Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1870-04-20
An Irish Election Judge at
Circleville Obeys the Law.

paper have no doubt heard of
the Judges of the election held
at Circleville, Ohio, refusing
the votes of niger BARRIERS,
nigger cooks, niger hostlers,
nigger ignoramuses, etc, on the
4th of this month. 1t appears
that one of the election judges
was an Irishman-a noble,
pure, true, law.abiding, and
honest Irishman, one who re-
garded the sacred oath he had
taken, and was determined to
obey the law, as will be seen
by the following letter he
writes to the Circleville Demo
crat, and which We wish every
Irishman in Vinton county to
read:
Mr.. EditoE-Permit me through
the columns Of your valuable paper
to ask the gentleman (O who runs
the Circleville Union, why, on the
morning Of the late election, in this
township, he did not have q few
copies Of the law to distribute among
the judges of our ward and town
ship polls, as guide to the proper
discharge of their duties. II the
Union is correct in the statement
that the "free American citizen of
African scent" was entitled to vote
at our late election, why did he not
place in the hands Of the judges tho
Tenure upon which the right was
based? We, as officers, had sworn
to do our duty according to the
law, and Article 5, Section |, Of our
Bill of Rights-and which is the
Ifundam entail law of our Stato-pro-
vides Chat every trkite male citi-
zen of the United States, Of the age
of twenty,one years, who shall have
been resident Of the State one
year next preceding the election,
and Of the county, township, or
ward in which he resides, such time
us may be provided by law, shall
have the qualifications OF an elector,
aud be entitled TO vote at all eIec.
tions"
AS one of the judges of the olec-
ton, on the 4th inst, | took an oath
TO support the Constitution, from
which the above section is quoted,
and although am what the gentle
may coYteously denominate an 'Im-
ported Irishman," !, for one, had
too much regard for my oath, too
much reverence for our laws, too
much respect for my own manhood,
and too much love for our common
country, to violate that oath in per-
mitting one who is not a citizen of
our State, who is not recognized as
such either by the common or the
statute law, to exercise the elective
franchise. AS judge of the cleo
ton, l did what l considered to be
my duty under our Constitution, and
in accordance with the construction
placed upon it by our Supreme
Court, at different times. In the
case of the Estate ex, rel. ETC., U.s.
Cincinnati" G. J. Hitchcock held
that 80 far as the elective officers
Of the State, county, or township,
are concerned, they must be uhite
men, They can be elected only by
,chits men. TPhitemen alone are legdl |
voters at State, county and town.
ship elections"
Occupying the position that |
did as one of tho judges at our late
election, | did not purpose taking
any vote, but that which was a Ie,
gal vote. That was the only way
in which | could discharge my duty
and not violate my oath,
Probably if the "Union man" had
been in my place, or in the place of
any Democratic judge, on the 4th
inst, he may not have employed
his time in punching billiards" as
ho intimates one of the Republican
judges did, but he may have had so
little respect for law, and so little
regard for the sanctity of an oath,
as to have insisted that the colored |
man should deposte his ballot.
I wish to ask tho learned and 10y
al editor of the Union, when he
speaks Of "Imported FiShman," how
long he has lived in this city?
If we mistake not, the "Imported
HiShman" he speaks of, was here
first and we are proud to say that
he is a defendant of an Irishman of |
noble birth, whose father fought for
our com mon freedom upon many a
hotly contested field Of the Revolu.
ton, and whose uncle drove the
savages from central New York.
Let tho editor Of the Union track
back his ancestry, and see if he can
discover any who were nobler, or
truer or moro loyal TO their coun-
try. ! do not wish TO speak of my
self, nor would l, were it not for
the fact that without any provoca-
ton ! have been stigmatized, by q
man who knows nothing about me,
as an Imported IriShman," "igno-
rant" etc, Without anything farth-