The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1868-10-07
THE REGISTRATION.

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menced work in this Parish, we take
that no man qualified to register will
be so lost to sense of the importanc,
OF the subject as to fail to come for
ward at once and qualify himself t,
vote at the approaching election. Ii
order that every one may know wheth
er he is entitled to register we publish
the article of the Constitution defining
the qualifications of voters and Office.
holders:
ART. 80. The following persons shall
be prohibited from voting and holding
any office: All persons who shall have
been convicted of treason, perjury, for
gerry, bribery, or other crime punisha-
BILE in the penitentiary, and persons
under Introduction. Ali persons who
are estopped from claiming the right
of suffrage, by abjuring their allegiance
to the United States Government, OF
by VIGOROUSLY levying war against it,
or adhering to its enemies, giving them
aid or comfort, but who have not expa-
friated themselves, nor have been con-
victed of any of the crimes mentioned
In the first paragraph of this article,
are hereby restored to the said right,
except the following: Those who held
office, civil or military, for one year or
more, under the organization styled
"the Confederate States of America :"
those who registered themselves as en-
emies of the United States; those who
acted as leaders of guerrilla bands du-
ring the late rebellion those who, in
the advocacy of treason, wrote or pub
lished newspaper articles or preached
sermons during the late rebellion; and
those who voted for and signed an or
dinance of secession in any State. No
person included in these exceptions
shall either vote or hold Office until he
shall have relieved himself by volunta-
rily writing and signing certificate
setting forth that he acknowledges the
late rebellion to have been morally and
politically wrong, and that he regrets
any aid and comfort he may have Civ
en- it and he shall file the certificate
in the Office of the Secretary of State,
and it shall be published in the Off
cial journal. Provided, That no per-
son who. prior to the first of January
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, IA
vored the execution of The laws of the
United States, popularity known as the
Reconstruction Acts of Congress, and
openly and actively assisted the loyal
men of the State in their efforts to re-
store Louisiana to her position in the
Union, shall be held to be included
among those herein, excepted. Regis
trars of voters shall take the oath OF
any such as prima facie evidence of the
faetsst he is entitled to the benefit of
this proviso. E
Now we call upon every one to scan
this article carefully and make up his
own mind as to his right to vote with
out running off after Baker and his ri
diculous instructions to the registers
1t will be seen that very few white men
in the parish are disqualified under
the Constitution. The clause that dis
qualities the great majority Of them is
the one which denies the right of suff-
rage to "those who held office, civil or
military, for one year or more, under
the organization styled +" the Confede-
rate Stares of American And vet
when properly construed this clause
will embrace but few of our people,
A State Office, for instance, from Gov
ernor down to constable, though held
during the existence of the Confedera-
~, is only State Office, and not an
office " under the organization styled
the Confederate States of American
And as tor the military offices, as many
Confederate officers as we happen to
know, ace do not knoaC a single one dis
framchise9 under this Article ofMe Con-
'titution. 1t has been decided by the
highest judicial tribunals in the coun-
Try that Commission is the thing
which decides whether position is an
o6ice or not. Now it is well known
hat very few Commissions were ever
issued to officers on this side of the
liver. If, therefore, a Confederate
officer held no Commission, or held one
Eor less time than one year, he is en-
titled to vote and to register. It is
rue we are giving a strict interpreta-
ion to the law, but laws, to viola
ion of which penalties are attached,
are required to be construed strictly by
Courts of Justice. We do not believe
hat Editors and Preachers even are
1isfranchised; for though they wrote
md preached in favor of the war, they
lid not write and preach in the tad
vocacy of treason" 1t can never be
made out that the advocates of the late
var were guilty of treason. Chief JUS
ice Chase, Attorney General Evarts,
md all the other able Radical lawyers
n the country know that not even Mr..
Davis himself can ever be found guilty
If treason.
1t should be remembered also that
hose who are disqualified can register
Dy signing the recantation certificate
set forth in Article 90 of the Constitu-
ion. Those who can conscientiously
10 so should not fail to sign the certifi-
cate at once.
Let every one, then, who can repis-