The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-05-31

\ laws.s of the United States. Any
person or persons declining to take
said oath,- shall 1be discharged
| by the Court from serving on the
grand or petit jury, or. venire, tt
which he may have been summoned.
l.. Mr.. THURMAN-The first thing
that strikes one on reading that'statute
is what l sand to the Senate the; Other
day. that it makes the selection oI
jurors IN every. case, in civil cases be
tween man and man. and m whichthe
United States assno'interest whatever,
lin cases that are in no sense political
in cases that shave noscennectian what
eyer, with the rebellion. in cases in
Maine as well as eases! imTexas,i in
cases in Boston asi we'll dasd cases in
! Charleston lit makes the constitutio n
of that Jury depend, not upon the
will of the parties to the suit, , but
upon the arbitrary will of a Judge of
a Federal Court and Ithe will of q
District Attorney of the United States.
If that District Attorney shall move
at the commencement of the term: of
Court, and the Judge shall so order,
that no man shall be a juror at that
term unless he cain take this oath,
then no man, unless he can take it,
can be such Juror; and although: every
party htigant in that Court could de-
sire him to be a juror, he is excluded
from the jury box. In other words,
the: arbitrary discretion is given to the
District Attorney and the District
Judge TO rule out every man whom
the parties 1itigant in that Court might
desire to sit as juror in their case.-
In caseriH-wlaioh'-th the Limited States
has no possible interest whatever, cases
that are not in the least degree politi-
cal, an action on a policy of insur-
ance or a bill of exchange, or a prom
issory note, in all such actions, in
every action in short, every, man WHO
can not take that oath may be exclud-
de from the jury box if the District
Attorney shall move TO exclude him
and the Court shall be weak enough
or base enough to make the order.
Now, sir, what is the consequence :?
In Georgia, where the Attorney Gen
eraI of the United States resides, if
the Judge should make such an order,
your Attorney General could not be a
Juror. In North Carolina, where the
Senator whose seat is before me (Mr.
PooD resides, if the, Judge should
make such an order, he could not be
a Juror In Georgia, where the Sen
ator over there (Mr. ~HilD resides, if
the Judge should make such an order,
he, as member of the Senate of the
United States, whose disabilities have!
been removed, coulQ not be juror.
Nay, more, in the State. of Virginia,
where Judge Rives, whose disabilities
have been removed, presidcs in the
District Court, he might be asked to
make an order which would exclude
him from the jury box if he were not
the Judge; and there would be a
Judge disqualifying himself from sittin'
on the jury, requiring, that every man
in the like attitude should leave the
Jury box and be unable to sit in it.
That, sir, is this law. If there ev-
er was d law that violated every prin-
cip!e of justice. If there ever was
law that violated every principle Of
public p,oficy-I do not speak now OF
the time when it was enacted, a time
of war, but now IN time of peaee-it
is this very second section of this act
which the report of the Conference
Committee proposes to retain.
Nay, more, sir, what is your; -Four |
teenth Amendment, which SO sedu-
lously guards the rights, privileges
and immunities of the citizens of the |
Uuited States and of the States, and |
which so carefully declares that no
State shall make any law that shall de-
prive any person resident in it of the
equal protection of the laws, worth, if
you cain preserve on your statute book
such a law as this Where are the
equal rights and privileges of citizens;
where is the equal protection of the
aw; where are the rights, privileges
ind immunities of the citizens, it
Congress can exclude from the jury
box ninety-one hundredths of all the
people of the late insurrectionary
States? And when l say all the peo-
ole mean the black people as well as
he white. For what says this act ?
What is man to swear? Without
'eading the whole oath, let me show
,ou one single thing heis to swear:
'sThat you have not, directly or in
lirectly, given any assistance in money
" any other thing, to any person or
persons whom yoh knew, or had good
round to believe, had joined, or was
bout to join, said insurrection and re- {
,ellien, or had resisted or was about
O resist, with force of arms, the exc
ution of the laws of the United
States
1t is not necessary that the aid
hould have been given with intent
Mr. BLAIR want to put one ques-
ion to the Senator. il 80 --f
Mr.. THURMAN-1 hope not. ,'..sE
The Presiding Oficer-The Sena-
Dr. from Ohio declines to yield. '''.. {
Mr.. THURMAN-Itis is not necessary I
hat the aid should have been 6 iven t
Dr. the purpose of aiding the rebel I
on. The language is descriptive Of
he person to whom the aid is given 9
nd omits any intent; and therefore, +
Though the aid was given without t
ny intent to assist the rebellion at all, c
Though the cup of water was d
iven to a wounded Confederate sol t
ier merely to quench the thirst; that a
,rtured him in the agony of death, a
his act prohibits the man who gave a
le drop OF water, prohibits the good s
amaritan who poured oil IN the l.
ound from sitting in the jury box P
hat is what your act is. !. It is. not p
ke the test oath in regard to, office s
does not require at all that the as :
stance shall have been given to aid !
le rebellion; if it has been given to d