The Placer herald., 1870-04-30
NEITHER LAW NOR JUSTICE.

we nave been somewhat surprised az 'uo
course The Eraminer has aken on the ques-
ton Of the early registration o! colored peo'
Pile in this State The Examiner would
have Democratic officers, as we'll as Repub
lcan, violate their oa,hs and disobey the
party sustain them in these illegal acts. sim
ply because il believes, as we do, that Con-
gress will at some future time pass laws
compelling them to do SO. We supposed
the Democratic party to be a law abiding and
not a law breaking party, and its press,
among which we rank the Examiner very
high as lhe advocate Of a strict compliance
with the law rs it exists and not as it may
be in the future. We have seen 90 argu-
ment from any source either Republican or
Democratic Of the self enforcing qualities Of
this Fifteenth Amendment. Congress itself
holds to no such absurd doctrine. The AT.
torney General WAS applied TO by the Clerk
Of Nevada county 10 know whether be
should register colored persons or not, and
General Hamilton answered, as the editor
Of the Examiner would have answered bad
he been the sworn law officer OF the Stale,
that such persons were not now entitled to
registration. This was the answer he was
bound to give under the law and Conslilu'
ton as they st; nd. and in this opinion and
answer be should have been sustained by
every law abiding paper in the Slate and
especially by the Democratic press.
The Clerk of Sonoma county refuses to
register colored men, and now, if the Fi>
teenlb amendment is selfoperaling, let some
of those writer's who gnore or condemn
General Ilamillon's opinion tell US in what
cour, he is to be tried, what his tffence is
and what are the penalties. We asked
similar question two weeks age, and as yet
no one dares to attempt an answer. We
speak OF The Examiner because it is the
only Democratic paper in the State, recog-
nzed by the whole party as such, to our
know ge, that has counseled the violation
OF law, simply in anticipation Of the pas
sage OF some other law in the future. This
may do for an editor, hut it will not do for
an officer who is sworn to obey and execute
the laws as they exist.
Congress may and probably will pass
law to carry into effect the SO called Fff-
teenth Amendment, but it has not, as yet,
done SO, and until it does pass such an act
every county Clerk and Assessor in the State
who registers colored person does so in
violation Of bis oath and the Constitution
and laws Of The State. 1t is new doctrine
to us that perjury must now be committed
that we may be in harmony with some aw
that Congress may in The future pass.
Oar Registry law prohibits the regstra-
ton of colored men, and our Constitution
permits none but white men to vote, and if
the fifteenth amendment is self enforcing,
then the Registry Act lie nuIily, and we
canuot have any more legal registration of
voters, unless under some future law of Con.
gress. Ia this view Of the question, what
foolish, ridiculous and stullifying position do
these advocates Of negro registration occupy
Treating the Fifteenth amendment as val
id portion Of the Constitution of the United
States then, under its authority, Congress
has the undoubled power to pass registry
law for all the States and provide it's own
Federal Boards of Registration. The advo.
Gates Of colored registration stand before the
public in about this ligh': They want ne,
groes registered under a law that prohibits
their registration, because the Fifteenth
amendment has rendered that law null and
void; or, put ii in this way: The Registry
law is dead letter, but you must violate its
carcass in order to comply with its proyis.
ions.
These fool creatures are the laughing
stock of every sensible, well informed man
10 the State.