The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-09-16

ties or cltlZon in the several States.
SO that, if beinga citizen implies the
right to hold Office, then negroes can
hold otiic in Chic and New York, where
they cannot oven vote. Gen. Grants
| platform is inconsistent with such an
Interpretation of the Civil Rights
bill, because the Republican party at
Chicago, clearly announced that the
right of suffrage (and, much more
therefore, the right to hold oilico,) be-
longcd exclusively to The loyal Sta tcs,
without any authority whatever upon
the part Of Congress to ncldlc with
it; the right to NEEDLE with suffrage
III tho South they claimed hs arising
from the events OF the war.
1th. If, then, Congress has given
the right to hold ollicc to the ncgroc,
it must have done so by the recon
structiou acts But careful reading
of those laws cannot detect any clause
that confcrs amy other right than the
right to vote, SO that the question is
evidently, BY most fortunate over
sight, and inadvcrtcncc. left to tho
States themselves. The trainers Of
the so-callcd constitution of Georgia
having, therefore, omitted to insert
the necessary clause, the Legislature
has expelled the twenty-five negroes
elected to serve in that body, upon
the ground Of constitutional incligi.
bility. Georgia has thus, at least for
herself, disposed Of ncsroc government
in its most rcpuisiyc form.
We think it likely, that the Rcpub-
lican party will accept This solution rs
one applicable to all Of the Southern
States, by way of compromise. And
that IL is the solution Of our troubles
TO which some Of our ablcst minds are
now grayitating, can lac proved, first
by the action of Georgia, and second
| ly, by i"t'm"ttoas from othcrquartcrs.
In evidence, wc publish the conclusion
Of u reply to Chief Justice pcarson's
radical advice to North Carolina,
published in the Wilmington .JurHal
last month. and said by tho editors to
have come from one Of the first Judi
cal minds in that State
cit vii! be left to the people Of the
several states Of the South, if they
sec proper, without any Federal inter
reference, to hold Conventions and
alter their Constitutions. And
verify believe they will coolIy deter
mine not to deprive the negro of his
present right Of >ul'ragc. As Il voter
and base Of representation he will be
retained, but by his own consent and
the consent Of the whites he will no
longer hold Office. All this will be
done, il it is done, in peace and con.
stitutionality."
We also publish the following por-
ton # an editorial from the Rich
mon! Ni&potch
eve have repeatedly argued in
these columns that the negro is not
eligible to Office under the rrconstruc-
ton acts. lie is certainly ineligible
under the Constitutional laws of Vir-
glnla. All parts of Ihat Const tuition
and all of th"Sn laws ~" jus! as GER
tainly i'll force here now rs they were
before those acts were passed. cyccpt
such parts of the Constitution and
such laws as are repealed by virtue of
those acts Of Congress. Therefore.
when Congress declared, as it did in
those acts, that the negro should be
allowed to vote, and omitted to say
that he should be permitted to hold
Office, it did in effect declare that the
law OF Virginia as respects his incligi-
bility to Office should remain in force.
"l}ut the Howard amendment does no,
confer upon the negro the right to hold
oIlicc. On the contrary, it cxprcssl,
and It's very terms, admits the right o
every Stat" to deprive him even O.
suffrage. We quolcis language one,
more
"SEc. ,. Representatives shall hc ap.
por,loncd amnng the several States ac
; cordlng 10 their respective numbers
counting the whole number oipcrSons il
each State, excluding Indians not taxed
But when the nghLlo to vote at anv c)cc
ton for the choice of electors for Irrsi
dent and Nicc-PrcsidcnL of The United
States, representatives IN Congress, OK.
ccul'vc and judicial officers Of State
or The members of the Legislature there
OF. IS denied to any OF The male inhab,
iants OF such States being twenly.ono
years of age and citizens Of the United
States, or in any WY abridged, except
Tor participation III rebellion or Other
crime, the basis Of representation therein
shall bo reduced in the proportion which
the number Of such male citizens shall
bear to the whole number of male ci,i
zens twenty ono years Of age in such
State"
"Thc meaning Of this language is SC
evident that we mood nct mint - <,,,t