The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-05-28

States or of State, or declared by the laws oi
either, would be fatal under these facts.
not aware Of any law of the United States which
works dsfranchisement to right of suffrage by the
force Of the act ITSELF does such consequence follow
rom conviction for treason CT conspiracy to commit
treason for any other act of participation in rebellion
The provision In the Constitution Of the United States
to against the United States does not declare what
shall be the punishment on of treason. That
left for Congress- with the imitation that corruption OF
blood shall notiollow consequence any forfeiture
except during the life OF the party Congress In the ex
erose Of its power to declare the punishment has limit
ed such punishment as consequence of conviction to
the penalty Of death or imprisonment and ,rissiop
Of slaves owned by tho party and to disqualification
from holding any Office under the United States an,
not advised of any statute in force either of these
ten States except perhaps, in Virgin g. which declares
disranchisement as to the right OF suffrage by force
the act itself.
The fourth and fifth sections may be considered to-
Gether The party appyi for regi7trahon must swear
that 81 have been member Of any State Legia-
are, nor hel6 executive or judicial office in any
State and afterwards ENGAGED in insurecton or rebel
lion against the United States given aid and comfort
to the enemies thereof that have neve- taken an oath
member Of Congress Of the United States or se an
officer of tho United etaes. emher of any State
legislature or as an executive or judicial 1cer o. any
and afterwards o-gaged in ins1rrecdon or rebellion
against tho States or given aid and comfort to the
enemies thereof"
Those clauses OF the oath In effect extend disfanchiae
mont bevon6 the provisions nf tho original act and the
prior clauses of the net itself in the important
express legislative enactn-n is required to establish
the fact Of Acknowledgement
In legal parance Acknowledgement under these clauses
of the oath results from matters In pais But IN one re-
spect these csuses limit the generality of the ORIGINAL
act to dsfranchisenent. The original act conton-
plates that Acknowledgement under these clauses noa
elements must concur-that Is to say, holding cerain
Offices or taking the official oath by certain officers and
afterwards participating in the rebellion against the
United States The consideration of these two clauses
leads to two distinct subjects of inquiry First what
Offices or officers are comprehended9 Second What acts
amount TO engaging In insueetion or rebellion against
the United States giving aid and comfort to the enc
mics thereof2 will at first consider what officer or OFF,
comprehended? AS to some officers there Is no
room for boubt- Members Of State Legislatures mem
bers of Congress arc clearly enough designated The
question might however arise, whether convention held
in State for fr inning amemendment Of fts constt-
ton would answer to the description OF State Lesa-
ture within the meaning OF ack Such convention,
although it is clothed with Legislative powes, cannot
properly be denominsted State Legislature aMd In the
acts now under consideration convention and Lcesa-
they require the constitution to be framed by conTen-
on and they require the Legislature of the same State
to adopt the constitutional amendment. When then, in
the State, they must be understood to use 1t IN the
same sense, and as distinguished from constitutional
convention. But as to those Legislative bodies which
passed what called ordinances of secession by what
ever name they may have been called, am OF opinion
that th members are properly comprehended within
this disguabying clause for can imagine no oc,a 1s
moro distinctly violated. ,,..
he neItsnd more difficult inquiry Is, who Is TO be
cofsdered an oc rof the United States or executive
or judicial yocer of any State within the meaning oi
these csuses2 Various classes OF officers are nero IN
tended State officers and Federal officers, xecutlVc or
judicial officers. No Legislative ofhcers are mentioned
except member Of the State Legislature or member OF
Congress The descriptions used as to other officers arc
as 70 State Off ers that they must be judicial or e1ccu
tive. and to- Federal officer the terms executive OF
judicial are not expressed He fs described simply as IN
officer of the Unit States It has been shown tnat
Federal officers and state officers are classified simply IN
the clauses OF the act under consideration. deem
it profitable and conducive to clear order to follow
this classification. shall, accordingly, hrst con-
slider what State officers are included in tho terms
clauses With tho superaddsd description "in any State
In the fist clause, and "of any State IN the secona
clause think the controlling term of description, U
there is any IN ne ses De sased ken 70
others; BESIDES 1t is tho same terms OF used
In the act Of Congress Of 1885, declaring what Site off,
on of the United States and In the Sd section of tho
Constitutional Amendment Both use the same terms
OF descriphon-"EIecuti and Judicial officers OF
Sttc" The terms are general and indefinite that they
fau to express with sufficient certainty desigpa
hon of the persons intended to be reached II fa 10
be regretted in matter of 80 much Importance, that
the rule OF designation adopted as TO mem0ers OF
Congress and of State Legs had not been followed
up Or If that were found iInpracticsbe, that some
more definite general rules had not been declared The
uncertainty becomes manifest IN tae app Ssnoa Oi fe
necessity for construction, which arises from the
generality OF the law cannot be better stated than IN inc
language Of Powden though tho words be general they
are to be reduced particularly by exposition sde
according to the intent of the act Those statutes
which comprehend all things in the letter. the sges OF
the Law have expoun cd To extend but to somc things
Those which generally prohibit all people from doing
such act they hnve terpreted to permit some per
tho letter they have adjndge to reach some persona
only all founded upon the INTENT collected by consider
ing the and the necessity OF the act and comparing
one part with another and sometimes by foreign rcum
stsnces deem proper here to hx some clear ideas
OF the general intent Of these ace and by what rule OF
construction strict LIBERAL that intent may best be ar
Die Of each OF these States to frame cousuhon for the
st te by the exercise OF the right Of suffrage There are
cau es of the aCt giving tho right bygenera terms OF de-
soipon to the people generally and especially 70 those
who hnyo never enjoyed tho right before. There are
other clauses of the act which by general terms tako away
this right OF suffrage from those who have always en-
joyedlt- L..
tho right must be liberal and TO hem the general
terms not to be restricted but "a 70 those CLAUSES
which derogae from the existing right the RUS OF con
strucon must be strict that should be excluded
who are not clearly within the letter and intent oego
them with the inquiry whether officers OF the mihtia OF
Stats are embraced within these terms o. description
gress as to the officers of State. was not content to
the term at large and without qualification, but az VIC
see Intended to qualify Tho usual words I 70 R manmos' mites,
would have been the judio al and executive, the
civil or military officers of the Stale. Accord
we see 1t was in tho third section of the
Constitutional Amendment. known as article 18th,
Congress expressed that purpose very Gle y Tint Sec
ton provides that person shall be Senator or Repre-
sentative in Congress- or elector Of President or Vice
President hold any Office civil or military. under the
United Sates, who ss n.ember OF any Sste Legisln.
ture. executive or Judicial officer OF s;ate had
taken al oath to support the Constitution or the United
States shall have engaged in insurrecop or rebellion
against the same, or given aid or comfort 70
pressy referred to more than once IN these acts
It is made, fact part Of these acts. Its language
10 followed word for word N these M disquaiiying e
clauses possible except In the particular IL
which ono Is made to apply to eigib hty, and ths
other to the right TO vote When therefore, we find
that Congress- In declaring what persons shall be dis
tranchiscd from holding any Office, expressly includes
mi itary well civil officers, as in third section o
amendment and In providing what persons shall be dis
anchshed from Ssng who held any 0ce n om cons
sion that military officers were not here within their con
temptation. It Is impossible to imagine case in which
the construction ON the laws in part nateria has
more co9ent application 1t is evident hero that the
INV maker In framing the diBquaihcations OF vote
took special cognizance Of the third section OF tic
amen ment, and weighed 1t word by word, following
It literally for the most part and rejecting deliberate
" the worry word intended 70 embrace military ofcer
1t must be borne In mind that are here consdernl
the class of military officers who such prior to thl
rebellion. when the Office was lawful. and who wers
known as officers Of the mta-not that class who be
came military officers during the rebeoni as to this los
class, they oil come LnAt OtueC Va
caon W. ich applies to participation in the rebellion
having the inquiry thus circunscrbed 10 civil officers
the question what civil officers ore TO be brought
within the terms, executive or Judicial officers OF
Ssts They clearly include 30 far as executive officers
are concerned all such officers as arc generally knowI
by the proper description Of State officers or oacors
sate In sense and In popular sense, tho deBcr1p
zion executive officers of State, Is applicable 10 vel
kno.n class the Governor statt
Auditor Treasure Secretary and State officials proper
who exercise executive functions at the seat Of Govern
ment.
am not prepared to say that only those proper State
officials come within this term OF description, nor am
prepared TO- Judicial officers of State to limit ht
description to Judge of Courts whose Jurisdiction eI
tends over the United States. must content myself IL
saving Of these officers executive judicial that they
are clearly within the meaning OF the law. Now. chang
ing the inquiry from affirmative to cgative pro
cess such officers usually pass under the descap
ton municipal do not within the purvew Of tht
act such as officers OF cities, towns villages and subor
dinale municipal divisions whether theil flnctiont
are executive judicial as Is sometimes the case
where the officer acts in both capacities Outside
these two representative classes, the first of Which Il
clearly Within and tho last OF whc is clearly without
the puryiew Of these clauses find in each OF these
States host of officers whose status Is in some way to b.