Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-04-02
GUARANTEEING THE VOTING
RIGHT,

votes of sufficient number of the Legisla-
lures, settles the whole question of suffrage,
and places every American citizen on per-
feet equality, SO far as national rights and
questions are concerned. This amendment
Declares
"That all persons born or naturalized in
the United States, and subject to the jur-
" isdiction thereof, are citizens of the
" United States, and of the State wherein
"thcy reside. No State shall abridge the
privileges and immunities of the citizens
sol the Unitnd States, nor shall any person
she deprived of life, liberty, or property,
"without due process of law, nor deny any
"person within its jurisdiction the equal
"protection of the laws"
Whether this amendment has been duly
adopted or not, We shall not here consider,
but it was surely very odd that Mr.. Stevens,
in quoting the section above given, and
arguing from it, should have entirely ne
elected to notice the section following,
which, sad to say, completely offsets and
annuls all the value of the first. 1t con-
taihs TINS unfortunate langnagei-
...........But whenever in any State,
tle elective lfancnize snail he denied 10
"any OF its male citizens not less than
tWenty-one years OF age. or IN any way
abridged, except Tor participation In re-
"belion or otherwise, the basis of represent
talloh IN such STATE snail DC reuuced....'
Nc., &c
ii the l4th amendment is become part
OF the constitution, this weak-kneed,
wretched clause is part of 1t, and the Con
stiiutioh OF to-uay apparently admits the
right Oh state 10 aofidge the suffrage en-
Joyed by any class OF its citizens, an admis-
sion which the code OF the Fathers explicit
~ denied and repudiated.
MI. Broomall bill is based upon true and
safe ground. 1t isa logical, sensible, legal
sequence OF the express spirit and letter OF
the Constitution, and Mr.. b. fully under
stands what he proposes. In the recent de-
bate he argued, what no man can success
4 fully controycrt, that the constitutional pro-
vision alluded to is binding upon the Unit
ed States, and is to be carried out by Con
gressional legislation. He said that Con
gress is the sole and final judge of the ques-
ton whether any given State government is
republican in form, because that body is the
sole and final judge Of the necessity of legis
| alion in all cases, He argued that heredita-
~ Political privileges and hereditary politi-
cal disabilities destroy the republican form;
that it makes no difference that the disabii-
ties are attached to n minority, and that the
| number OF privileged families only settles
| the question whether the government is Il
monarchy or an aristocracy,
He further contcnded that If II majority
might lawfully dis!ranchjse minority on
account of rare, then the blacks in South
Carolina might lawfully disl'ranchsc The
whites, which lie supposed even the Demo
Gratis would hardly justify.
Mr.. Broomall denied that our Govern
mont Il that M white men ,h,t h.;n,
s.....,'1 ~, H., - !,
,'"nsoo W. '''e CONSENT " '"e soVefnco
II is not sufficient merely to get the conscn
of the white men, but that the consent o
nil classes il necessary lie stn,e5 IN, f,c
~. ~ .,., =. ~ ,...,'.., =,
.liat AT INC iilne u ,he io'ii'a'iph :" th'
Government the free blacks voted in ncarl,
all the States, and therefore aided through
their REPRESENTATIVES, in tho convention /,
s.a.,,;.,.. H. c.,...,n,s,,..-, ~, ~,
framing 'le uosein'hcn'' anu 'nat .hey NAT
been required to light both for its establish
ment and preservation. Hence. that il i
NON, 100 ,a,e ~ denv then al nsr,;o;,,.,;a,
~" W. '"'e " 's"' '"eA' ~ p'.''o'p'''''
~
lie argued that the laboring men of TIN
entire country have the right to demand mi
,,o,s., ,,ar.,,o ,hat ,,,.;r ,,ns;n.ss 49,. !,
'e's"i sun 'n'. ''isi Du''"es' may u
represented IN the Government 10 Its eXten
and numbers, and that the disiranchisemen