, 1869-06-23

Ge0ff1A las JUST Daue GeCl6lou upon tO6
question whether negro can hold an Office
in TINT State The facts Of the case were
as follows; One Richard ". White,
oolored man, and one ". J. Clements, a
white man, were opposing candidates fo1
the office Of Clerk Of the Superior Court in
Chatham County, White got a majority Of
the votas and Was declared elected. Where
upon Clements claimed tho Office, alleging
the non-elig,bility Of the colored mar, he
being Of more t1an one-eighth negro
blood. White answered the comp1ainant's
bill, denying TINT he WAS prison Of color.
oe that he had one-eighth or more Of Afri-
can blood Upon this question Of fact a
Jury was svo.n, and physician who
claimed TO have ktudied the science Of eth
noloy, and was therefore an expert, de-
ciared White to be q negro. It Seams
White ~as bright mu1atto. Upon the tes-
titnony Of this expert, the Jury found that
White was negro, and the Court Of Chat
ham County rendered Judgment depriving
him md declaring Clements elected. From
This decision appeal WIS taken to the sn-
prcme Court Of the State The MINORITY Of
the Supreme Court has now decided that
the Court below erred IN deciding that, un-
der The code OF Georgia, person of color
was not elegible to office. Judge McCay
based his Judgment upon the following
points:
l, The Constitution Of Georgia Of 1865
is a new constitution, made by and for a
reon1a xho had no existing legal civil gov
eminent.
9. The rights Of the people Of the State
are not granted them by the constitution;
the constitution Restraints, denies, regulates
and guarantees, but does not give rights.
8. The word "citzen" describes person
entitled to eyo1y right, legal and political,
enjoyed by any person in tho State, unless
there 5e some express exception, covering
the person or class Of persons
4. In the code Of the State Of Georgin it
ia declared that to hold office is one Of the
the rights of citizens, unless expressly pro-
hibited. The constitution Of 1868 adopts
the code as the law Of the State, conse-
qnently it at6.1ns as among the rights Of
citizens the right to hold Office.
| S. Tho constitution declares that all per-
sons .,orn IN fhe Tinted statas. or natnr.l. .
;-sa ~osida,,+ ~ caor,ia IN Iva c;tiznns of
Tho state
Tha rn7oa snstained his on;nion bv de-
.,.r;r, fnrtbar tbat +ha r;oht tn vota in
tha nhsanoe of nnr o.nress r,royis;on to the
| ro,+ravv ;nrn7vrs1be y;obt to be voted for .
thu constitution having various special dis
oualiacations for Office, and q colored skin
not being uentioued az one Of them, tho
omission to mention it is to be taken ns evii-
denoe that it was not intended that it should
disoualify: there never was, at any time,
| under the lavs OF Georgia, any denial in
terms Of the right Of negroes to vote or
hold Office; the Law defined nagroas to be
slaves or free pezsons ID oolor, and not cid-
sens Of the State, and the disqualification
rested on their want d citizenship; when
they became citizens, in the absence Of any
provision to the contrary, they acquired all
the rights Of citizanship> 1neligibility to
Office is denial Of right to the person seek
ing II, and also to the voter OF his right Of
choice, and the people of the State who
have the right to vote can select any person
who is not expressly disqualified By law.
Chief Justice brown reached the same