Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-05-23
The xenia Visible Admixture

vacancy occasioned by the resignation
of DANIEL MCMILLIN, made for the
purpose of getting up case under
the Visible Admixture law. GEORGE
w. COLLINS, person having distinct and
visible admixture of African blood, claim
ing preponderance of white blood from
evidence as to his appearance merely, was
challenged by the Trustees, JAMES B. Mon
ROE, DANIEL. MARTIN and GEORGE 5. LAU'
MAN, and his vote rejected by them, be-
cause he and his witnesses refused tc
answer the questions, and he declined te
take the oath prescribed by the statute
The same day COLLINS commenced suit In
the Green county Common Pleas Court, by
JOHN LITTLE, Esq, his attorney, and the
next day the Judges of the Election flee
their answer, setting forth divers defense'
under the Visible Admixture. Students
Voting and the White Ticket laws, waiv.
ing the issue and service of process, and en-
tering their appearance by E. 81. MUNGER
ESQ.,, their attorney. On the same day, by
consent of both parties, a case was submit
ted on demurrer, without argument. tt
Judge J. j. WINANs, who pro forma render
ed Judgment against the plaintiff.
A petition in error was Immediately
filed in the District Court, and the judges
of Election entered their appearance or
May 9Th, so that the case could be heard a
meeting of the Court on May 11th, wher
it was expected that the Radical Supreme
Judge would reserve the case tor the Su
l,of; Z ho dooiAod ar
the 2Sth inst, according to orders of thu
Radical Legislative caucus at the Capital
which had given up all hope of carrying
Ohio this fall, unless enough saddle-eoloret
material, under cover of a decision of tht
Supreme Court, can be polled to turn the
scale against the legal White Voters.
The plan was well laid to thus summarily
set aside before the election, by a decision
of partisan Court, not only the Visible
Admixture, but the Students voting Law
and the White ticket act; the validity of al
of which was questioned in the case. Such
railroad speed was never made before tc
bring on conflict between the Judicial
and Legislative branches of the Govern
ment. Negro Suffrage, beaten at the polls
last Fall by $4,000 majority, was to be forced
on the people practically if possible by the
action of the Courts. Every thing appeared
to work smoothly to this end, by the joint
action OF the ostensible parties to the rec
ord-to wit: the negro on one side and the
Radical Judges of election on the other
but to the great annoyance of the latter al
the District Court, Colonel L. BABER and
HENRY NJ. NILES ESQ., appeared as coun-
sci, employed by parties outside to argue
in favor of the constitutionality of the
laws, and after some sparring the case was
reserved for hearing at Urbana on the 18th
inst- before Judges WELSH, SMITH, WIN
ANS, GILMORE, CoRwIN and MCKENY,
where, after full argument by Messrs
LITTLE and CAREY against the constitution
ality of the laws in question and Messrs
MUNGER, NILES and Colonel BABER on the
other side, occupying about nine hours, a
decision was delivered on the Doth inst.
The majority OF the Court reversed
the Judgment of the Common Pleas,
Judge WEIGH of the Supreme Court
delivering the opinion, announcing
that all the Judges unanimously sustain
ed the constitutionality of the students
voting law, as substantially re-enact-
ing in more definite terms, the present
rule, which forbids persons to vote in
places where their residence is only for
temporary purposes. The WHITE ticket
law was not passed until the 9TH OF May,
while the suit was commenced May 1st,
and, therefore, was not in the case, though
it was conceded that there was no valid OBJ
lection to it. Judge WEIGH further held :
That the Visible Admixture law was un-
constitutional in all its provisions, because.
under the guise of laying down rules Of
evidence to test the qualifications of vo-
ter having distinct and visible admixture
of African blood, it operated to defeat the
right to vote. While no special objections
could be assigned to the questions pro-
pounded in the law, they were relevant to
the issue, and contrived for the purpose OF
preventing persons exercising the elective
franchise, whom the Supreme Court
in their Interpretation of the word
e ewhite'' in the Constitution had
held to be legal voters. Indeed,
his Honor intimated that before visible
admixture could be excluded, it was incum.
bent upon the challenging party to dis
qualify him by proving that he had pre-
ponderance of black blood-the very re-
verse of the rule existing as to White men,
who, when challenged, are compelled by
legal evidence to establish their qualifica-
tions. Judges SMITH and CoRwIN concur
red in this opinion, but confined their OBJ
jeciions chiefly to the oath, which reads
ssYou do solemnly swear (or affirm) that to
the best of your knowledge and ability you
are a White male citizen of the United
States, and know the facts to be so from a
knowledge of both your parents and your
pedigree" holding that no person could
take such an oath; because. as they con-
strued it, the knowledge required was per.
sonal, and did not include knowledge de-
rived from belief and from the information
of others. Judge WINANs concurred in
the reversal, on the point that the record
showed the party in the case to have pre-.
ponderance of White blood, and said ht
would not 60 outside to declare all the
provisions of a statute demonstrations
when the case was not before him. II,
thought several provisions of the act wer'
not unconstitutional, and the questions
not improper, and that right of chal
lenge did not involve the rejection o
the vote, unless the challenged party failet
to make out by proof that he was a quail
tied elector.
Judge GILMORE delivered very abl
dissenting opinion, in which Judge Nc
KENY concurred, showing up the fallacie
in the opinion of the majority, in putting
forced construction upon the statute, TO
the purpose of pronouncing the whole &C
unconstitutional, when, by every legal in
4aad,aa,t Court was hound To sustai