Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1866-04-18

reference 70 the PRESIDENT OF the United otates,
as to accuse him OF quibbling and demagogueing
and playing the mere politician, in sending We
to message to the Congress of the United States
The President also makes some other allusions to
this bill of the same character for instance ne
speaks of the impropriety Of marriages between
whites and blacks; he then goes on to say,
don't say that this bill repeals State laws on the
subject Of marriages Wen, then, 10. VIVA, pu..
an ad eaptandnm argument, to excite PFeJuatces,
as the argument Of demagogue and poiiti-
clan. The President further says; IL 1t De
granted that Congress can repeal all State laws,
discriminating between whites and blacks on the
subject covered by this bill, why, it may be ask
ed. may not Congress repeal in the same way all
State laws discriminating between the two races
81 on the subjects Of suffrage and ofice2 If Con-
gress can declare by Law who shall hold lands.
who shall testify, who shall have capacity to
make a contract in State, then Congress can al
50, by law, declare who, without regard to race
COLOR shall have the right to sit as ajuror or as
judge, TO hold any office, and finally, TO vote In
every State and Territory Of tho United States
Perhaps the best answer, Mr. President, could
give to this would be the answer of Andrew john
son himself. He undertook to reorganizc State
Governments in the disloyal States. When he
did SO, to whom did he extend the right of suf-
frage2 To the blacks? No, sir. But he extend
ed the right of suffrage to those authorized to
vote under the laws of the States before the Rebel
lion. When urged to allow the loyal blacks to
vote, what was his answer? That he had no pow
or (; that it was unconstitutional. But he mad
power to protect them in their civil rights, and
he did protect them in their civil rights Then,
If il be true that protection in civil rights car
ries with il the right of suffrage, what becomes
of the position he assumed when he extended
civil rights to the negro all through the South as
I shall presently show, by orders issued by his
authority, and yet refused to give then the right
Of suffrage the ground that he had no constitu-
tionnl power to do it-that it was right vested
In the States, with which he could not interfere
But, sir, the grant of civil rights does not, and
did, in this country. carry with it political
rights, or more properly speaking political priv
ileges man may be a citizen In this country
without the right to vote or without the right to
old office. The right to vote and hold Office in
the State depends upon the Legislatures of the
various States. The right to hold office under
the Federal Government depends upon the Con
stitutiun of the United States. The President
must be a natural born citizen Senator Rep
resentatve, must have been a citizen of the Uni
ted States for certain number of years before
he can be elected member of either this, or the
other House of Congress so that the fact of being
citizen does not qualify person for holding
Office. necessarily nor does it necessarily author
ize him to vote Women are citizens, children
citizens but they do not exercise the elective
franchise, by virtue of their citizenship. For
eigne-s, as is stated by the President in this mes
sage before they are naturalized, are protected
in their rights enumerated in this bill The
right to contract, the right to sue, and most o.
the rights have enumerated They do not, be-
cause they possess these rights-the right to
make contract and to hold land. which is the
case in most if not all the States at PRESENT.
say they do not therefore vote. The rights emu
merated in the bill do not carry with them tho
right to vote. But sir, what rights do citizens
of the United States have? They have some. To
be a citizen of the United States carries with it
some rights. What are they? Why, sir. they
those inherent and fundamental rights which be-
long to every citizen and freeman in all countries
such as the rights enumerated in this bill. and
they belong to citizens in all the States of the
Union. The right of American citizenshipmeans
something 1t does not mean in the case Of
foreigner that when he is naturalized he is to be
left sa tha of tafe He hra
right, when duly naturaized, to so into any State
Of the United States, and submitting to its laws,
reside there, and the United States would protect
him in that right II would protect citizen Of
the Unitei States not only in one of the States
of the Union. but it will protect him in foreign
lands. In the language of Mr. Marcy when Sc
sretary OF State, citizen in foreign country is
entitled to the same protection that is extended
by that Government TO its own citizens
In the great essential rights which have emu
nerated, the rights which belong to citizens, and
are known as natural rights,are defined by Black
stone in his definition Of civil liberty to be
other than natural liberty far restrained by hu
man law. but no further than is necessary and
psdient for the general advantage of the public.
In this definition of civil liberty, it ought to be
understood, or rather expressed that the restraint
introduced by the law be equal to all, as much
50 rs the nature Of the law will admit. Equality
Of rights is the basis of the Comm onwealth as is
ssid by Kent himself. In speaking of these
rights, he says that the nature Of the individuals
may be said to be included in the personal secu-
to acquire and enjoy property. These rights have
mostly been considered, and freq quently declared,
by the people of this country to be natural, inhe
rent and inaiienable. What are they, sir' The
the right to acquire and enjoy property; and
these are declared to be inalienable rights be-
longing to every citizen of the United States.
Kent, In the second volume of his Comme taries,
says that the privileges and immunities granted
by the Constitution of the United States to the
citizens of the several States were to be confined
A. shza- - l.
and belonged of right to the citizens of all free
Governments. Such are the rights of protection
of life and liberty and the right to acquire and
enjoy property. There is a case reported in the
10Th OF johnson, which goes much further than
this, whick dicides not simply that citizen of
the United States such is entitled to protection
In these rights, but that alien enemy permit
tod to reside in the country during a time of war
II ho is allowed to reside here is to be protected
In all these rights. In giving the opinion of the
Court in that case the Court says lawful residence
implies protection and the capacity to sue and be
sued. l would like to inquire if the negro is
lawfully in this country If not, where does he
belong? By the law of nations a. alien who goes
to reside in country is entitled, so long as he
conducts himself decently, to continue to reside
there under the public protection. In the same
opinion the learned Chancellor says this is the
public law of Europe; it is International law
and any person residing in the United States is
titled to the protection of that law by the Federal
Government, because the Federal Government
has jurisdiction of such questions. And SIR if it
were not So American citizenship would be worth |
nothing. What is it worth if it does not protect
the citizen in some rights? How is it, sir, that
every person born in these United States owes al
legiance to the Government Of the United States |
Everything that he has his property his life may
be taken by the Government of the United States
In its defense or to maintain the honor of the ma
ton And can it be sir, that our ancestors strug-
gled through long war to set up this Govern
mont and that the people of our day have strug-
gled through another war to IN maintain it-that NJ.
ter all the sacrifice we have made we have got a
Government which is all-powerful to command
obedience of the citizen. but has power to af.
ford him protection . Is that all that this boast |
ed American citizenship amounts to? GO tell it.
sir, to the father whose son was starved to death