The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1871-02-18


:s'seassh prescribed in the act Of Congress
approved the I'd Of July, 1852, said per-
'IisoiA shall iii lieu Of said oath, before en-
itching upon the duties of said Office,
take and subscribe the oath prescrib-
cd i'll an act of Congress entitled, stAn
sct prescribing an oath Of Office to be
~ taken by persons from whom legal dis
r'iabiaities sI,an have been removed;' APP
proved nth Of July, 1868.
'',is The oath referred to in the act just
aanpted is as. follows: s.
..,~j IysA b, do solemnly swear Cor uftirnl)
a.tiatII will support and defend the Con-
,stitution of the United States against
:, aA enemies, foreign and domestic; that
>. ! will bear true faith and allegiance to
the same; that I take this obligation
freely, without any mental reservation
,,or purpose of evasion; and that / will
we'll and faithful y discharge the duties
of the Office on which am about to en-
Ter. So help me God. 800 ,...
It becomes of very great Importance
to the country and to individuals, to
know who are, and who are not, per
~niftted to take and hold offices under
the tenerat government by the provis-
ion of the act above given. The only
prohibition now affecting the right OF
.ex-Gollfetlerates to. hold federal offices
-ist to be found in the :srd section of the
.'iNFVth Amendment, which we copy
~ esteaso: 81 M. -.
SEC. 3.-No person shall lie u Senator
or Representative in Crongress or cleo
tor Of President and Vice. President. or
hold any office, civil or military, under
the United States, or under any State,
VINO having previously taken-0n-aath,
asa 1nen1ber Of Congress, or as an Of
nicer OF the United States, or as IL men,
Der of any State Legislature, or as an
executive or judicial officer of any State,
to support the Constitution Of the Unit
ed States, shall have engaged in insur-
rection or rebellion against the same,
Tor given aid or comfort to the enemies
thereof.
OF the indiyiduals here excepted, the
Test Oath is. still ncetllessly ,exacted;
needlessls-, because they are excluded
from Office by the terms of the Amend
rhcnt itself
In constituting the relief afforded, it
MAY be stated; broadly that no person
who did not hold office prior to the war
can now be excluded from federal of
fec on account of participation of any
character in the late so-called rebellion.
The main difficulty which will be
encountered, in deciding who are re-
level Is in the construction to be given
the words, 'ten erec,aire on. judicial Of
.fcer Of a .Xute," to be found in the
Amendment. What is can executive,
or judicial officer of Staten The
tSnn,fSffps,v,s LOT, A.
prohibition comprised in these words
applies to all persons who held any Of
flee to qualify for which the individual
had to take an oath to support the Con-
stitution of the United States, no mat
ter what was the character or grade of
the Office. There has never been, we
believe, Al judicial interpretation of the
words executive, or judicial officer, as
employed in the XVIII Amendments;
but Congress, in one OF the supple
mental Reconstruction acts, enacted !
that the words applied only to such
officers as were engaged in administer
ing or executing any general itttc of {.
STATE. If this be the proper construc-
tion--and it certainly appears logical
"a great many persons who did hold
Office before the war, such as school di-
rcctors, town trustees, and even men,
bers OF the Police Jury, are not inclu-
ded in the exceptions made by the
NINth Amendment, but are entitled -,
to the relief afforded by the Act Just ,
become Il law.
1t isa very satisfactory thought that
Federal offices at the South may ut last l
be filled with Southern men, if the a
powers that be SO desire it, The search L
for men who could or would take the b
lest Oath lin order to have the offices
among us filed, is now happily no :
longer necessary. We have not been t
surprised by the action OF Congress in
this particular. The Senate last wear !,
passed the bill now become a law, and
we felt satisfied the present House would !,
stgtlaitze its closing hours by following
III the wake of the Senate. We shall =
expect to see all Southern Senators and :,
Representatives elected to the 42nd g
congress, take their seats, without op- =
position in consequence of having been
IN the 's'rebel !" service, just as we did
last year when we urged the people of I,
TINS district todisres,nrd the uualifica- @
tion OFF, ioyalty," or relief, in their Sc n
lection of Il Representative to Congress. o