Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1868-09-11

citizcns, in every part Of tho State, to exor-
cisc their right to vote at tho coming election
for President and Woo President, of which
right they havo beon SO long deprived by
military power. by order of tho
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Georgia Legislature tho Right Of tho
Negro 20 Hold ORlco.
The Empire State, ever active and jealous,
has raised an important question "a question
of much interest to all tho States at the South,
and acted upon it with the promptncss and
activity characteristic Of this State. The ne
gro members Of tho Legislature have been do
cidcd by tho body to be Ineligible to hold
olccj and have bcon expelled from tho House
of Representatives, to the number of twonty-
five. There arc four others who have hero
toforc claimed to DO colored men, these arc
equally clamorous that they belong to the
whito race. Their identity has to be proved
When the vote was taken on the question,
the white carpct-baggers and scallawags voted
az inst the negroes. The plot thickcns, and
tn, ole matter is getting little more COM
plicaloI. The poor negro can now very plain
y sec that he has been shamcfully, wofully
dupcd by his white Radical friends, who do
sert him when most needed. Discussions
have arisen to the legality Of this proceeding
by tho Legislature of Georgia, whether or
not negroes under tho Constitution or laws of
Georgia or under any law paramount thereto,
have right to hold Office. If they have this
right, it has certainly been conferred by the
some of tho reconstruction acts Wo can
conceive of no other possible source from
which this right could be derived. by all of
these it is conceded he is made citizen, and
is given all that is comprchcndcd in tho tech
nical phrase, "priyiogos aud immunitics,'
and the specific right to vote is given him by
tho franchise article of the Constitution
Neither in the opinion of the Constitution of
the United States, nor in tho opinion Of the
recent Georgia Convention, or in any political
theory Of tho Republican party, does citi:cn-
ship carry with it tho right to the negro either
TO cote or hold oUicc. In the second aoctiol
of the 18th amendment, it will be seen, that
whenever tho right to vote is denied to any
malc inhabtant OF State, Of the age of twcn-
ty-onc years, then The representation in Con
gross of such State to be reduced This very
clearly gives the rights to the individual
States to confer, or dony the right Of suffrage,
and q tortiori the right to hold office. The
negro is as much to-day q citizon of Now
York and Ohio as he is of Georgia or South
Carolina. Tho civil rights bill and l4th
amendment passed by Congress apply equally
there as here. BY virtue of his citizenship
does he vote or hold Office in either Of those
States Ohio last year denied him tho right
to vote by forty thousand majority, and he
never presumed to seek Office. New York
still denies him the right to vote. But docs
the right 70 vote carry with it the right tc
hold Office! If it docs, every voter is cnti
tied to hold Office and if eligible to ono Office
why not to all 2 DO wo not all know tina!
there arc laws limiting certain Offices to par.
ticular classes of Yotors, GoScrnors, Judges,
&c, for example. That cortain qualifications
as to ago, residence, &C., arc prerequisite ssc
these. Under this class Of citizcns, arc com.
prised females and minors, and those who
havo but recently como into tho State Will,
tho intention Of remaining. These certainly
have not tho right to vote or hold Office :
Much less then the colorcd man who was born
without legal right, and thore was no way tc
give him those rights, save by special logisla
ton.
Der New Yorker Demols.at.
a copy Of this radical campaign paper has
found its way to u.s. Wo don't thank any ono
Coz Il Il 10 q Low ac,,rrilo shnnt dnsnnrn-