The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-06-05
The Opinion Of the Attorney.
General.

gular that Legislators donot understal
the force Of language sufficiently we
to express themselves intelligibly, whe
so much depends on a proper unde
standing of the laws. They are :
culpable as the Roman Emperor wi
hung his laws SO high the people cou]
not read them, and then punished tho:
who violated them. We cannot repre-
duce the Attorney Generals six,closel
printed columns Of prosy matter, b,
will endeayor to give such an analys
as will lay the important points befol
our readers. 1t will be observed tn;
many persons, who have been exclude
from registry are now entitled to tt
privilege; but that some are still e1
Guided who, every one believed, wei
permitted to register.
!, I. As regards the oath to be taken 0
offering to register. One must swear
/. That be isa citizen of the State, an
has resided in the State for month
next preceding May -, when he take
oath, and now resides in county - Q
parish of - in said State.
! 2. That he is 81 years old.
3. That he has not been disfranchise.
for participation in any rebellion or civi
war against the United States, nor for fel
ony committed against laws of any Stat
Of the United States
a. That he has never been q member o
any State Legislature, nor held any execu
tive Or judicial Office in any State, and al
forwards engaged in insurrection or rebel
lion against the United States, or given al,
and comfort to enemies thereof.
5. That he has never taken an oath as
member of Congress of the United States
or as an officer of the United States, or a
member of any State Legislature, or a
executive or judicial officer of any State
to support the constitution of the United
States, and afterwards engaged in insurrec
ton or rebellion against the United States
or given aid and comfort to enemies
thereof
6. That he will faithfully support tn,
constitution and obey the laws Of the Uni
ted States, and will, to the best of his abil
ity, encourage others SO to do.
Persons who take this oath are emit.
tied to register, and the registers have
nc right to ask them any further cues.
tons, the Act itself having provided
for the punishment of perjury in the
premises.
II. What officers are Disqualified
l. 1t is evident that all officers of the
United States are included. Mr.. STAN
berry says that military as well as civil
officers are included in the meaning OF
the term.
2. Executive Legislative and Judi
cial officers of the States.
This is the clause which has been
generally considered the most vague
and has given rise to the assertion Of
the right to exclude every person that
has ever held an Office of any kind
The Attorney General does not think
justices OF the peace are included in the
term "Judicial oficers,n and we are
surprised that he has stretched the
words Legislative officers" toinclude
members Unconstitutional Conventions,
which may have been called in the
several States. He "can imagine no
legislative position in which the duty
of allegiance was more distinctly yio-
lated"
We had thought that the words
" Executive officer" embraced only the
governor of State. But hear the At
torney General as to whom it embraces
and whom it does not embrace:
Having the inquiry thus circumscribed
TO civil officers, the question recurs, what
civil officers are to be brought within the
,erms executive or judicial officers of a
'tateg They clearly include, so far as ex-
'cutlye officers are concerned, all such Off
;ers as are generally known by the popular
description of State officers or officers of
state. In one sense, the description execu-
i've officer of State is applicable to we'll
.nown class--the Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, State Auditor, Treasurer, Score
ary of State, and State officers proper who
xercise executive functions at seat of gov
rnment. am not prepared to say that
My these proper State officials come with.
1 this term of description, nor am pre-
AIRED asto judicial officers of State to limit
be description to judges of courts whose
ir1sdlction extends over the entire State.
must content myself in saying of these
Ulcers, executive or judicial, that thew are
!early within the meaning of the law.
ow, changing the inquiry from an afr
native to negative process, such officers
usually pass under the description mu-
I.clpal, do not come within the provisions
the act, such as officers of cities, towns,
illages, and subordinate and municipai
visions, whether their functions are exc
ntive or judicial, or, as is sometimes the
lse, where the same officers act in both
apaeities. Outside of these two respec.
We classes, the first of which is clearly
itliin, and the last of which is clearly
lthOut the purview, we find in each Of {
lese States host of officers whose statns
In some way to be determined. It is
npossible here to proceed in way of emu
eratlon and to distinguish by hame all
lose who were included and all those who
Q excluded. All tina can be done is to es-
,blish some fixed rule. feel the necessity
circumspection here in saying who are in
uded within the Acknowledgement rather
IAN In saying who are not included, for
here there is doubt, according to the rule
reconstruction which has been referred
, that doubt must be solved in favor of
ther than against the right of the voter.
lie exclusion is all comprehensive as to
ne, and applies not only to those who
ere IN office when the rebellion cOmmenc-
, but to those who held the prohibited :
ices at any previous time, although they
~ have ceased to hold such office an in {
finite number of years prior to the rebel !
n.
*IS
have said that in addition to the class t
officers who clearly come within the I
ms of the act as judicial and executive
lcers of the State, and to those classes
itch comprehend militia and municipal e
ieers, who clearly are not within the r
ms of the act, there remains q vast hodv