Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-09-27
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL
The Eligibility of Candidates.

A great many persons are laboring under
the impression that as the Congress of the
United States requires all persons elected
or appointed to Office in the Southern
States during the continuance of the mill
tary governments, to take and subscribe tc
the Congressional test oath, known as the
&c iron-clad oath" that candidates for seats
in the Convention called under the Recon
struction Acts, and for future offices under
the State government, are by the same act
required to do so. This is an error which
it will be well to have corrected at an early
day.
In the original act occurs the following
proviso
&c Provided That no person excluded from the
privilege of holding Office by said proposed amend
ment to the Constitution Of the United States shall
be eligible to election member OF the ConVen-
ton to frame constitution for any OF SAID rebel
States, nor shall such person vote Tor members OF
said Convention"
The persons expressly excluded by the
Howard amendment are only such as had
held certain offices and afterward engaged
in the war or given aid to those who did.
In other words, only those who are exclu-
ded from registering are declared ineligible
to election as member of the Convention
for any of the excluded States. There can
be no principle of law palmer than that an
act declaring certain classes of persons in
eligible, makes all other classes eligible.
The latest supplementary act did not
make any change of the qualifications OF
hut mi u
required persons appointed or elected to
office during the continuance of the mill
tary governments to take the test oath.
The section which refers to this subject
reads as follows
"SEc 9. That all members of said Boards
Registration and all persons hereafter elected or
appointed to Office in SAID military districts under
any so-called State or municipal authority or by
detail or appointment of the District Command
ers shall be required to take and subscribe to the
oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the
United States"
It will be seen that this clause refers only
to such persons as are appointed or elected
to office ar,aC7er any sOcalled State or naeaici-
pal authority, or by detail or appointment Of
Tie District C0nanadaderS. In consequence,
all appointments of the Governor and De-
partment Commanders are confined to
those who can take the test-oath. Mem
bers of the Convention are not elected
under any State or municipal authority,
nor detailed or appoir ted by the order OF
the Military Commanders, but are chosen
by virtue of an act Of Congress, and there
fore do not come under the exclusions of
the foregoing section. As we before re-
marked, such as are not excluded are,
in fact, declared eligible. Therefore only
such as are made ineligible by the Howard
amendment are disqualified by the act of
Congress. Any citizen who is entitled to
register can become o candidate for the
Convention, and, if legally elected, is en-
titled to his seat.
The qualification of voters and office
holders thereafter will be settled by the
Convention, or rather by the Constitution
which may be adopted. The character and
principles of the candidates for the Con
Vention are therefore matters of serious
moment to the people of the State. To be
sure, their labors, whatever may be their
character, must be submitted to the regis
tered voters of the State for their approval,
but it will be equally, we believe, more
difficult to defeat an objectional Constitu
lion than to secure q good one by the
election of proper delegates The latter
contest is confined to counties, and the
former will come before the registered
voters Of the State as whole. The white
,,o:or;4-, -, Tho Ctoto will NOT J,aor co 7aron
proportion to the total vote as will the
counties in which the whites predominant
bear to the whole number. If this be true,
and we think there can be no doubt of it,
it will be easier to secure the Convention
than to defeat its action.
When we regard how important will be
the work of that Convention upon the veal
of the State and the rights of the citizen,
it certainly should be sufficient to induce
every good man to labor strenuously to re-
turn proper delegates. No man within the
borders of North Carolina is so powerful and
rich as to be above the reach, and none SO
humble and poor as not TO be injuriously
affected by the evil, that may ensue from
our negligence and inaction. Even should
there be little hope of favorable result,
prudence suggests that success is more apt
to be achieved by two efforts than one
Let US, therefore, whether we approve or
oppose the calling of Convention, unite
upon proper candidates, and Illustrate the
designs. of ambitious demagogues of dis
franchising a still larger proportion of the
4o1 &c CEo&o e.. I,
pose of securing for themselves places
which they would disgrace. Personal as
well as State welfare demand of us that
in every county there should be thorough
and complete organization and union to
accomplish this object.
Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford
and Western North Carolina Railroads.
Being certainly the first, if not the only
,,o1,ar in bo which hoe