The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-25
A NEGRO SENATOR.
The Hon. Hiram p. Reyels, Of Mississippi His
Eligibility Considered from Legal Btand-

The Hon. Hiram p. ReyeIs, OF NIississippi-
Eligibility Considered from a Legal stand
point. ...-
The Mississippi Legislature has elected a
United States Senator, in whose person will be
tested the principle of political equality In Its
fullest extent, The Senator elect, chosen last
week to fill a Senatorial term expiring March 4,
1871, is MIR. II. p. Reyels, colored resident OF
Natchez. Mr.. Revels is q native of Ohio, Is
a graduate of 0berlin, and was educated for the
Methodist ministry. He formerly preached IN
Indianapolis and went from that city to Mssis-
sippi. He has not been heretofore very promi-
nent in the politics of the State. He is nearly
forty years of age, courteous and gentlemanly
In appearance and manner, of healthy dark
brown color, and is said by those who know
him to possess more than average ability. He
is at present State Senator from the Fourth, or,
as 1t is currently termed, the Natchez district.
Mr.. Revels has a-brother iii Washington City.
formerly barber, now q clerk in the Freed
mems Bureau. The election was a surprise to
the Mississippi Republicans at the capital, rs,
beyond local reputation at Natchez, Mr.. Revels
was but little known in the State. They all
unite in recognizing him as q creditable repre-
sentative of his race. Governor Alcorn was
chosen for the full term after the expiration of
Mr.. Revels' term of service. General Ames
will be the colleague of the latter, until the
Governor takes his seat as a Senator.
SENATOR REvELs RIGHT TO A SEAT.
OF course this question will meet Mr.. Revels
when he presents himself at the clerks desk of
the Senate to take the oath of office as United
States Senator. While 1t is admitted that he
possesseS the other legal qualifications for the
position, the question is raised whether he is
eligible under the Constitution of the United
States, which stipulates that mo person shall
be q Senator who shall not have attained to the
age of thirty years, and been nine years citizen
of the United States, and who shall not, when
elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which
he shall be chosen" When General Shields was
first elected to the United States Senate from
Illinois this question was raised against him; he
was citizen at the time of his election, but had
not been nine years a citizen, as required by the
Constitution.
The Chicago Republican of Saturday, in dis
cussing this question, takes the ground that Mr..
Revels is ineligible to Senatorial honors because
he has not been citizen nine years. According
to the reasoning of the Republican, it was ad-
Indicated by the Dred Scott decision that the
status of colored residents of this country, even
though born on our soil, was not that of cit-
zen, whether slave or free that consequently,
such persons were not included among the
'people" in the general words of the Federal
Constitution, and could not, in any respect, be
considered as citizens This decision, though
now generally regarded as infamous in its mean
ing and intent, has been recognized by Con-
gress, in the passage of the Civil Rights act
that great measure of justice and reparation to n
long prosecuted, down-trodden, victim race-as
volid and binding-as res ddjudtcatd.
With these facts in view, viz 4, that to be-
come Senator of the United States a person
must have been nine years citizen; that colored
men, according to the decision of the Supreme
Court, were not citizens nine years ago and
that Congress did not consider them citizens up
to the time of the passage of the Civil Rights
act, the Chicago Republican claims ''that not
only Mr.. Fevels but all of his race, are as yet
ineligible to the place of Senators of the United
States. The citizenizing law alluded to was
passed by Congress on April 8, 1866 after it had
been vetoed by the President. Then, until nine
years after that date, no colored man can be re-
garded as qualified to become United States
Senator, nor until seven years after that date n
Representative in Congress. These are the con-
stitutional, judicial and legal aspects of the
question"