The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-12-09
MORE rINKERING WITH THE C0NsrI
TUITION.

| jects for amending the Constitution. Re
| publicans of nearly all shades favor some
sort of amendment respecting the right of
| suffrage in the several States. But from this
| point they diverge. They have found out
impartial suffrage and universal suffrage are
not synonymous terms. The principle of
universal suffrage is clearly imprscticable I'M
less it is made to include women, children,
criminals and idiots. Hence, a so-called sys-
tenn of universal suffrage, unless thus widely
extended, would necessarily be in some de-
gree restricted, and might not be impartial.
| The principle of impartial suffrage simply
means that the same standard Of qualification
| for voting shall be extended to all classes,
races and colors There is scarcely limit to
| its possibilities of Acknowledgement 1t would
| admit of system Of competitive examina-
tons, similar to that through which candi-
dates for all public functions have to pass in
China. For example, it might require that
any one, to become q voter, must show that
he can spell and define through the whole of
Websters Dictionary; or that he can compute
by logarithms; or that he can read Sanskrit
and decipher the Runic inscriptions; or that
he has philosophical comprehension of the
antinomies of Kant the eclecticism of
Cousin, or the transcendentalism of Emerson;
or, still more difficult task that he can make
head or tail of the political, philanthropical,
or politico-economical writings of Horace
Greeley Or if the muscular instead of the
literary and intellectual standard were adopt
ed, it might be made an indispensable con-
dition to voting for President or town con-
stable, that a man should display on his arms
flexors and extensors which would honorably
compare with those of Heenan or Coburn, or
that he should be able to perform gymnastic
feats equal to those of the Hanlons or the
Miaco brothers. In either case the suffra-
gans would constitute a superlatiyely select
body-an ohgarchy the most wondrous that
the world had ever seen. But the result
would not be the thing aimed at by the Radi-
cal agitators, who have been furiously, but
ignorantly, insisting on impartial suffrage;
for every Southern negro would probably be
excluded, and perhaps very few of the carpet
baggers, for the most part as poorly off in the
way of learning and logic as they are in the
way of muscular strength for work, lighting
or manly exercise, would be admitted. There
fore it is that the Radical advocates of an
amendment to impose the principle of impair
tial suffrage on the States, leaving its appli-
cation discretionary with the States, have
generally abandoned this proposition, and
now demand an amendment to deprive the
States of any discretionary action in fixing
the qualifications of voters. This idea is en-
bodied in q formal statement by the New
York Tribune thus:
ARTICLE XIV. The right of suffrage in the sew
eral States shall be regulated by the Legislatures
thereof, subject to the following provlsos:
l. That no State shall exclude from the class Of
electors Of State snd national officers any Imale
citizen of the United States, of the age of Il
years, who has re sided one year in the State. who
10 OF sound mind, good moral character, and has
not been convicted of a felonious crime.
2. any persOD who has resided one year ia the
United States, and makes public oath before a
competent magistrate that he intends permanently
10 reside here, a0d to render allegiance to the
United States az all times, shall be deemed and
held y citizen Of the United States, and shall be
entitled TO vote such at any time after he shall
have been six months citizen. but not sooner.
,. Each State shall be authorized to pass such
registration or ether laws as may be deemed ne.
cessaIy 10 protect the rights OF legal voters and
punish illegal voting.
The provision about the attainment of citi-
zenship by one years residence in the United
States is intended to hurt the Democratic
party by abolishing the, present somewhat
complex and protracted process of naturaliza-
ton. But the efficacy of the expedient is
doubtful. If the Democrats have obtained
marked advantage by converting foreigners
into voters, as they are presumed to have
done, when the legal mode was slow and
difficult, it stands to reason that they would
obtain still greater advantage by such con-
version when the mode should be compare
lively simple and rapid.
Some other Radicals-and we believe these
are represented by Sumner-propose to in
vest Congress, by an express provision of the
Constitution, with the power to pass uniform
suffrage laws for the States. But here would
arise the grave possibility of the control and
regulation of suffrage passing into the hands
of q Democratic Congress. This, in the
opinion ofthose Radicals who are not satisfied
with any policy which fails to take bond of
fate and gives a single hostage to the future,
is a fatal objection to the proposition. In
tne WOIuS Oh tue New 1OIh lflDune, " the
Democratic party would only have to come
into power at Washington to abolish negro
suffrage in Georgia, Iowa, and Massachusetts,
and even exclude men from voting throughout
the country, solely on account of their politi-
cal views" This class of Radicals, therefore,
insist that their scheme of extended suffrage
"a scheme that would include, besides native
negroes and Indians in the several States, all |
the Esquimaux, all the Mongolians, all the |
Australians and all the Hottentots who may
choose to reside one year in the United |
Ststes-shallb be put beyond the reach of either
congressional OF State action. Ard they fancy |
that, incorporated in the Constitution, it viii |
find there an impregnable protection. This |
faith in the sacred virtue of the Constitution |
is a new and strange development Of the Radi- |
cal mind. That instrument has never been |
able to protect anything from their assault
Do they suppose that constitutions are strong
only il, so far as they are identified with Radi 4