The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-05

ceeds TO show that this suspension "has been
removed, so as to leave our hands uurestrained
in restoring its full vigor," by the amend
ment adopted in 1866. Here is what he says
on that point
"The fourteenth amendment. now SO bappllv
adopted, settles the whole question, and places
every American citizen on perfect equality of
questions are concerned It declared that all
persons born or naturalized In the United
states, and subject 10 the jurisdiction thereof
State wherein they reside NoState sh al make
or enforce any law which shall abridge the
United States; nor shall any person be deprived
of life, liberty, or property without due process
of law; nor deny any person within It's jurisdic-
tion the equal protection of the law.
"lf by the amended Constitution every
American citizen is entitled to equal privileges
Win every other American citizen; and ii every
American citizen in any one of the States
should be found entitled to impartial suffrage
win every other American citizen in any
State, then II follows as an inevitable cOnclu-
impartial and universal so far as every human
being, without regard TO race or color shall be
found concerned and so far as it affects the
"Can he who swears to support the Constitu.
tion in all its parts refuse to aid in carrying
this into effect without clear, direct perjury
q worse perjury than would have been com
mitted by those who, under the old CJustitu-
tlon, cSuId not agree TO that Constitution, and
thus refused their aid TO their fellow-men
- III every citizen of any State is en-
titled to all the inalienable rights, privileges,
and tmmunities Of this Government, and if
one of those inalienable rights is the right to
cast his ballot for every man who is to take
part In the Government, show me the man who
is so impudent as to deny that suffrage by the
ballot Is due to every being within this realm
TO whom God has given immortality, He must
be an tmpudent citizen, and ought never to
profess to believe in the existence of Deity;
Tor that world could be created and governed
without an overTultng cause is more feasible
than such proposition"
We will not stop to examine Mr.. Stevens
notions of perjury, nor his ideas about the
~ IL 8 II.
overruling cause" Both seem to be about as
muddled and confused as his notions of the
early history of our Government and his ideas
of natural right. But Mr.. Stevens is by no
means the first-and we have no right to sup
pose he will be the last-of our public men
who mistake words for ideas, and sounding
phrases about the objects and ends of govern
ment for sound and feasible measures of legs-
latiOn. We cannot prevent him from i'm
posing upon himself by such tricks of rhe-
tOric; all we can hope to do is, by exposing
them, to prevent his imposing upon others.
The fourteenth amendment, which Mr.,
Stevens quotes, has nothing whatever to do,
directly or indirectly, with the suffrage ques-
tiOn. 1t relates wholly to the question of civil
rights. It's sole and exclusive object was to
secure an absolute equality of civil rights to
all people in the United States, without dis
tinction of race or color. A previous attempt
had been made to do this by law but the con-
stitutionality of such law was denied in some
quarters and doubted in others; and to put
this matter beyond doubt this amendment was
introduced, pressed, and passed through Con-
gress and ratified by the requisite number of
States. Nobody in Congress pretended that it
had anything whatever to do with the suffrage
question. Nobody claimed or believed that it
conferred the right of voting upon anybody, or
that it affected in the slightest degree the
absolute control over that subject already
vested in the States. Mr.. Stevens made no
such pretense. Mr. Wilson, of Iowa: Mr.
Boutwell,, of Massachusetts, Mr.. Williams, of
Pennsylvania-all the leading radicals in the
House, indeed all the men of all parties-either
expressly admitted or tacitly assented to the
admission that it did not touch the suffrage,
or any other political right or franchise in the
slightest degree. The claim which Mr.. Stevens
now brings forward is an afteT-thOught. 1t is
view never before taken by him or by any
one else. 1t is just as pure and groundless an
invention as his assertion about the fathers of
the republic.
The language of the amendment vindcates
fully this view of its meaning. 1t relates
wholly to civil rights-to an equality of rights
before the law. 1t prohibits a State from
making laws which shall 'abridge the privi-
leges and immunities" belonging to citizens,
as citizens of the United States. But the privi-
lege of Uoting is not among them. That is con-
terred, according to the Constitution, by the
auJnOrlJy OF the states alone.
The argument of Mr.. Stevens on this point
is this:-Q) Every American citizen is en-
titled to equal privileges with every other
American citizen; (2) In some one State every
American citizen may be entitled to the
privilege of voting; (3) Consequently every
citizen must be entitled to the same privileges
in every State. 'It follows, - he says, ''as an
inevitable conclusion, that suffrage throughout
this nation is impartial and universal" Mr..
Stevens certainly has very queer notions of
an inevitable conclusion" Suppose an Anne
rican citizen should be found in some one State
to have the privilege of establishing bank,
or making railroad by the fourteenth Con-
stitutional amendment every American citizen
is entitled to equal privileges with every other
American citizen, and no State can make any
law which shall abridge the privileges and i'm
munities of citizens of the United States: WHY
does it not follow" according to Mr.. Stevens
logic, 'as an inevitable conclusion, " that
every American citizen has a right toSesta-
blish bank or a railroad in every State
Mr. Stevens is himself apparently not quite
satisfied with this argument. Perhaps he re-
members that it was precisely the argument
by which, in the olden time, Shareholders in
the South sought to establish their right to
hold slaves in all the States and all the Terri
tories of the Union. At any rate, he falls back
upon another-one a little more extraordinary
than this one:-
the passage quoted above, sis entitled to All the
1lalienabe rights, privileges, and imtnuulties
OF inns Government, and If one OF those ina
Henable rights Is the right TO cast his ballot TOR
every man who Is 10 take part In tue Govern
ment, show me the man who is so impudaut as
10 deny that suffrage by the ballot is due TO