The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-09-25
VIII the Amnesty be Enforced?

2 It is intimated ION what authority does
not appear) that the president will not di-
rect, the military district commanders to
open the registry lists for the registration
of those unregistered voters from whom
all legal disabilities have been removed by
the amnesty proclamation. Thereason as
signed is. that the cabinet, while unanimous
as to the fact that the amnesty gives them
the right to vote, are not clear that that
right can be enforced by the president
against positive proposition in the act of
Congress.
The difficulty, it is probable, arises in
this wise: The president is an executive,
not a judicial officer. It is his duty to ey-
ecute the laws, not to adjudicate upon the
rights Of pcrsorss The latter is the busi-
ness of the Courts. When the courts
have decided what the rights of persons
are under. the laws,Yi it then becomes the
duty of the executive to enforce their de,
cisions. ~ IT, 8 ~
Congress has declared. in positive Ian
gaage, that certain inhabitants of the south
ern states "shaH not be entitled to be reg
istered, or to vote, by reason ofany execu-
tive pardon or amnesty" The president,
nevertheless, has proceeded to declare an
amnesty, and his constitutional advisers are
united in the opinion that it removes all
legal disabilities. Congress has said that
it shall not remove certain disabilities. =
How is the fact to be determined? How
shall the legal rights of the parties inclu-
ded in the amnesty be asserted? This,
probably, is the point on which the cabinet
is not clear
1t might be argued, with great PLAUSIBLE
ty, that it is the duty of the parties whose
personal rights are affected to take the I'M.
tiative in the assertion Of theif rights. Or.
dinarily, this is the only way in which
rights can be established or wrongs redress.
ed There is no officer Of the government
whose duty tits to act as attorney for the
people, save upon the peoples motion.
Let but one man in q southern state dis
qualified by the act Of congress but quail.
fed in virtue of the legal effect Of the am
nesty come forward and demand the right
to be registered and vote. 1.-THE military
commander shall deny him that rightlet the
issue thus made be carried to Incompetent
judicial tribunal. Whatever the decision OIL
that tribunal may be, the cabinet will fine
no difficulty in agreeing that it is the duty o.
the president to execute it, congress and The
whole Jacobin party to the contrary not
withstanding.s And recent events render il
tolerably certain that the president Woulc
not hesitate in pursuing a course warranted
by the highest constitutional authority.
That the president Illuminated his amnes
| ty proclamation as a abull against the com
ct" is not presumable. That he we'll knew
what its legal effect would be, there cannot
be doubt. That hisipurpose was to fulfi
that effect in its full extent, admits, also o
no doubt. That in the execution of tina
lawful purpose he should strictly observe
all legal and technical formalities may no
be important; and yet, in view of "ths
situation, ''he may look upon it as desirable
In playing at foils with rogues, it is bestno
to give them any possible chance OF making
foul thrust.
That the president has the legal and con
stitutional right TO direct the district com
manders to reopen the registry lists, vii
hardly be questioned by any good authority
and, if he shall postpone the exercise 0
that right, the only presumption consisten
with respectable executive stamina is, tina
he chooses to wait for q pretext which, in
legal sense, cannot be misconstrued.- Chi
cago Times. d esi