The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-05-19
Important Decision I'm Regard to the
civil Rights RiII i'm New Orleans.

of May 10th the following very important
decision on the Civil Rights bill, which
was rendered by Mr.. Justice Abel, of the
First District Court of New Orleans:
State of Louisiana rs. Il. De,rceS, j. Mel
son, ct al. First District CoWt-ChmYe,
"Bury1ary."
This is n rule upon the attorney general
of the State and the district attorney OF
the parish to show cause why this case
should not be transferred to the District
Court of the United States for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, there to be tried and
determined. There are eleven charges OF
burglary against these prisoners, and as
they involve the same consideration, they
may well be decided ut once under the
present rule.
This application rests upon the construc-
ton TO be given to an act, purportlns to be
an act of Congress, approved the - day
of -, 1866, entitled an act to protect all
persons in the United States in their civil
rights, and to furnish means for their
viiflication.
This rule involves grave considerations :
first, is there such an act Of Congress; Sc
cond, if there is, is it constitutional and
third, if there be such an act, aud it con
stitutional, have thcScpartieS brought them
selves within its provisions.
The act relied upon, not having received
the signature of the President, rests for its
validity upon the second clause OF section
seventh, first article Of the Constitution OF
the United States, which declares that
"every bill which shall have passed the
House of Representatives and the Senate
shall, before it becomes law, be presented
to the President of the United States; if
he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall
return it with his objections to the House
in which il shall have originated, who shall
enter the objections at large on their
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If,
after such considerations, two-thirdS of the
House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall
be sent, together with the objections, to
the other House, by which it shall likewise
be reconSidcrcd, and if approved by two
thirds of the House it shall become law"
The first clause of section three, article
first Of the Constitution, clearly defines
what constitutes the Senate of the United
States in these words: The Senate OF
the United States shall be composed OF
two Senators from each State, chosen by
the Legislature thereof, for six years, and
each Senator shall have a vote" The
term Senate, as used in this section, is
convertible and Synonymous, rs used in
the Constitution, with that OF blouse"
used in section seven, and means the en-
tire body, in contradstinction to "mcm-
herS present" as will clearly appear from
II al Il.h Al a.
clarcs that the "Scnatc shall have the
sole power to try all impcachmcntS; when
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on
oath or affirmation. When the President
of the United States is on trial, the Chiri
Justice shall preside, and no person shall
be convicted without the concurrence of
two-thirdS Of the members present" In
this case two-thirdS OF the members may
remove 1.-THE President. The same power
could have been granted to two-thirdS OF
the members present to make law over
the veto of the President. The law-ma-
king power is Highland tranSccndant, and
it is not OF reason that the trainers OF the
Constitution intended to vest such power
in "two-thirdS of the members present.
which may bc less than majority OF the
Senate, as in the present case. Such Il
construction would shock republican
people and impcach the wisdom OF the
founders OF the Government.
If NV premises and conclusions be cor
rect, the Civil Rights bill never became a
law. If | am incorrect, is the law conStl-
tutional? This depends upon the powers
conferred upon Congress by the several
States to regulate their internal and do
nestle affairs. If Congress has exceeded
these powers, the law is unconstitutional
and not binding upon the courts of the
country. The States, at the time OF con-
decorating, were independent sovereign
ties. They surrendered portion of their
sovereignty to the Federal Government.
The rights surrendered are defined and
fixed by charter the Constitution, and
the remainder are reserved in the States
and the people.
The founders of the Government, jealous
of encroachmcntS either by construction,
usurpation by the Federal Government, or
control of faction, at the first session, first
Congress (March, 1881 proposed two
amendments on this subject matter, which
were ratified by the States. The ninth
and tenth articles of the amendments re-
ferrcd to, read as follows:
"Article 8. The enumeration in the Con-
stitution of certain rights shall not con-
strue to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.
"Article 10. The powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are re-
served to the States respectively OF to the
people"
The Constitution Of the United States
and the laws Of Congress made in pursu-
ance thereof is the law of the land, and
binding on all the courts of the States; but
in order to be binding, Congress must be
restricted TO its delegated powers. The
right to try and punish the inhabitants of
the individual States, of whatever race or
color, for offences committed by one inha-
bitant of State against another, and to
preserve the general police and good order
of the State, was never delegated to Con-
gress, and is of the reserved powers emu
merated in amendment ten of the Consti-
tuition, which repeat:
"The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by il to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people,"
The Federal Constitution and the laws
made in pursuance thereof is the para
mount law, and while the Federal Govern
ment moves in its own sphere, is not only
paramount, but, like to the sun in the firm
ament, is the centre of power and attrac-
tion to the family of States. They, too,
in their spheres are as independent as the
stars are of the sun, from which they Dor
row their Brightness