Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-28
Associated Press Report.
The Veto Message.

To THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
regret that the bill which has passed
both Houses of Congress, entitled Z" An act
to protect all persons in the Emitted States
in their civil rights, and to furnish them
means of their vindication," contains pro-
visions which cannot approve consistent
ly with my sense of duty to the whole peo-
pie and my obligations TO the Constitution
of the United States. / am therefore con-
strained to return it to the Senate, the
house in which it originated, with my OBJ
jections to its becoming a law.
By the first section of the bill, all persons
born iu the United States and not subject to
any foreign power, excluding Indians not
taxed, are declared 10 be citizens of the
United States. This provision comprehends
the Chinese of the Pacific States, Indians
subjec. to taxation, the people called gipseys,
as well as the entire race designated as
blacks, people of color, negroes, mulattoes,
and persons of African blood. Every
individual Of these races born in
the United States is, by the bill,
made a citizen of the United States
1t does not purpOFt to declare or confer any
other right of citizenship than federal citi-
zenship. 1t does not propose to give this
class Of persons any status of citizens of
States except that which may result from
their status as citizens of the United States.
The power to confer the right of State citi-
zenship is Just as exclusively with the sew
eral States as the power to confer the right
of federal citizenship is with Congress. The
right of federal citizenship thus to be con-
ferred in the several excepted races before
mentioned is now, for the first time, pro-
posed to be given by law. II, as is claimed
by many, all persons who are native born
already are by virtue of the Constitution
citizens of the United States, the pas
sage Of the pending bill cannot be necessary
to make them such. II, on the other hand,
such persons ara not citizens, as may be as
sumed from the proposed legislation to make
them such, the grave question presents
itself whether, where eleven Of the thirty
six States are unrePresented in Congress at
this time, it is sound policy to make our
entire eolored population and other except
ed classes citizens of the United States.
Four million of them have Just emerged
from slavery into freedom. Can it be res-
sonable to suppose that they possess the re-
quisite qualifications to entitle them to all
the privileges and immuniucs c. citizen
ship of the United States. Have the people
of the several States expressed such a con-
viafion? 1t may also be asked whether it
is necessary they should be declared citi-
zens IN order that they may be secured in
the enjoyment of the civil rights proposed
to be conferred by the bill.
Those rights are, by Federal - we'll as by
State laws, secured to all doL eiled aliens
and foreigners even before the completion
of the process of naturalization, and it may
safely be assumed that the same enactments
are Sufficient to give like protection and
| benefits to those for whom this bill provides
special legislation. Besides, the policy Of
the Government from It's o. n to the pres
ent time seems to have | N that persons
who are strangers to and upfsmilisr with