Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-11-24

AISHIS COutdlIleu Is eAccpleu Out Oi TUE zen
eral powers of government, and shall for
ever remain inviolate." go
Can any privilege or liberty which niai
enjoyed under the Constitution he abridged
or destroyed, except under the provisions o
the instrument itself? When the people rs
semble in convention themselves, or througl
their delegates, are they not bound by tn,
Constitution ? or are they thrown back int,
anarchy, and possess the same powers whicl
we're inherent in them before goyernmen
was first organized? Could they, in form
ing new constitution, disseize any mar
from his freehold? Were they to attemp
it, would they not violate the Fundamental
law? In Il constitutional government il
there any higher law than the constitution
itself? Can the people themselves resume
the powers which they surrendered wher
the Government was originally formed
What meaning, then, shall be given to tht
sections in the declaration Of rights which
we have quoted, and to Section = of Article
XI Of the Constitution fthe people them
selves can denude citizen of his rights, lib
critics, or privileges, in any other way than
those pointed out by the Constitution, what
guarantee has he for the protection of any
OF them? 1t is not insisted that man can.
not forfeit his liberties or his privileges
This may be done in ways pointed out in
the Constitution itself. That instrument
points out two ways: 81 by the judgment Of
his peers or by the law of the land" What
is the Judgment of his peers? This means
by the verdict of jury. In all cases of con-
troverted facts he is entitled to this trial by
jury. The people themselves cannot de
prive citizen of this right. What is the
meaning of law of the land" This term
has been defined by our own Supreme Court
in many adiudicated cases. To make a sta
tute law of the land the Legislature must
have had the constitutional power to pass it,
and it must be a general and public law
equally binding upon every member of the
community. sheppard vs.. Johnson, 2 Hump.
2S5-29S). The right to life liberty and
property of every individual must stand or
fall BY the same rule or law that governs
every other member of the body polite or
land under similar circumstances. fNanzant
VS.. Waddel, Yerg. 260-27l). But it may
be said that the Legislature shall have no
power to pass such partial laws but why
may not the people themselves so alter the
fundamental law as to permit the passage of
partial laws? The answer is, that the decla-
ration OF rights is made unalterable by the
Constitution itself, and that declares how 4
man shall be deprived of his rights, libcr-
ty and privileges, which shall be by the law
of the land The question, however, whether
the right of the elective franchise is such a
right or privilege as cannot be taken away
from him, except in the ways suggested, is
one not altogether free from difficulty. The
Conrt is not fully satisfied bU, what the peo-
pie can amend tieir organic law so as to de-
clare vino should be voters thereafter, there
bv oltting oil sOme who slads been voters up
to that iimc, without violating the Geclara-
tia5f 0i i.sltis or the lG0yisiOns of the Com
stiuliiau tut waiving decision Of this
point. are the powers delegated to the Le-
gislatare by the amended Constitution as
ample and full az those possessed by the
people them, YES Let US examine and see
The 9th section Of the schedule 10 said
amendment is given as follows "The quail
ifications of voters aud the limitation Of the
elective franchise may be determined by the
General Assembly which shall first assemble
under the amended Constitution Does
this repeal Art. ~, Section l, of the old Con-
stitution? II does not do so i'll words. Does it
do 50 by implication? If the two can stand
together, will not every rule of construction
forbid that the old shall be repealed or alb
rogated by the new For the new provision
to have the effect Of repeating the old, must
not the repeal be clear and explicit, or must
it not be of such 4 character that thetwO can
not stand together Now, to give the sec
ton quoted from the schedule Of the amend
ments the effect to repeal Art. ~, Section /
of tie Constitution, it must vest in the Le-
gislature the full power and authority to de-
clarefwho shall be voters hereafter in this
State Does this mean that the repeal of all
laws and constitutional provisions authoriz-
ing PERSONS to vote, aud give power to the
Legislature to make such laws? What may
the Legislature determine under this power
Tie bower must be strictly construed. They
have 10 power to amend, but to determine
:" under the Constitution as amended, the
Gual6cation Of voters and the limitation Of
the elective franchise" Ifthey can only de-
termine under the Constitution, and are not
authorized to amend the instrument Itself,
can they so determine as to repeal or destroy
Art. I, Section 1st of the Constitution, that
all power is inherent in the people? May
not full scope be given to the power granted
in these amendments, without repeal of
the other provisions in the Constitution
touching the right to vote What we're the
amendments proposed by the convention and
adopted by the people?
l. ThatsIavery and involuntary strvitude,
EXCEPT as a punishment for crime, should be
abolished.
.. The Legislature shall make no law re-
cognizing the right of property in man.
8. Abrogating Section 81, Art. IL Of the
Constitution. -
These amendments, if ratified by the peo-
pie, would emaneipate large class who had
before that time been slaves. These persons
would necessarily be in our midst. Was
not this power we are considering given to
the Legislature that they might provide for
the enfranchising of these persons thus made
free? And would not this afford ample
scope for the exercise of the power to fix
the qualification of voters? And they might
desire 10 limit the elective franchise as to
this class of persons to some intellectual or
qualification. To thus limit the
power delegated to the Legislature is in ac-
cordanee with fair rules of construction
Does not the context bear out this interpre-
tationls Under what were they to exercise