Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-04-23
THE THIRD SECTION OF THE
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT.


Wehsve heretofore published the speech
Of Senator Carpenter, a Republican, an
eminent lawyer and member Of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, maintaining
that the general and special pariOns of
President Johnson released those TO whom
those psrdons applied from the political
disabilities under which they previously
lsbored, and that such were not now
snenable to the third section of the Four
teenth Amendment, nor to the act Of
Congress passed for its enforcement.
That section resds rs follows:
Sec. 3. No person shall be Senator
or Representative in Congress, or ele ctor
of President and Yice-President, or hold
any Office, civil or military, under the
United Safes, or under any State, who,
having previously taken an oath, as
member of Congress, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any
State Legislature, or as an executive or
Judicial officer of any State, to support
the Constitution of the United States, shall
have engaged in instruction or rebellion
sgsns. the same, or given aid OF comfort
to the enemies thereof. But Congress
msy, by a vote Of two-thiTds of each
House, remove such disability.
Under the act passed to enforce that
amendment a large number of persons
have been indicted in the Federal Courts
of this State for holding Office under the
State, who were sheriffs, cOnstsbles or
clerks previous to the war. These latter,
we insist, were neither executive nor jul
dicisl officers of the State, and therefore
not liable to indictment under the En-
fOrcement Act. Such we understand to
be the Congressional construction. At
the opening of the present session Mr..
Maynard objected to the admission of
Mr. Wsddell, of North Carolina, as a
member of Congress, upon the ground
that he was lsboring under the disabili-
ties of the above quoted section of the
fourteenth amendment, Mr. Wsddell, an
eK-Confederste, having been a Clerk and
Master il North Carolina before the war:
We quote the following from the
Congressional Globe:
Mr.. Maynard said:
| ran stare in few words the grounds
of the objection, my information as 10
The facts of the case being obtained from
members from the State of North Caro-
lima
This gentleman, as | understand it, is
disqualified from holding seat in this
House under the third article of the
fourteenth amendment Of the COnsiitu-
ton of the United States. His disquali
ticstion arises from this; that before the
war he held the office Of Clerk and
Master of Chanctry in North Carolina,
an Office which required him 10 take an
oath 10 support the Constitution OF the
United States, and that during the rebel
lion he served in the Confederate army
as Lieutenant Colon !. Those facts are.
as understand, MT cOntrOverted. | do
not learn that they are traverstd; that is,
that he held this office before the war snd
served during the rebellion in the Conted-
ers,e army in the military capacity have
stated.
1t is, however, insisted that the office
of Clerk and Master was not Judicial in
It's character. have 10 state that under
the North Carolina system of equity and
cnsncery practice the office of Clerk snd
Master is clothed with high judicial P w
er, and strictly and truly Is judicial Of
tice. To place hat matter beyond con
uoversy, understand, The question has
been specifically and distinctly decided
by the Supreme Court, the court of last
resort in that State, court which, | msy
be permitted 10 say, stands, and has al
ways stood, very high in the Judicial his
t1Ty of this country. They have deci-
ded that the holding of the office of Clerk
and Master comes within the purview of