New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-08
THE LAWS REIAr1vE 70 MTIzEAsHuP.

Congress, at its last session, passed two
important.laws bearing upon the rights o.
voters The first, in point of time, is en-
titled can act to enforce the right Of
| citizens to vote in the several States Of
the Union, and for other purposes" and
was approved May 81, 1870. The othe,
is entitled 'An act to amend the natu-
ralization laws" and was approved July
IA, 1870. Both these acts were published
officially in the REPUBLICAN Of August IS,
and the latter again yesterday morning.
The object of the first named act is to
enforce the provisions of the fifteenth
amendment, comforting the right to vote
upon all American citizens. The last
named act was intended for purpose di-
rectly opposite, viz: to punish those who
are not citizens of the United States, and
who never were citizens, for voting or at
tempting to vote The first act is in
tended to enforce Republican rights, and
the last named to check Democratic
wrongs. In no State of the Union that
we ever heard of, have the Republicans
ever denied or attempted to deny the
right of any American citizen, whether
| native or naturalized, to vote at all cleo
tons. The fifteenth amendment and the
appropriate Legislation Of Congress,
would have been forever unnecessary I'M
der Republican rule.
On the other hand, a great abuse has
grown up in the United States, initiated
fostered and sustained by Democratic
demagogues. This is the shameful prac-
tice of driving foreigners to the polls in
herds and causing them to vote before
they have been naturalized. In New
York the abuse has grown into a prece-
cedent, and taken such deep root that it
was probably out of the power Of the
local auth critics to grapple with it. To
put it down seems to have required the
strong hand of the Congress. The law
passed on the subject appears to US to be
adequate for the purpose intended, and
we hope to see it rigidly enforced. A
foreign citizen, whose papers have been
obtained by complying with all the
forms of law, is admitted to have
the rights of native born citizen. Their
privileges are not in any manner dis
turbed by the new law; nor will they be
invaded by the Republican officers in this
State who are charged with its execution.
But they have right to demand, in COM
mon with other citizens, that improper
persons shall not be admitted to the
privileges Of the franchise. To demand
of them a residence of five years, the
oath of remuneration, and compliance
with other forms of law, as the price of
citizenship, while others of their nation
atty are permitted to pass from the immi'
grant ship to the ballot-box without cere-
mony of any kind, is manifestly unjust
to the law-observing foreigners, and we
are glad to know that Congress has sup
Piled correction to the evil.
But what may strike the reader as not al
little singular, the Democratic committed
for this State quotes the law to enforce
the right of citizens to vote without rel
gard to color, as an authority for aliens to
vote without regard to naturalization.
The act to enforce the fifteenth amend
la1 in IA Of ba
strenuous opposition of all the Democrats
in the country, and now that party in thi4
State seizes hold of its provisions and
cites them as being mandatory upon our
registers to enroll aliens with bogus
naturalization papers Instead of going
to the law passed for that purpose to def
fine the position and rights of foreigners.
Brice and his committee quote the metz
civil rights bill with an air of boyish
triumph! They refer to the act giving
the colored people the right to vote tb
disprove the Republican position that IN
naturalized foreigners have no such right.
What would our excellent friends, the
Democrats, have done had not the Repub-
licans given them the fifteenth amend
ment and the act of May 80, 1870? What
would they not have done in the way Of
roping in unnaturalized aliens without
the act of July IA?
But we are glad to learn that the Dem
ocrats have begun to look into the Unite d
States laws. They have already got SO
far along in their studies as May 81.
Perhaps they will presently come to July
H. Both are excellent laws. One is in
tended to restrain them in their pious de
signs against the colored race, and the
other to check their outrageous corruption
at the polls through the aid of alien vote rs.
Let them continue to pursue their studies.
As a party, they are wofully ignorant of
the principles and the text Of modern
laws. Some of our oldest lawyers of that
political faith are charged with not having
examined statute passed within fifteen
or twenty years, and it is said they look
upon modern enactments as innovations,
unworthy of their attention. These 10 Tvs
of Congress are novel to them, and it will
probably take some of them the rest Of
their lives to comprehend their principles.
But as they have made a fair beginning
on the civil rights act, we are hopeful that
they will live to reach the new naturaliza-
ton law.