The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-06-05

10 say, holding certain Offices Or taking oiciai oahb
certain officers and afterwards participating n the "
#beon against the United States. Uonsluefation
the two clauses leads two distinct subjects matte
of inquiry. First what offices officers are consprt
hended Second what acts amount to engaging IN IL
surrectlan rebellion against the United States
. giving aid comfort to the enemies thereof WI
first consider what offices officers eon1prehended
As to of the officers there is room for doubt
members of State legislatures and members OF Con
gress are clearly enough designated Question might
d however, arise #hetlera convention held in Stat
for framing amending its constitution would ansWe
to the description of State Legislature within th
4 meaning of the act Such convention, although
clothed with legislative power cannot properly be de
nominated State Legislature, and in the acts now
der consideration convention and legislature are eX
pressy distinguished from each other for they require
the constitution to be framed BY convention; they
require the legislature of the State adopt TIKI
constitutional amendment When, then, IN the same
acts they again the phrase legislature of the State
they must be understood to it in the same
and distinguished from constitutional convention
but as to those legislative bodies which passed what
are called ordinances of secession, or by whatever
name they may have been called am Of opinion that
the members are properly comprehended within the
dsqalifying clause, for can imagine official legis
lative position in which the duty of allegiance was
more distinctly violated. Next and more difficult in
qulry is, who is to be considered officer Of the
United States, executive judicial officer of any
State within the meaning of these clauses. Various
classes of officers are here ntendedState officers and
Federal officers and executive and judicial officers
no legislative officer is mentioned except member oil
the State legislature member of Congress. The de
scrptons used to other offices to State Off
eersthe judicial not expressed He is described
simply officer Of the United States It has been
shown that Federal officers and State officers elias
sed separately in clauses of the act under consdera
ton. Ideem it profitable and conducive to clear
der to follow this classification. | shall accordingly
first consider what State officers included in the
terms executive judicial This phrase is twice used
IN these clauses with the superaddea description in
any State in the first clause and of any State in second
clause. think the controlling term of description, if
there is any ambiguity in the terms must be taken to
be the last, for that is usedn the most comprehensive
clause to the very officers named in the first clause,
and to others besides tits the term Of descrip
ton used the act Of Congress Of 1882 declaring that
State officers required take oath to support the
constitution of the United States, and in the third
ton of the constitutional amendment; both the
same terms OF escrpton-executiFe and judicial Off
GERS OF State The terms general and lndinite
that they fail to express with sufficient certainty the
description ofpersons which intended to be reached
1t Is to be regretted in matter of SO much impor-
tance that the rule of designation adopted as to
bers OF Congress and State Legislatures had not been
followed up; or, If that were found impractieable,
some more definite general rules had been declared
The uncertainty becomes manifest in application of
law and this uncertainty necessitates construction
The Sity for construction which arises from the
generality othe law could not be better stated than
in the language of Plowden Though the words be
general they to be reduced to particularly by
exposition made according to the intent of the act
Those statutes #hchscomprehend all things IN the let
ter the usages of law have expounded to extend but
to things; those which generally prohibit all
people from doing such act, they have interpreted
to permit some persons to do it, and those which in
clude every person in the letter. they have adudged
to reach some persons only all being founded on the
intent collected by considering the and necessity
of the act, and comparing one part with another,
sometimes by foreign circumstances | deem it d
proper place to fix clear ideas of the general in
tentof these acts and by what rule of conclusion
strict or bera-that intent may best be arrived at
The intent, expressed is to enable the people of
each of the States to frame constitution fer the State
by the exercise of the right of suffrage These are
clauses of the act giving the right by general terms Of
description to the people generally, and especially to
those who have enjoyed the right before. There
other clauses of the act which, by general terms,
take away this right of suffrage from those who have
always enjoyed it. The rule of construction as to
clauses which give right must be liberal, and its gen
era terms must not be restricted; but clauses which
derogate from existing right the rule of construction
must be strict that should be excluded who are
not clearly within the letter and intent begin, then,
with the inquiry whether officers of militia of State are
within these terms of descriptions and have no doubt
that they are not Certainly Congress, to the Off
GERS OF State was not intent to use the term at large
and without qualification but, see, intended to
qualify the general term. If the purpose to des
ignate military officers the usual words to manifest
that intent would have been adopted and the terms
would have been the Judicial aud the executive, the
civil military officers of the State. Accordingly we
find when that was the purpose see twas in the
third section OF the constitutional amendment, known
rs article fourteen Congress expressed that purpose
very clearly That section provides that person
shall be senator orrepresentatiye in Congress, cleo
tor of President Vice President, hold any office,
civil military under the United States, under any
State government, who, having previously taken an
oath as member of Congress, or an officer of the
United States; member of any State Iegisla
ure or executive judicial officer of State, to
support the Constitution Of the United States, shall
have engaged in instruction rebellion against the
same given aid comfort 10 enemies thereof. This
third section is expressly referred to than once
in these acts it is made in fact part of these acts its
guage followed word for word in these disqual
living clauses far possible except in the par
cular in which one is made to apply to eligibility and
the other to right to vote. When therefore, find
that Congress, in declaring what erSons shall be dis
franchised from holding any office expressly includes
military well civil officers in the third section
of the amendment; and in providing what persons
shall be disfranchised from voting and who held any
office, and emitting to mention military officers, we
cannot escape the conclusion that military officers were
not here within their contemplation 1t is impossible
to imagine in which the construction frola laws
IN UqY H9el5d has more cogent application, for it is
evident here that the lawmakers in framing disqun
fcations took special cognsance Of the third section of
the amendment and weighed it word by word, follow
inc it materially for exact language, and rejecting
erT word intended to embrace military officer. 1t
must be borne III mind that here considering
the class of military officers who such prior to the
rebellion, when the Office was lawful, and who were
known as officers of the militia that class who be-
came military officers during the rebellion As to this
last class they all come that other clause on dis
qualification which applies to participation in the re-
belion.
Second, having the inquiry thus crcumseribed to
civil officers, the question recurs what civil officers
cal officers of State? They clearly include, far
as executive officers concerned all such officers
are generally known by the popular description of
State officers officers of State In sense the
description executive officer of State is applicable to
a we'll known class-the Governor, Lieutenant Cover
nor State Auditor Treasurer Secretary of State and
State officers proper who exercise executive functions
at the seat of government. not prepared to say
that only these proper State officials within this
term of description, am prepared as to judicial
officers of State to Limit the description to judges of
courts whose jurisdiction extends the entire State
must content myself in saying of these officers exec
utive or judicial that they clearly within the
ing ofthe law. Now, changing the inquiry from an
affirmative to negative process such officers usual
ly pass under the description municipal do not
within the provisions of the act such officers of
cities, towns villages and subordinate and municipal
whittier heir functions executive or Judi
cial, or is sometimes the case, where the Off
act in the capacities Outside of these two
respective classes the first of which clearly within
and the last of which is clearly without the purvew
find in each of these States hosof officers whose
status is in way to be determined 1t is mposs
BILE here to proceed way of enumeration and to dis
tiugulsh by name all those who were included and all
those who excluded All that be done is to es
ablish fixed rule feel the necessity circum-
spection here in saying who included within the
rather than in saying who in
clnded for where there is doubt, according the rule
construction which has been referred TO- that doubt
must be solved in favor Of rather than against the
as to Tine and applies not only to those who were in