of them, may notbe inappropriate
Under our laws, made in conformity to the COnsti-
tuition of the United States. every of the fol
lowing State officers, who entered on the discharge
Of his duties prior to the Goth day of May, 1861,
took the oath to support the Constitution of the
United States viz: the Governor, Judges of the
Supreme and Superior Courts, Public Treasurer,
Secretary of State, Comptroller, Justices of the
Peace Shcritfs Clerks of the County and Superior
Courts, Clerks and Masters in Equity, Clerk of the
Supreme Court, Cons tables, County Trustees, Cor
Oners, Registers, Eutry-takors, Processioners
Rangers Standard-keepers, Surveyors, every Off
of the Militia, Attorney General State and
County Solicitors, every member of the General
Assembly, and every other officer holding any Of
flee of trust profit in this State. Every lawyer
likewise required to take it, though the right
to practice law has not been held to be office of
trust profit. The persons who had held these
Offices prior to the comprise vast proportion
of the population of the State. All Postmasters
and others who had held office under the United
States, had also taken this oath. These classes
embraced the great body of the intelligence Of the
State.
When war had been inaugurated-whe one
section confronted the other in military conflict
when personal security compelled obedience to
those in de f0cO authority, who of all these clas-
ses of officers, who remained III the State did not
join his own section in the fight give aid and
comfort in the technical sense of this phrase or
in the sense which future Interpretation may as
sign to it, to those who did join in it Scarcely a |
ms nS bn ion To-