The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1870-06-16
THE ENTERPRISE.
SwEETwATER, THURSDAY, JUNE, l6, 1870.
The Government and the States.

Alexander hamilton, IN No. o9 or the
Federalist says:
"Suppose an article had been introduce
cd into the Constitution, empowering the
United States to regulate the elections for
the particular States, would any man have
hesitated to condemn it, both as an un-
warrantable transposition of power and as
premeditated engine for the destruction
of State Government"
Now let tho reader see what has been
done by act of Congress in the Enforce
mcnt bill. There Government has the
power to abridge, prevent or deny the
right to vote, and in an act of pains and
penalties which has the only merit of be-
ing so intolerable as to give good ground
for believing that no jury or judge will
ever be found bad enough to enforce it.
At one dash of the pen it takes away all
safeguards against election frauds, and at
tempts to enforce the purity of elections
created by the States.
The fines and penalties run through
twelve out of twenty-three sections, and
certain the most extrayagant .punishments
for failures to perform certain duties or
the commission of forbidden acts. In one
case there is $500 fine and imprisonment
for month at least. There is no limita-
tion to the fine, for it may be $50, 900 fine
and imprisonment year. These penal
ties are cumulative; you fine the man in
an amount to be given to the informer,
and then make him guilty of public Of
fense and fine him again for the misde-
meanor. The ofenses, whether of omission
or commission, are indefinite, which tends
to injustice. In section 2, an officer of
election shall not only "forfeit and pay
$500 to the person aggrieved thereby, to
be recovered by an action on the case, with
full costs, and allowances for counsel fees
as the court shall deem just" but "shall
also, for every such onense, be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on
conviction thereof, be fined not less than
$500, or be imprisoned not less than one
month and not more than one year, OIL
both, at the discretion of the court"
Again, section six provides:
"That if two or more persons shall band
or conspire together, or go in disguise up
on the public highway, or upon the prem
Uses of another, with intent to violate any
provision of this act, or to injure, oppress
threaten, or intimidate any citizen with in.
tent to prevent or hinder his free exercise
and enjoyment Of any rights or privilege
granted or secured to him hy the Consti-
tuition or laws of the United States, or be-
cause of his having exercised the same
&c."
An er parts oath takes the place of ev.
cry guard which heretofore existed; while
herein the er parte affidavit of any man
who wants to vote, and who has not CON-
piled with the prerequisites for casting his
vote, if made falsely, has no punishment
provided. An act that contains excessive
penalties for the violations Of the act, con-
tains no punishment for the most fiagi-
tious of all offenses, the taking of a false
oath, either to injure fellow-being or to
Fgain right to which the party is not en-
titled. Not word is said in this bill for
the white naturalized citizen of the Unit
ed States, as in Rhode Island, for instance,
where negroes now, as for long time past,
vote exempted from qualifications that the
constitution and laws of that State impose
on white naturalized citizens.
Again, the Sd section provides that
where man has not been assessed, or is
not registered, nor performed any other
|
prerequisite required by the constitution
and laws of a State before he shall vote,
he may make his er parte affidavit that
he has proposed to do these things and
prevented, and if his vote is refused by a
person whose sense of duty compels him
10 refuse it, then he is to recover $500,
"with full costs and such allowance of
counsel fees as the court shall deem Just
Again, the United States Supreme
Court, in the case Of Prigg vs. Common.
wealth Of Pennsylvania, has decided that
Congress cannot impose any duty on .
State officer, or enforce the performance
by State officer Of a duty; and yet, in
the face of this decision, the 7th section
says