The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-08-01

uecidr6S tubb buo peEbOub HameQ IN
/ said order, received a majority Of the
| votes i1;ist INST bys the qualified voters of
their respective Counties. This may
be correct; but were all the qualified
1 voters, under the State Constitution,
permitted to cast their votes? We
think not. .iti. tiaw -. 80. /,
Let us look into the Constitution.
In Article VIII, Section III, the dis
qualifying proviso reads as follows:
provided that no person shall be
allowed to vote or hold Office, who is
now or hereafter may be disqualified
therefor by the Constitution of the
United States" Now, the Constitu-
tion of tho United States did not dis
qualify any one for holding office, on
account OF having engaged in the re-
bellion, until a very recent date. The
Convention that framed the State
Constitutions, evidently had in view
the amendment to the Constitution
of the United States, known as Arti-
Gle XIV, which they expected soon
to become O part of that Constitu-
tion, and which has just been an
nounced by the Secretary of State,
as q part of the United States
Constitution. The Sd section of Arti-
Gle XIV, in in these words:
'No person shall be Senator or
Representative in Congress, or cleo
tor of President and Vice President,
or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under
any State, who having previously
taken an oath as member of Con-
gress, or as an officer of the United
States. or as n member of any State
Legislature, or as on executive or
judicial officer of any State, to sup
port the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insur-
rection or rebellion against the same,
or given aid or comfort to the enc
mics thereof"
1t will be observed that this section
does not abridge the right of suf-
frage. 1t only disqualities certain
persons from holding Office. If this
amendment had been adopted by the
States when first proposed, no one
would have dreamed that it prohibit
ed any person from voting, who was
qualified to exercise the right of suf-
frage, under the Constitution, rs it
was before this amendment became
part of it. Now, if we bear in mind
that the State Constitution, Section
III, Article VIII, provides "that no
person shall be allowed to vote or
hold Office, who is now or hereafter
may be disqualified therefor by the
Constitution of the United States. I"
Are we not forced to the conclusion,
that the right of suffrage is not
abridged by the terms of the Con-
stitution of the State, on account of
any participation in the rebellion? :?
Does it necessarily follow, that be-
cause q person is disqualified from
holding Office by Article XIV, that
he is also disqualified from voting?
BY no means. This is a case for
strict construction. The citizen is
entitled to nil the privileges that are
not taken away in absolute terms,
and hence we argue that no person is
excluded from the privilege of suf-
frage in South Carolina, on account
of having engaged in the rebellion.
The 7th section of the ordinance of
the Convention, before quoted, pro-
vides that eoery qualified elector,
under the provisions of this Constitu-
tion, may vote for all officers to be
elected ut such elections, Ii. e.,) for
County officers. Was every qualified
voter permitted to vote at the cleo
tion for County officers, ordered by
Gen. Candy? Unquestionably not.
Then does it not follow that the late
elections for County officers are lille
gal, and per consequence, null and
void. The offices were created by
the Constitution, and the same power
Invested with authority by the re-
construction laws) that created the
Constitution, prescribes the manner
in which these officers should be
elected-and declared who should
vote. 1t was in pursuance of this
ordinance that Gen. Candy ordered
the election for State officers, mem
bers of Congress and members of the
Legislature. Without this ordinance,
We think it very doubtful, whether
he would have ordered any elections
for County officials. This should
have been done by the Legislature,
if the ordinance aforesaid was not
recognized rs guide. It is certain
ly an anomaly in the history of Con-
stitntions, for elections for officers,
provided by Constitution, to take