The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1870-02-09

right of suffrage for Congress, and nj
two States have the same law on tn
subjects: Tie States make the citizen
/ and the Constitution only adopts hin
and accortis linn the same privileges Al
citizens that have been made such b.
all the other States. In this article
the word "citizenn OF the United States
means no more than the word "inhabi
tant" used in the same clause. The &C
ton of Congress itself in the admission
of members leaves no room for doubt
on the subject. A foreigner from Eu,
rope cannot become citizen until af:
ter five years residence. If he must
be- IN citizen for nine years before lit
can be eicctcttto the Senate, then he
cannot be u Senator until he has been
fourteen years aT inhabitaut. Con.
gress has never required SO long res.
idence. Mr.. Gallatin (tlough once re.
E.jected) was admitted before he had re.
sided so long in America. General
Shields had been here such short
time over nine years that there were
Iaouhts of the legality of his election,
but he was admitted and the Senate
never dreamed OF requiring him to
wait fourteen years. We do not be-
lieve that Mr.. Schultz has been in
America for fourteen years. If a for
eigner should come to America and
live here twenty years before taking
out his naturalization papers he would,
according to the new theory, be COM
PEELED to wait nine years more before
he could lie elected to the Senate. We
believe that in such a case he would be
eligible the day he should receive his
final papers. : i!IG M
Moreover, we should remember tho
circumstances under which the Con-
stitution was adopted. Chief Justice
fancy, in the bred Scott decision,
which the Radicals now quote to sus-
tain their position, argues that moth
ing in the Constitution can be con-
strued to apply to negroes because they
were then slaves and there existed no
expectation of their becoming part of
the mass of freemen for whom the Con-
stitution was framed. To quote SEN
tence which the Radicals have garbled
and endeavored to use it to make the
name of its great author infamous, the
was framed on the theory
that a negro has no rights which Il
white man is bonnd to respect. Freed
negroes were, therefore, never thought
Of when the article in question was
framed. Their rights must be deter
mined by reference to other provisions
of the Constitution and to the laws
framed for their special benefit. The
article was adopted solely for the pur-
pose Of affording an opportunity to in
telligent foreigners, after certain res
idence, to become members of the Ma
tional Legislature. If the new theory
be correct then no negro can DO Presi-
dent ofthe United States for thirty
years to come for the reason that the
Constitution TART 2, sec. u provides
that no person shall be elected Presi-
dent except a ''natural. born citizen"
All the natural born negro citizens now
i'll the country are mere children. If
this is the true Radical theory, then
Fred. Douglas and hampton, who can
never be eligible to the Presidency or
Vice-Presidency, would incontincntly
quit the party. . .5it'A
In fact'this very clause proves incon-
testably that our theory Of the mean
ing of the word "citizens," as usual in
the Constitution, is the correct one. If
"citizen" were SYNONYMOUS with "vo-
ter" then 70 natural born citizen" is
Z
simply an impossibility. 1t is not usu-
al for men to be born full grown and
Of the agelof twenty -one years. f..rd
The Radicals, therefore, will have to
decide this question soon, and it is i'm
possible to decide it legally against the
pretensions'of the new negro Senator.
[tplaces them in a most excruciating
dilemma, on one or the other horn of
which they are bound togbe impaled.
If they reject him then their duplic-
Ity will be exposed and the, whole mass
IF tile Southern negro vote viii be lost
20 them. # they admit him, then this
recognition of negro equality will cost
them more Northern Willie votes than
they will gain Ivy the 18th Amendment
which they are about to declare adopt
ed by the most fragrant frauds that
were ever perpetrated upon free peo-
pie. 1t will be n little amusing to an
outsider to see them face the music.
This they are bound to do before the
Fall elections, and to take the conse-
Iuences of their action.
In the decision of this question we
10 not hesitate to admit that our SYM
oathy is with the negro. As long rs
We are to have him as a Southern of.