The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1868-04-02
The Democratic RiOting at CO.
lumbus,

~ w " v OuiV ptudNts ln ulnpOAScS- b.
sing Senator Homer c. jones from
the seat to which he was elected by a
majority Of the legal votes, and plac-
ing 10 IL Henry NJ. Onderdonk, who
was not elected to il by a legal or
any other majority, was simply
braEen violation Of law aud Of public
decency in order to increase their
majority in the Senate. They made
no pretense that Onderdonk had a
majority Of the legal votes cast, but
they usurped the power to overrule
tho constitutional regulation Of the
franchise, as il had been settle for a
generation by the judgment of the
Supreme Court, and TO disfranchise
those who are enfranchised according
10 the Constitution, ia order to throw
out Republican votes, aud declare
Onderdonk elected
The five Democrats constituting
the majority of the Committee on
Privileges aud Elections, announced
their independence of the Constitu-
tion and of judicial decisions in net.
ing upon this matter, by the brazen
declaration that "the question is one
which tho Senate should decide with.
out regard to the decision Of any
other department of the Government
on the same subject" and that mas.
much as the Senate is made the Judge
Of the election returns and qualiiica.
tions, "hence no decision or opinion
Of court, or Of any other depart.
ment Of the Government, has any
authority over the Senate 10 its de.
cislon."
This means that because the Senate
is the judge Of the elections of its
members, therefore il is not bound
by the constitutional regulation of
the suffrage, but may change it so as
to throw out mombers according to
its partisan needs. IL means that
when the Democrats have tho major
ity in the legislative body, the ques.
ton whether any other members
shall be admitted shall depend on
their sovereign pleasure. 1t assumes
that the power of each House to
Judge the election returns of its mem
bers is the power to alter the consti-
tutional rule of the franchise.
The declaration that the majority
would pay no regard to judicial inter.
protations of the constitutional rule
Of franchise, is so open a confession
Of tho illegality Of this act, that it is
hardly necessary to argue the case.
The CONSTITUTION extends the suffrage
to white male citiZeno. Tho Supreme
Court, when the bench was fllcd by
Democratic Judges, decided that !he
preponderance of blood governed 20
legal classification of race, as that
persons with preponderance of the
blood of tho white race were white
persons in the meaning of the law.
There is no other common sense way
Of deciding this matter; for what a
concession Of inleriority in the white
race it would be, to say that tho 70
motest fraction of African blood in
white man, made him a negro.
This was the Democratic constitu
tional provision as to suffrage. ex.
pounded by Democratic Supr me
Court, and so it has stood for zen.
Grafton, although the last Demo ocratic
Legislative before this attempted to
break the Constitution by a iegisla.
tive act, but failed. The Democrats,
in this decennial temperance of a
Democratic majority in the Ohio
Legislature, not only disregarded the
decision of tho Supreme Court, by
throwing out forty.two legal votes on
pretense Of mixture Of negro blood,
but, as this was not enough to leave a
majority for Onderdonk, they threw
out enough legal votes, against which
there was no pretenSe Of mixed blood,
to carry out their illegal purposes.
Thus the Democrtic majority placed
itself in rebellion against the Consti.
tuition aud tho decisions Of the Courts,
in order to perpetrate this outrage
Aud this is Of character with all
their proceedings during the session.
Their conduct is more like a raid
than Legislature. They resemble
gang of John Morgan's men, in pos.
session ofan Ohio village, aud striv.
ing to destroy all they can before the
troops come. No one can point to
measure for tho public welfare that
they havo introduced or that they can
be made to give any attention to.
They are engaged wholly in con-
spirscies against Constitution and
law; conspiracies TO disfranchise per.
sons who are enfranchised by the
Constitution; to gerrymandcr the
Congressional Districts to make a
place for Vallandigham, aud stop his
outcry; to take away the control of
the municipal police from both the
State aud the citizens Of the towns;
in legislaliug against tho State and
National Constitutions, such as an
act to tax Government stocks, which
repeated judicial decisions have dc.
elared exempt by the Constitution; an
act to disfranchise persons Of any
known, or visible or traceable, or
suspected, or ohargeable mixture Of
African blood, although the Suprene
Court has decided chat persons with
prepondsranoe Of the blood Of the
white race are legal white persons; an
act to disfrsaehise college students,
especially aimed at intelligent voters;
acts abolishiug municipal Institutions
like our Board of Health, because it
is not n Democratic party concern
thus making that party an ally of all
the other pestilcnces,
The whole session is a conspiracy
against the Commonwealth. Aud in
this the Democratic majority are but
repeating their fantastical tricks of
their last previous appearance ten
years ago. They have learned moth
ing aud forgot nothing. That dis
play Of its nature brought a political