The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-02-03

tore In OppQltlUn 10 LtnbJOplulonl VI 'tuo
Attorney General,ia las Mr.! Stanton'a friends
we're urgent 10 have him recognized by
the Administration 81. ayE1Wai
,itgIt tgii44t-:-= - --.-rr----'0Ia
THE MISSOURI TEST OATH!
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Decision Of the Supreme Court in the
ljilg41a Frank Blair Case. snl.z' ~ -
al iIlCt .0i!. !---l-it.. i.-l,. iflI "nd
RetToactiye Provisions Of the Fnnda.
f'mental Law Not Inhibited Uhsbs
der Certain Circumstances. ~
No. 10, FFdEeiS z, Bar u. Is. John s.
ThompS5R and Stephen htdgelg, ,4srtot' to
the Supreme Court, 1NiSSouri.-This action
was commenced in the ST. Louis County
Circuit IN January, 1850, by General BlAilE,
10 test the validity Of certain sections Of
the suffrage article Of the new constitu-
ton ofthe State of Missouri, and Is brought
against the defendants, who, as judges Of
election, refused to receive his vote, he
declining to take the prescribed oath. The
clause sought 10 BIG tested Is this &
No person shall DO deemed . qualified voter who
has ever been In armed hostility TO tho United
States or to the lawful authorities thereof, or to
the government Of this StatG1rIlpa't aura
General Blair having been o Colonel in
command Of one ofGtho regiments which
captured the State forces OF Governor
Jackson and several times engaged in bat
tic with tho estate troops organized under
ths,autliority of the Legislature, deemed
himself unable to subscribe to the oath OF
LOYALTY 10 the government Of the State and
declined to take II; therOupon his vote
was rejected, The petition setting forth
these fiGctS waS demurred to, and upon tho
hearing tho demurrer was sustained and
the Supreme Court of tho State affirmed
the decision The grounds taken by the
plaintiff in error In this Court are first,
that the oaths preScribedare punishment
and, being such, are bills Of attainder; and
secondly, they are er post actO, in that they
impose punishment for the accounts
named Which did not exist at the time
they were committed . they are cOnse-
uuCntly, in conflict with the federal con-
stitution; and third, It Is argued, also,
that General BIaif, In having been arrayed
in armed hostility against Gov. Jackson
and the State organization at the time
existing under him, was arrayed against
the lawful government Of the State.
Some twenty different acts were
passed by the then Legislature to aid in
resisting the government of tho United
States, and the, whole machinery Of the
government legally elected and authorized
was arrayGd against the federal power.
General Blair had, therefore, no color Of
law. Stateor national, for the hostile or
CARNATIONS he set on foot at the outbreak
Of the war, and which were turned d.
rectly upon the lawfully elected authorl.
ties of tho State; he could not conSe-
uuently take the oath prescribed. The
defendant commended that tho statutes Of
Missouri many Of which were quoted +
for moro than thirty years have clearly In
dicated what are utter words, for the OK
preston Of intention 10 punish both aS to
tclonies and mislemeanors. But this In
strument does not use such words as ore
generally considered apt for that purpose.
The intention to punish can only be aScer-
tanned from the people themselves, by the
words they use ii their constitution, and
such words do not appear, No court has
a right 10 strain out such an intent by In
ference. II must DO declared and mani
fest, and the moment any tribunal or pow
or, assuming to haYe discovered an intent
TO punish where Il isnot declared, intGrteres
with tho discretion Of any power Of the
people in the matter, that moment thepeo-
IilG's authority Is annihilated and another
bower Yields 1t, There being no pun.
ishment expressed mono was intenlGd, and,
therefore none exists; and there Is no at
taindor and nothing to operate eE poSt
fdc!0 on the question Of what, constitutes
tho State The defendants assert that It Is
the peoples, and they submit that the
government Of q State Il tho lawful aU.
thority Of the State II Is then insisted,
at great length, that thetnoment Govcrn.
or jackson and the State Legislature at.
tempted to array the State against the
United States that moment under the
constitution Of the United States and the
whole spirit9 and intention Of the laws,
they ceased 10 be the lawful authorities Of
the State, and became more rebels That
act stripped both Of all official power and
authority, and placed both In armed hos.
tlltty 10 the State as well as against the
United States. These arc the persons who
were IN armed hOailtyto the State, and
not General Blair, and II follows that he
General Blait) Is wholly without any
ground for pretending that he 3 dtstran'
chised by that clause, and being 80 his re.
ftsAlls TO- take the oath Of loyalty when
be offered 10 vote was simply an act Of his
own peryerse and obstinate will. In add.
ton to the foregoing argument the defend:
ants, as an independent and general
proposition, Insist that the, people Of q,
Stato in framing their constitution have
an unlimited and absolute power over the.
whole subject Of suffrage and the right TO
exercise that power when they please,
how they please, in favor Of whom they
please, against whom they please, without
accountability or revision by any tribunal.
or authority In the world, and they say
tNAtthIs action Is a deliberate. not 70 say.
auiAcious, attempt 10 strike, through the
c6uFtS, a lGtal blow at a State right which
SIl'Inen In this land, OF every section, eve
n. marry and every political creed, have
| GiWays united n holding 70 b beyond the
raGh'0P interference, and witch The Con!
Stitutf6h 6fthe United States Feeos Aized IN
the platnest forms d belonging 70 the Pe0.
0Ia ~ ovoFv Stain tn tho inter oYclugiOn