The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1867-09-06

has been the case from that day till this
The authors of the Federalist, who yers
themselves members of the Convention
which framed the Constitution, and who
did so much by their clear and lucid arti.
cles to bring about its adoption, under.
stood it as leaving the qualifications of
electors for Representatives. to be fixed
by the several States, and all the COM
mentators who have written on the Con.
shtution have SO understood it. The
Government of the United States, is one
OF derivative and not of inherent powers.
1t possesses such powers as are conferred
upon it by the Constitution and no
others; and, that there might be no mis-
apprehension about this, the instrument
itself declares in go many words that ::
"The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution. nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the
States, respectively, or to the people,
The Constitution contains not syllable
in regard to the regulation of suffrage in
a State. Whence then the claim of
authority in Congress over that subject
1t cannot be derived from that clause
which requires that "the United States
guarantee to every State in this Union
Republican Form of Government,' be-
cause such construction would be in
consistent with the clause already quoted,
which leaves to each State to fix the quail.
iicaIions of electors of the most numerous
branch Of its Legislature and for the
further reason, that a Republican Gov
eminent does not depend upon the num-
Der of the people who participate in the
primary election of Representatives. The
Constitution is to be interpreted as it was
understood by those who made it, and it
will not be denied that at that time suf-
frage was much more restricted in all tie
States than it is in any of them at pre-
sent; still no one can suppose that the
men who made the Constitution intended
to declare all their States anti.republican,
or that the States themselves would have
adopted Constitution which they sup
posed susceptible of such an interpreta-
ton. If to constitute a republican form
of Government certain number must
participate in the election of officers, how
many must it be, and of what officers p
Must it be majority of the adult popu-
lation ? This has never been the case in
any State, for females constituting one
half have seldom voted anywhere. In
many Of the States, judges and many
other officers are not elected by popular
vote, but receive their appointments from
the Executive. Is this anti.republican ?
Even the electors of President are to be
appointed in each State in such manner
as the Legislature shall direct; and shall
it be said that the United States is not
Republic, because its Chief Magistrate is
not elected by popular vote? Or be.
cause Senators are elected by the Legis-
latures of the several States instead of by
the people direct? The republican form
of government required to be guaranteed
to each State is q government of such
character as existed in the States when
the Constitution was framed and for
Congress under the plea of regulating SUI
frage to declare such governments anti
republican, would be the subverslon in
stead Of the guarantee of republican forms
of government, and would necessarily alb
rogate all existing State governments !;
since every one does now and always has
regulated suffrage for itself.
But for the fact that bill has been in,
troduced into the present Congress purpo-
sing to prescribe the qualifications of yo-
tiers in the States, it would seem almost
work of supererogation to combat such
proposition. The zeal with which the
measure was pressed, and the danger lest,
because the object to be attained is be-
lieved by many to be just and right, it
may receive their support, without suffi-
GENTLY looking to the want of authority
in Congress to pass such q law, make it
necessary to call attention to it; for, even
to do right thing in a wrong way, is
often fraught with greater danger than to
leave the thing undone, and is never jus.
ti6able when there is ght way by which
it may be accomplished. 1t has been
suggested that by the adoption of the con
stitutional amendment abolishug sla-
very, authority over the suffrage question
has been conferred upon Congress f.; but
it is difficult to conceive what that has to
do with voting, unless it DC assumed that
every free citizen must necessarily be a
voter, which would confer suffrage on
every person in the land, without regard
to age, sex, or condition an assumption
which the widest advocate for the ex-
tension of suffrage has never ventured
to make. No such meaning has been given
to the Constitution of any of the free
States in which slavery has been prohibi-
ted. 1t has, however, been said that Con.
gress has the same power to pass law
regulating suffrage in the States, as it had
to pass the Civil Rights bill, securing all
persons in the land in their rights of per-
son and property. If this were SO, it
would only prove the Civil Rights act in
valid, without making another act involv-
ing the same principles constitutional; but
in truth, there is wide difference between
an act securing all free persons in their
civil RIGHTS of nnrson and nronerty and