Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-04-26


may directly punish these enumerated offenses
as ofenses against the rights, privileges, and
immunities of persons under the COnstitu
! ton of the United States, and that the offense
OF murder, for instance, the offense of rob-
berry, the offense of mayhem, are, by the
very terms of these amendments to the Con-
stitution, offenses against the rights, privil-
eyes, and immunities of person under the
Constitution and laws of the United States.
Thus interpreted, was still unable to give
my assent to that provision of the bill, as it
remained open TO the same objection have
already stated against the original section.
| still thought there ought to be further
limitation ; that there ought to be such a
definition or description of the ofense as
would forever exclude any such interpreta-
ton. So believing, asked the gentleman
who bad framed this bill whether they could
not assent to a proposition of amendment,
which would obviate this objection. and for
the purpose of stating as nearly as | could
in accurate language my view of the extent
to which we could 20 under the Constitution
| framed an amendment, which was printed
last week. That amendment declared it to
be crime " if two or more persons shall,
within the limits of any State, band, or con-
spire, or combine together for the purpose,
either directly or indirectly. of depriviDg any
person, or any class of persons, OF the equal
protection of the laws, or Of equal prvil-
eyes and immunities under the laws, or for
the purpose of preventing or in any way
hindering the constituted author ties Of any
State from giving or securing to all persons
within such State the equal protection of the
laws
To my mind this obviated what regarded
as a fatal objection to the section as it before
stood, by providing that the essence of the
oh, 4 81 i
a person OF the equal protection Of the laws
and of equal privileges and immunities under
the laws in other words, that the Constitu-
tion secured, and was only intended to secure
equality of rights and immunities, and that
we could only punish by United States laws
a denial of that equality. The committee
having now adopted and recommended this
description of the offense instead of the one
originally recommended by them, | cannot Of
course, longer refuse my assent to that sec
ton of the bill, and l cheerlully give it my
support.
Here l may properly say that perhaps the
difference between some other gentlemen
here and myself in respect to what should be
the Phraseology of this bill is more differ
ence as to the meaning Of the constitutional
provision, a difference as TO what should
be the judicial construction of the words
used in the Constitution, than a difference a.
to the remedy we may apply. | believe that
whatever is secured to the citizens of the
United States by the fourteenth amendment
can be enforced, can be made secure by the
laws Of the United States. Now, what is
secured by the fourteenth amendment
In order to give my views upon this question
| do not need to read even the whole of the
first paragraph Of that amendment 1t be-
gins with the declaration that
uareop- horn ,,.tvra1i,a.g tt., T-,,t,.g
states and subject TO the jurisdiction thereof, are
citizens Of the nited States and Of the State where
IN they reside"
In speaking Of this amendment some gentle
men seem to regard it as the creation Of citi-
zenship Of the United States and. no doubt,
some OF what | can but think not only the
uuwarranted but dangerous constructions of
this amendment arise from this view Of citi-
zenship. But citizenship of the Unite States
Is az old as the Constitution yes, older than
the Constitution, for that instrument was
framed by citizens Of the United States The
d" people OF the United states " who framed
the Constitution were citizens Of the United
States. Even Chief Justice fancy. in the
bred Scott case, said
The words people ofthe United states and
. citizen are Synonymous terms. and means the
me thing. They both describe the political body
who, according 10 our republican institutions, form
duct the Government through their representatives
They are what We familiray call the sovereign PEG
pie, and eVety citizen Is OF this people and
sutuent member of the severe snty."
Mr.. Justice Curtis, who delivered the dis
senting opinion in the came case, said
That under the Constitution ofthe United States
every free person, born the soil of state whoi.
citizen OF that state by force gifts constitution ol
. laws is also a cIilZcn of the United states
This citizenship did not come hy any ex-
press declaration Of the Constitution, but ex-
Istcd in the very nature Of government In
the bred Scott case there was no disagree
ment as TO the fact Of there being 81 IN a tn NJ
as citizenship of the United States, nor OF
what that citizenship was a guarantee but
the point in dispute was whether citizenship
OF a State made a person a citizen of the
United States, and the court held that it did
not. Indeed, the whole body of our legisla-
ton, the entire record OF our courts, the
universal action of our government, have
never called in question the existence Of cit
lzenship of the United States
The existence Of that citizenship prior to
the fourteenth amendment being established,
\ it follows, of course, that the privileges and
immunities Of United States citizens hip ex
isted then also and the courts have always
! held that these privileges and immunitIes
were recognized and guaranteed by the pro-
vision of the Constitution that d" the citizens
of each State shall be entitled to all the
privileges and immunities Of citizens in the
several states What were these privileges
and immun ties In answer to this question
| quote here-and II has already been several
times quoted in this debate-an extract from
the opinion Of Judge Washington in the
circuit court, in the case of Co1feld as.
Coryell, decided many years ago. Judge
Washington said
The inquiry Is, what are the privileges and i-nmu
mites of citizens in the several We feel no
hesitation in combining these expressions TO those
fundamental; which belong OF right to the citizens
OF all free Governments; and which have al AL
times been enjoyed by the citizens of The several
states which compose this Union, ffOm the time OF
their becoming free, Independent, and sovereign
perhaps, be more tedious than dificut enumer-
ate They may, however, be all compreheuded uu
der the soHowlng general heads; protection by the
Government, the enjoy ment Of life and liberty, with
the right to acquire and possess property of every
kind, and TO pursue and obtain happiness ana
safety; subject nevertheless to snch restraints as
N good OF the Whole: Inc rlSit OF ctlLen OF one
state to pass through reside IN any other state
SUITS or otherWlse; TO claim the benefit OF the Wr
of habcas corpus; TO institute and maintain actions
of any kind IN the courts of the state; to take hold
/ anu ulspose OF properly, elmer real or personal
and an exemption from higher taxes or impositions
than paid by the other citizens the state may
be mchuohed as some OF the particular privileges
and immunties of citizens, which are clearly en-
/ braced by the general description Of privileges
deemed 10 be fundamental; 10 winch may be added
the elective franchise as regulated ami established
ile laws or constitution oil the state when n
7 is to be exercised.
/ These and many Others which might be men
toned are, strictly speaking, privileges and immu-
mites; and the enjoyment of them by the citizens
OF each state maniiestly calculated ito the
expression of the preamble of the corresponding
provision in the old Articles of Confederation the
better to secure and perpetuate mu ual friendship
and intercourse among the people Of different states
of the Union.
/ But we cannot accede to the proposition which
insisted on by the counsel, that under this pro-
vision of the Constitution the citizens of the several
states az permitted to participate IN all the rights
which belong exclusively to the citizens OF any 9th
er particular state, merely upon the ground that
they enjOned by those citizens; much less, that
IN regulating the use OF common property of the
, citizens Of such state, the Legislatures bound to
extend to the citizens Of all the other States the
same advantages as are accrued 10 their citi-
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