New-York tribune., 1867-10-04
TPrMBULL ON SUFFRAGE.

Senator Trumbul has published i'll The Ad-
rance an article opposing the doctrine OF Mr..
Madison the drawer of the Constitution, that
that instrument vests in Congress the power to
regulate the right of suffrage in the States.
1t is not very remarkable, perhaps, that Mr.
Madison never correctly understood the clause
of the Constitution on which he relied for this
power, though he himself was the author of 1t.
But it is somewhat remarkable that Mr. Trum-
bull should exhaustively discuss those clauses
of the Constitution which have never been
supposed to confer this power, and maintain
profound silence upon the single clause which
il is claimed docs confer the power.
The Constitution provides
l. That electors Of Members of Congress
shall have the qualifications requisite for cleo
tors of the most numerous branch OF the State
Legislature; and,
H. That Congress shall have power TO
"makc or alter the ''rcgulations of the States
concerning 'thc time, place, and manner OF
elccting Representatives.
Mr.. Madison, in the Virginia Convention, cx-
planned this to mean that while II was deemed
desirable that each State should in the first
instance regulate the right of suffrage Tor ltscll
yet, to prevent The right from beng granted
or denied i'm such n manner rs would cndnger
the safety and peFpetuity OF the General Gov
emment. il was deemed advisable 10 invest
Congress with the ultimate or appellate po~er
to alter or amend the regulations of the State
respecting suffrage, as it might be found cssen-
tial to the national welfare. He admitted, in
response to a question addressed To Inn by Mf'
jefferson, that this clause would give Congress
the power even to pass national uni
form suffrage law, but affirmed that such
a power might be necessary to preserve
the very existence of the Government Mr..
Trumbull is not only silent upon the authority
i'm question, but upon the clause OI the Consti-
tuition on which Mr.. Madison based BIZ con-
struction. In taking tie position that "a re-
publican government does not depend upon
I" the number of people who participate III the
"primary election of representatives we sup
pose Mr. TIumbul would he understood 10
argue that the question whether government
is republican or not does not depend upon the
number of people who are made voters. But
this assertion, if true proves too much. We
might narrow the suffrage to one man, as u
practically done in all absolute despolisms, and
yet this would he republic
Mr. Madison defined the difference between
a democracy and republic TO be that in the
former " the people meet and exercise the gov
"ernment in person in republic they assem-
"ble and administer it by their representatives
"and agents" In either case, it must be the peo-
pie, i. c. the whole people, c. all adult males
not disfranchiscd for personal causes, who take
part in the government. Whatever may have
been called republics centuries ago, to-day
history and usage have identified the word
with those governments only which are of
1.-the people, for the people, and by the people
Mr.. Trumbull attempts to prove that in
republic black citizens may be excluded from
the suffrage by citing the example of various
States. But this is assuming that those States,
in that respect, have been republican, which is
begging the question. He might as well prove
that the black race in America have always
been free, by citing from the Declaration OF
independence that "all men are created equal,
"and have an inalenable right TO liberty
The Slave State governments have no more
been republican than the slaves have been free.
There were sections Of territory and classes of
people in the United States upon which neither
the Constitution nor the Declaration Of Indc
pcndencc had any practical operation and if
the inspiration contained in those documents
had been always "cribbcd, cabincd and con
" fined" within the brains of conservatives and
strict cOnstructionists We doubt if either of
them would at present have any practical
operation anywhere; some strict constructionist
would doubtless be presiding as the Gar over
that kind of model republic which Mr.. Trum-
bulls airy imagination has devised, and in
which none but the Car would vote.
The valedictoly speeches which the President
makes to departing ambassadors, as the critical