The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1866-05-09

who hold stho two political depart
mcnts Of this Government are most false
|aad insiacerc, or else they agrcc thu
the disloyul should be sternly excluded
by "scvrre ordcals," from Governmcn
until they bring forth fruits Of rcpcn'
tancc."
What makes the inquiry upon which
now enter, rs to the right to exclude
the disloyal from citizenship and from
voting, Of such vital moment just now
is the sad fact that in at Ieas. ten oi
;hcsa States there j. tho highest reason to
fear that moro thin hulflhc whito iuhabi.
tants desire the destruction or,his nation
The people could not learn u fact, 40
utterly unnatural and appalling, until
each household spelled it-Ou:, letter by
letter, line by line, for itself. But the
nation did learn it at last, when every
family read i, in the marble feature Of
its own slain.
" For there wns not house in which there
was no: one DEAL"
TO again refuse to believe it as We
did before, and to decline again to act
upon it as true is onl J stark madness.
For four years aud half that almost en-.
tire people strovc for that destruction
with fcrocty Of will which made the
purposes OF Danton and Robcspicrre
almost timid, and with a cruelty OF exc
cution' which makes the September
slaughtcrs Of the prisons almost mercy.
And row, when the grass has not..yct
covered the graves where sleep the vic
Tins Of this immense crime, and when,
by no act, or speech or sign, tho grcat
mass Of the authors Of it have evon
prortsscd regrets for tho past, except
regrets for the failure, and when they
avow no new desires for tho future, this
nation must other accept this most un.
welcome lact Of general disloyalty or
else the nation cannot live.
Mr.. Speaker, has the Constitution,
now that actual war for tho attainment
Of the nations destruction has been
crushed out, deprived the Government
Of all power to accept this fact, md to
provide against the imminent peril to
the nation which i, imports? To show
that the Constitution has rot is the
work Of this my hour.
TO be fully and accurately apprchcnd'
cd, let me stutc now what | arn about
to maintain and what | shall not main
tain.
do not think that the Federal Gov.
ernmcnt has any power to exclude by
Inv my civilized native o: tho United
Who nas sI" NOT rTSis 3Tinissd" hjD
allegiance to the United States.
| do not maintain that any citizen
can. by any ac, Of 1isloy"Ity or by dis
carding his allegiance. dives: himself OF
the obligations Of the allegiance which
he owes his country; but, on the con-
,rary. hold tia: he cannot.
! do not hold that the United States
can regulate the enjoyment Of tho elcc'
tive franchise in tho organized States so
as TO prescribe who, OF them who are
citizens, shall he permitted to vote. |
think the second section Of the first ar.
tic!e Of the Constitution gives this power
to the States.
What | do maintain. and shall try to
establish, is that the United States is n
supreme nationality, with the sovereign
powcr usually held by nations to define
the obligations Of citizenship, and do
maad the paramount allegiance of all its
citizens, in return for national protec.
ton; and tha, in yirtuo OF! such soYer'
ci.uiY. the nation has the power By la"
to declare what gross, open and paIpa'
bic acts of nEjura,ion and "bandonment
Of the obligations Of citizenship sha'i
work u lnrlri,ure Of all the political
rights and powers Of citizenship in
Guiding the elective franchise; and may
also prescribe what shall be deemed sui
firicnt evidence Of return to true latin
and allegiance to his country. such as 10
entit!c him to demand the rights OF .
citizen.