Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-02-01
THE sTATUs OFTHENRGROENTRN.

VIZ ~ EH ~ y En-
NESSEE-RADTCAL.L LEGISLATION.
The sixteenth section Of the act Of the
Legislature of Tennessee, passed Feb-
ruary 18th 1867, is as follows: ''-Tz
8 BE it further enacted, That this act
shall not be so construed as to allow the
colored man to hold Office or sit on iuries.
This law was passed by the General
Assembly elected in March, lS6j--the
first that met after the convention of
January, 1865, which adopted the sche-
dule of amendments to the State consti-
tution-the ninth section Of which is in
the following words:
The qualification of voters and the
limitation of the elective franchise may
be determined by the General Assembly,
which shall first assemble under the
amended constitution.
The sixteenth section as above quoted
is a portion of the legislation, which, by
Radical construction, for which there is
also the sanction of decisions Of the
Supreme Court, is part Of the constitu-
ton, and therefore irrepealable, in letter
or spirit, by the Legislature The ninth
section Of the first franchise law reserved
expressly to the legislation Of lS65-6.7
the power to alter, amend and change the
franchise law. It was held that that
body was delegated by the convention to
exercise all the power conferred upon it,
and among these powers was that which
fixed the provisions Of the sixteenth sec
ton excluding negroes from Office and
the iurv-box Now if the first fifteen
sections of the act of 1867 are part of
the constitution, is not the sixteenth Sec
ton also2 Can portion of an act have
the force and effect Of constitutional
provision, and another part affecting I'M
portant franchises, be mere law, repeal>
able at the pleasure Of the Legislature ?
These suggestions are made in refers
ence to questions that are certainly to
arise under the operation of law passed
yesterday Of the following tenor
An Act 10 remove all disabilities for holding
Office and sitting On juries, on account OF race
and color.
Section |. Be il enacted by the General
Assembly of the State Of Tennessee, That
from and after the passage of this act, there
shall be no disqualification for holding
Office or sitting on juriesDn account of race
or color.
Sec. 2. Be il further enacted, That all
laws and parts of laws in conflict with the
first section of this act be, and they are
hereby repealed, and that this act take
effect from and after its passage.
Does this law repeal the sixteenth Sec
ton of the law of 18th February, 1867,
which is claimed to be part of the con-
stitution Has the negro the right to
Office under the law of 1868, or is he de-
MED it under the constitution of 1867 ?
The Radicals are forced to abandon
their theory that the franchise act is a
part Of the constitution, OF they stand
convicted of having attempted to gull
the negroes by the law of 1868. The
constitution of Tennessee has been
roughly handled in the past two years,
but it is not vet converted into
caoutchouc. 1t is not capable, by either
legislative OF judicial construction, of be
ing at the same time a law amendable at
the behest Of demagogues for the benefit
of the black man, and Nede and Per-
sian statute condemning the white man
TO indefinite Acknowledgement.