Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-03-25

THURSDAY NJ MINING, MARCH -, 1868. !
The Suffrage Amendment.
. Congress proposes an amendment to
the Constitution restricting the power
of States upon the question of suffrage,
and submits it to the States, in the man
ner prescribed by the constitution, for
ratification or rejection. This action Of
Congress has been made a pretext, by
shaIlow-pated or dishonest scriblers OF
the Democratic persuasion, TO charge
the Republican party with a repudia-
ton of its own theory upon this subject
as set forth in the second resolution
the National Platform. In that :.
form it is declared that 1.-The ques' r. ;"
suffrage in all the loyal States rora,I,
belongs to the people Of tho~ .states y
This was the doctrine Oft 70 Rennhl;cor r
party on the Goth day NAV. 1865 and
it is the doctrine of = de marty now +,
this rignt oio NV Oelong to the States il
would be very lily in Congress to pro-
pose an amer -dment to the Constitution
ofthe Unr.ed States restricting the ex.
ercise OF this right by the States in GER
tain cases. If the States have no right
to restrict or controlthen they can con-
fer no power to restrict or control in the
general government by an amendment
to the Constitution. If they possess no
rights then they have no rights to save
or surrender. The right, however, does
exist and it has been so exercised ac-
cording to the peculiar whims, caprices
or prejudice of each particular State,
that there is no uniformity in the
rights and privileges of citizens of the
United States residing in different
States. This want of uniformity, and
the inability of the general government
'ste guarantee to the citizens of each
State the rights and privileges of the
citizens of the several States" has in
duced the Republican party through its
Representatives in Congress to propose
this amendment to the Constitution,
and instead of it being any evidence
that the Republican party has repudiat-
ed the doctrine of the Chicago Platform,
it is the most conclusive evidence that
it is thoroughly controlled by it.
When the States gave to the general
government the exclusive right to emit
bills of credit, coin money, declare wal,
make treaties of peace, and do other
things, the right to do which had always
-:-sd 3, <ba eayaroI Gfatas II ruao that
there might be uniformity in the value
of our money, unity of action and gen.
eral cooperation in defence of the gov
eminent, and that the government
might possess the means necessary to
protect the interests and rights of the
citizens of the several States. The citi-
zen has no greater right than that of the
elective franchise, and none that to SO
great an extent gives him the power of
self-protection; but the general govern
ment, no matter what the citizen may
have done for its preservation or sup
port, has no power to secure to him this
greatest of all the rights or privileges of
the citizen, and he is entirely at the
mercy of the State. A citizen of the
United States removing from the State
of Massachusetts or Tennessee, New
York or South Carolina, can never OBJ.
tain the rights and privileges of all citi-
zen of Ohio, because in the latter citi-
zen of the United States is not accorded
the same rights that they possess in the
former. This inequality of rights. this
diversity of law, resulting from the ap-
plication of this doctrine of rhe right of
the State to discriminate between the
citizens Of the United States in the ex-
ercise of the elective franchise, has in
duced Congress to submit this amend
ment restricting or regulating this right
of the States, and instead of it being a
reputation of the theory that the States
possess the right to regulate the elective
franchise it is clear recognition of that
right. On the subject of the propriety
of adopting this amendment we will
have something to say at another time;
we only intended in this article to call
attention to the absurdity of the Demo
cratic reasoning, if it may be SO digni-
fed, by which they attempt to convince
their readers that the Republican party
has discarded the doctrine of its Plat
form. -