The Van Buren press., 1867-06-07

Q
except during the life of the party. Con.
grcss, in the exercise of its power, has
limited such punishment, on conviction,
TO the penalty of death or Imprisonment,
and by the manumission of slaves owned
by the party, and to disqualification from
holding any Office under the United States.
| am not advised of any statute now In
force in either of these ten States, except
perhaps Virginia, which declares disi'ran.
chiscment as to the right of suffrage by
force of the act itself The original act
contemplates disfranohiscment, arising
from participation in arebellion, whereas
disfranchisement.. under the fourth and
fflh clauses of the supplemental bill does
not arise from such participation, but
other elements must cdncur-~that is, the
holding of certain offices, or taking an
official oath by Certain officers, and after.
wards participating in rebellion against
the United States, as to some officers, as,
no doubt, members of the State Legisla-
ture and Congress, are clearly enough
designated.
n 'lhlt Noif lpl
amendment to the State Constitution,
though clothed with legislative power,
cannot properly be called State legisla.
ture, and, in the acts now under consid-
Grafton, q convention and legislature are
expressly distinguished from each other,
fol they require constitution to be fran
cd by the convention, and require the
legislature of the same State TO adoptsthe
constitutional amendment When, then,
in the same acts they again use the phrase,
Legislature Of the State" they must be
understood to use it in the same sense
and distinguished from a Constitutional
Convention. But rs to those Legisla-
lures which passed what are called
Ordinances Of Secession" ! am of the
opinion that their members are properly
within this disqualifying clause, for can
imagine no official legislative position in
which the duty Of allegiance was more
distinctly violated,
A more difficult inquiry is Who is to
he considered an officer of the United
States, or an executive or judicial officer
Of any State? Various classes of officers
are included-State officers and federal
officers, and executive or judicial officers.
No legislative officer is mentioned except
a member of a State legislature or mem
Der Of Congress. The descriptions used
They must be judicial or executive, and
as to federal officer the terms "eAecu
tive or rjudicial' are not expressed. He
is described simply as an officer Of the
United States The officers of the mill
tia of a State are not included in these
terms Of description, else the act would
have included civil or military officers Of
the State. For in the third section of
the Constitutional amendment known as
article fourteen Congress expresses that
purpose very clearly That section is
expressly referred to more than once in
these acts. 1t is matter of fact, that a
part of these acts in its language is fol-
lowed word for word in these qualifying
clauses, as far as possible except in the
particular in which one is made to apply
to rhe eligibility, and the other to the right
to vote. When, therefore, we find Con-
gresy, (in declaring what persons shall
be disfranchised from holding any Office
expressly includes military as well as
civil officers, as in the third section refer
red to, &nd in providing what persons
shall be 1istranchised from voting, who
held any office, omits to mention military
officers, we cannot escape the conclusion
that military officers were not within their
contemplation.
1t must be Borne in mind we are here
considering the class of military officers
who were such prior to the rebellion,
when the officers were loyal and known
as officers of the militia, not that class
who became military officers during the
rebellion. The last class comes under
that wider class of disqualification which
applies to participation in the rebellion,
As to the civil officers dlsfranchised, the
clause fairly includes all State officers
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State
Auditor, Treasurer, Secretary of State
and the officials proper, who exercised
executive functions AT thc seat Of Gov.
ernmcnt | am not prepared to say that
only these proper State officials come
within the terms Of this description, nor
am prepared, as to judicial officers Of a
State, to limit the description to judges
Of courts whose jurisdiction extends
throughout the entire State. must con,
tent myself by saying they are clearly
within the meaning Of the law. Mum
cipal officers do not come within the pro.
visions Of the act. Subordinate officers
Of legislature who are not members do
notcome within its provisions.
As to county, township and precinct
officers, he reserves an opinion whether
all Of them or not all Of them come with
in disqualification All other executive
or judicial officers, except county officers,
come within the meaning Of these laws,
Persons who exercise special public du
ties, rather in the nature Of occasional
employment than general and continuing