The Portland daily press., 1868-01-06
DAILY PRESS.
POR1LAND
Monday Morning, Janury 6, 1S6
The Fourteenth amendment TO the
Constitution.

| ~ Ae''"eio n"'c perhaps HOtlced report
by telegraph that law would be passed by
Congress designed to head off the conserya.
tives of the States where the Democrats car
red the Legislatures at the last elections, in
their proposed movement to defeat the 14th
amendment to the Constitution of the Unit
ed States. This amendment having been
proposed by Congress in the spring OF 1866,
and having beeI submitted to the several
States for ratification in the summer of the
same year, its character, present stage of pro-
gress and relation to the plan Of reconstruction
subsequently adopted, are perhaps but imper-
fectly understood BIZ persons whose attention
h~s been directed to later measures.
So many amendments have been intro
duced' in Congress and suggested 6y persons
| outside OF that body, that it may be worth
while to state that only two of these have
actually been adopted by the national legisla-
ture since the first session of the Eighth
Congress in 1903. these two are the 18th
amendment, abolishing slavery, which has
become part of the Constitution by the
ratification of three-fourths of all the States,
and the 14th, which is now pending. The
first section of this amendment merely de-
clares that all persons born ur naturalized in
the United States and subject to the jurisdic-
ton thereof are citizens both of the United
States and of the State in which they reside,
and places all citizens under the equal pro-
lection of the laws. The second section,
which is perhaps the most important, pro-
vides that when State deprives any of is
citizens OF the right to vote, On account of
race or color, the representation of such
State in the lower House of Congress, shall
be proportionately reduced. The third sec
ton epacts that no person who, after having
taken an oath to support the Constitution of
the United States, engaged in the rebellion,
| shall be eligible to any office under the GEN
eral or State governments. The fourth sec
ton forbids the repudiation OF the national
or the payment of the Rebel debt. The
fifth section confers upon Congress the power
to enforce the foregoing sections by appro-
pirate legislation. ~
| such was the first proposition of the Radi-
Gals OF the 39th Congress. It disfranchises no
rebel, and gives the ballot to no negro. 1t
aims at placing before the Southern people
| motive which would lead them of their own
accord to give the negro his rights as citi-
zen. 1t excludes only prominent hebels from
holding Office, and gives Congress power to
remove this disability at any time by two
thirds vote. Yet, though framed in spirit
OF almost extraVagant liberallty, it was imme-
diately hailed with as bitter curses as saluted
the more proscriptive measure which followed
it. Every Democrat in Congress voted against
| 1t; Andrew johnson vetoed it, though its sub
| mission to him was not necessary to give it
validity; the legislatures of Texas, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, North and South Carolina.
promptly rejected it. At the time il was laid
before the legislatures of the unreconstructed
States it was the sole condition precedent to
their admission to representation in Congress.
tennessee at once ratified it, and her Sena-
tors and Representatives Immediately took
their seats in Washington. The Northern
States that have thus far ratified it are, in the
order Of time in which they acted upon it,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont,
West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana,
Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Wiscon-
sin, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Michigan,
Nevada, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and
Nebraska-2O in all, or 21, including Tennes-
see. Seven more mus. adopt it, to make up the
three-fourths of all the States whose ratifiea-
tion is necessary to make it a part of the Con-
| stitution.
The Democratic plan is this: Since Con-
necticut, New York and New Jersey acted
upon the amendment, a party has gained the
ascendancy in these legislatures which is hos
tile to it. Ifit is not repealed by some of the
States which have adopted it, the action of
the Southern States which are recognizing
will soon make it part oil the Constitution
1t is proposed therefore that the Democrats
OF these legislatures shall reverse the action of
| their predecessors, and 1t is the purpose of
congress to prevent their doing so. The i'm
| portance OF some action to prevent SO great
| disaster will be realized, when the relation of
| the 14th amendment to the reconstruction
acts OF March 1867 is considered. Those
acts enfranchise the loyal men of the South
for the purposes of the reorganization of the
Rebel States, and secure constitutions in
which their rights are fully recognized. But,
say the Springfield Republican and other con-
| servative sheets, the whole question of suf
frage is remitted to the States themselves by
| those acts, after all, for there is nothing to
prevent the whites from changing their State
! constitutions after they are once restored to
| the Union. But these half-and half papers
overlook two or three important considera-
| tions. In the first place, the negroes will
| have in several States, a majority of votes
under the new constitutions, and no change
in the organic law can be effected without
| their consent Again, it is fundamental prin-
| ciple of democracy that the citizen when once
entranchised can lose his ballot only by crime.
| Any attempt to deprive the negro of this
vested rightwill be revolution. This princi-
pie was recos snized in Massachusetts, when an
educational qualification was established; the
test was applied to those citizens only who
became of age subsequent to the establish
ment of the new regulation, while the litter
ate persons who had previously voted con-
tnued to do so. But there is another obsta-
Gle in the way of this reactiona-y movement,
even if, in some of the States, the white citi-
zens should not scruple to do violence to the
spirit ofrepublican institutions. Let it not
be forgotten that before the Senators and
Representatives of a single unreconstructed
States can be admitted to Congress the 14th
amendment must hare become part of the
Constitution. When that consummation is
reached the question OF suffrage may safely
enough be remitted TO even South Carolina.
for the selfishness which has always distjn-
enished her will prove an ample safeguard
against her taking course which will de-
prive her of half the number of Representa-
tlVes In Congress to which she is entitled.
| The Department of Agriculture at Wasb-
| ington.
"Glaucus," of the Maine Farmer has been
visiting the Department Of Agriculture in
| Washington. Here is what he has to saw
about its management:
They tell some funny stories here of the
way in which Newton used to get up some of
his reports. l would report one, but it would
not read well in print, and besides,
| Duncan is in his grave"