Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-12-03
THE FRANCHISE LAW.
BY W. a. HUMPHREYS.

These acts or constitutional ordinances
have been sanctioned by the constituted
authorities and should be obeyed. The
case of Ridley VS.. Sherbrosk, in which
their validity has been affirmed by the
Supreme Court of the State, has been
taken to the Supreme Court of the United
States on the ground that they violated
the provisions of the Constitution of the
United States. The question is therefore
an open, pending question, and the sub
iect of legitimate discussion.
In substance and effect these ordi-
nances declare that no citizen of the
State who has borne arms against the
United States voluntarily "in the late
rebellion, or given encouragement, aid,
comfort, or counsel to the same, or who
has accepted or sought Office under the
late Confederate States or under any in
surrectionary State with intent to aid
said rebellion, or who has voluntarily
supported any government hostile to the
United States by money, property, in
huence, persuasion, or in any manner
whatever, shall have the right to vote in
any election of public officers. These
ordinances provide for registration of
all the voters of the State; they author-
ize the Governor to appoint Registrar
for each county, empowered to give q
certificate to each applicant, declaring
the right of the person therein named to
vote they declare that no person shall
be entitled to vote who does not obtain
such certificate, and that the Registrar
shall not issue such certificate to any
..,L,~ dnor 10 ., a 4 N NIL mi th
the Registrar denying that he has ever
committed the political offenses or done
the acts specified ia the ordinances, and
who does not also obtain and file with
the Registrar the afidavits of 1.-TWO un-
conditional Union men" that they verify
believe the applicant has not been "gailty
of the disqualification " set forth in these
ordinances; they also provide that the
Registrar shall hear testimony against
the right of the applicant, and award
certificate or reject the application ae-
cording to the weight of the testimony.
These facts further provide that when
it shall be made to appear that fraud or
| irregularity has intervened in the regis
| tration of voters in any county, the Gov
ernor may set aside the registration.
These ordinances, though by their
terms they may be construed to embrace
the whole past life of the applicant, yet
specifically they embrace otfenses COM
mitted or acts done in 1861, 1862, 1868
and 1864 in "the late rebellion" As
they involve the rights of perhaps more
than one hundred thousand citizens of
the State, and the very existence of
elective government, they deserve the
earnest and dispassionate consideration
of every person who values chartered
rights and elective government.
The Constitution and laws of the State
of Tennessee, prior to the late war, had
declared the causes for which the citi-
zeus of the State could be deprived of
the right of suffrage, and had established
the mode Of proceeding by which it could
| be done. The Constitution declared that
no freeman should be taken or impris-
oued or disseized Of his freehold, liber-
ties or privileges, or exiled, or outlaved,
or in any manner destroyed or deprived
of life, liberty or property, but by the
| Judgment of his peers OF the law of the
land. This provision, extracted from the
great English charter, is declared By an
able commentator on the Constitution Of
the United States, TO be no more than an
amplifcation Of the provision OF the
Constitution Of the United States, which
declares that no msn shall be deprived
Of life, liberty or property bu; BY the due
process Of law, that is, By the Judgment
OF court Of competent Jurisdiction act
Jog under pre-existing Law, and accord
ing to the established forms Of the Con-
siituiion. The Constitution provides,
also, that the Legislature may pass laws
10 deprive persons convicted Of Infamous
crimes Of the right Of suffrage. Under
this provision Of the Constitution the
Legislature did enact that persons guilty
Of murder, larceny, perjury, arson, bur
elary, forgery, and Of certain othe- -