New-York tribune., 1867-05-27
RECONSTRUCTION.
,,y-,,r,o yvos YIR.T sscs

10 the enemies ne, SoneToss OF tho United states
an officer Of the United states, Oh a. mssff ocer ot
80 Stsfe 10 support the CONSTITUTION 81 tbt vinoo
and afterward engaged IN uIIea0Oh OF %
sot tbe IInfd States given AID er CouhoFt 70 to
shs,cs tlereOf" These clauses OF The OHlh ia tbo
e"5 fbc enfrauchisement beyond She pro! 0n - ~ ne
na act arsi the prior clauses OF the oat seu IA tle
important particular that neither cpTfnent
~ reasircd 80 establish the fsSY | % %'SiS" nScr
cnisement IN esal BaIanil6 Iisal. Fon matters eepG
Bat III one respect these clauses Il oI,cinaI act
,nS fraEcGisemcnt arising from participation
an n rebellion WhoIeas dsli"%'O % ;, 80 in ,cbcIlon
teu'5' 'ncr eleocnts must coac0g-tbat - ~ ey;
she holding Of certain Oj % sfferSrd NJ va c;nati ~
az rcio non against the United StaoS my Coi'SI-.'
,on of these two clauses leads to Two dStiVI ~
TTehondCdi Secod Wh~t aS,s 'o ~, ir;to5 - 5000 az
msurrecOn or rebellion as&hss t!G CnlG' Ss'9, 80 ~
ving ail on comfort 20 the enemies theEcofs Wi htt
e there w no room 20 douht Members OF state
legislature members Of Congress are clearly eDSngh
designated Thc question m'ght, however arse
onyeutOn held in state 10y the framing amendment
Of ts Constitution would answer 70 tue 0cScI & ~
tOhNCHtoi ".yioSt , 7,ovj"at~a "a et.lc Iecisatlre
rannOt properly no uth0iiin'us. - Z. CCrvenfion
Aud IN The acts under c0nsdCiatio O3lVtl..ohh
Se az tbeV reo2ire The Constitution be framed 10y
Conyenton and they require the legislature OF the
ga1ne ate 10 adopt the Constitutional amendment Wen
then in the same acts they again use The phrase ~
the and as distnSd sned from
Convention But to those Legislatures which passeu
what are called ordinances of secession ny WhateVei
they nave DeCn c'tlcu, tEl O NlliVh In't
their members are p5OIGlS @ ,ciai leeis
dsqUalfyiug clause Tor can imagine 10 ~ olnCIu Csi ]
lave position which the duty of allegiance was more
Tie next and more difficult inquiry is, who is to lie con
. ls ~ cers are there inended-sate OH
teTs and Federal officers and executive ana Juulc o-
No Legislative officer is mentioned except a inT C
descriptions used to other officers are as TO siate ON
GERS, that they must be judicial or executive ana az 10
Federal officer the terms eAecntlvo OF 9bt % ,t1
pressed He is described simply as an oihcer OF he td
States 1t has shown that Federal officers ana state
officers are CLASSIFIED separately III i.C 1 ~
nnder consideration. deem proitahe ana conducNc
TO clear order TO follow this classification shall ac
oordngy, hrst consider wne stare 9inces Ie %
IN terms CIcctrc or judicial This phrase Is tNicS
description in any State the INST clause and "of any
sate in the second clause think the cOntfoliS lerh
of DESCRIPTION there is any rcpugnancy IN the terms,
must be taken To the last for that used in the most
clause as to the very officers named nthe
first clause and to Others Beside il Is the same term Of
description used in the act Of Congress of 1882 declaring
what State officers required TO take the oath to sup
third section OF the Constitutional Amendment Bolh use
officers Of state" The terms are general and in
definite that they fail 70 express with sufficient cSrh{
designation of the persons intended 10 DC reached IL
is TO be regretted matter of 50 much Importance that
the rule OF designation adopted as TO members OF Ion
gress and OF state LeSIslaluIe hu ho' DSe % & I
or IL that found impractcaDle that some more
tainty becomes manifest in the application Ot the aw'
and this uncertainty necesates construction Inc neGes
Of law cannot he better stated than in the language OF
Plowden Though the words be general they are TO De
to the intent of the act Those statutes which compre
hend an things the letter. the Of the law have eX
pounded TO extend but TO some things THOSE when
generally prohibit all people from DONG sucH an aci 'HS
have interpreted to permit to do IT, and
those which include every person in the letter they have
adudged to reach persons only all founded upon
the intent collected by considering the cause and neces
sity the and comparing part with another, and
sometimes by foreign circumstances l deem II proper
here to fix some clear ideas OF the general intent OF ese
acts, and show by what rule OF constructions strict or
AbeTal, that nteDt may best be arrived at The intent
as expressed to enable the people OF eacH OF thse
States TO frame Constitution for the state by
clauses Of the act giving the right by general
terms Of description TO the people generally,
and especially those who have never enjoyed the right
before There other clauses OF the act which by gen
era terms take away this right Of suffrage from those
who have always enjoyed it, The rule OF construction. as
the clauses which give the right must be liberal and to
them the general terms not to he restricted but to
those clauses which derOCate from the existing right the
Of construction must be strict that none should be eN
First: begin then, with the inquiry whether officers Of
the militia OF State embraced within these terms OF
tany Congress- TO the officers of state was not con
tent to the tenn at large and without qualcatio
the purpose to designate military Officers the usual
tive the civ or military officers of the state. Accord
ngly find when that the purpose see II was
in the sd section Of the Constitutional Amendment known
That section provides person shah be senator or re-
preventative in Congress or eIecor OF fFesdent or zee
President or hold any once cNl OF mnldiy uhuel me
United States or as member OF any state legislature
executive or judicial officer shall have engaged
an nsurrectOn OF rebellion against tne same OF gwen dd
comfort 20 the enemies thereof This third section is
made IN fact part these It's language isfOOwed
word for word In these dsQuaying clauses, far
possible except in the particular in which one Is
Tnte Wbeni Therefore We mid that CONGRESS in decari1S
what persons shall be disfranchised from holding any
Office, expressly includes military well as civil officers,
as in the third section Of the amendment and in proyd
iDg what persons shall be dsfanchsed from voting who
held any office, omit TO mention military officers, we can
escape the conclusion that military officers were not
here within their contemplation II is impossible TO
imagine case in which the construction from
application for it is evident here that the law maker
framing the dsquacatiOns Of the voter, took special
cOgnizance OF the third section of the amendment and
weighed 1t word by word, following 1t literally for the
tended TO embrace military officer II must be borne in
mind that here considering the class Of military
office was lawful and and who were known officers Of
te ms m Rc s ess' h VINO & oeeame ois military te ESe
under that other clause of disqualification which applied
Inquiry thus circumserbed TO civil officers the question
recurs What civil officers TO be brought within the
clearly include far executive officers concerned
bcrpoD OF state officers or Officers OF state In one sense
Rnd in popular sense the description executive
the Governor state Auditor Treas
urer Secretary and State officials proper who exercise
executive functions at the seat Of government lam not
prepared to say that only these proper State officials
come within this term OF description, prepared
Judges or Courts whose jurisdiction extends through the
entire State must content myself in saying these Off
GERS, executive judicial, that they clearly within
The meaning OF the law Now, changing the inquiry from
seaY pa SdeT the Scdpp sS Gcds Gn na %
come within the puryew OF the act, such officers Of
cities, towns villages, and subordinate municipal dVis
ions, whether their functions executive judicial
Or as sometimes the case, where the officer acts
in both capacities Outside Of these two representative
CLASSES the first OF which is clearly Within the
of which is clearly without the puryew Of these clauses
find I'm each OF these States host of officers whose
status IS In way 20 be determined 1t impossible
here 90 proceed by Of enumeration, and disti
Gush By all those who included and ali those
who excluded; all that be done is % establish
xed rules feel the necessity OF Circumspecton
here In saying who included within the dsfanchiSe
rather than in saying who not included; for
lg