Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-06-26
WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
Susan 3. Anthony Found Guilty Of Viola
ting State Law-0pinion OF Judge
MINT

CANANDIAsA,N.Y.June 1S,-Judge
Hunt, in his opinion in the case of
Susan B. Anthony, says: The right
of voting, or the privilege of voting
is right or privilege arising under
the Constitution of the State, and
not Of the United States. If the
right belongs to any particular per
SOL, it is because such person is en-
titled to 1t as a citizen of the State
where he offers to exercise it. and
not because of citizenship Of the
United States. If the State of New
York should provide that no person
should vote until he had reached
the age of thirty lone years, or after
he had reached the age of fifty, or
that no person having gray hair, or
who had not possession of all his
limbs, should be entitled to vote, l
do not see how it could be held to be
a violation Of any right derived or
held under the Constitution of the
United States. Ifthe Legislature Of
the State of New York should re-
quire higher qualification in a vo-
ter for a Representative in Congress
than is required in a voter for mem,
Der of the Assembly, this would, 1
conceive, be a violation of a right
belonging to one as a citizen of the
United States. That right is in re-
lation to Federal subject or inter
est, and can be guaranteed by the
Federal Constitution. The inabili-
ty of State to abridge the right Of
voting IN account of race, color or
previous condition of servitude is q
federal guaranty. Its violation
would be denial of federal right.
that is, right belonging to a clai-
mant as a citizen of the United
States. This right exists by virtue
of the Fifteenth Amendment only.
If the Fifteenth Amendment had
contained the word "sex," the argu-
ment of the defense would have
been potent. She would have said
an attempt by State to deny the
right to vote because one is OF o par
ticular sex, Is expressly prohibited by
the amendment. The amendment,
however,does not contain that word.
1t is limited to race color or previous
condition of servitude. The Legis-
lature of the State of New York has
seen fit to say that the franchise of
voting shall be limited to the male
sex. In saying this, there is, in my
judgment, no violation Of the letter
or of the spirit of the Fourteenth
Amendment. This view is assured |
in the second section of the Four
teenth amendment, which enacts
that if the right to vote for federal
officers is denied by any State to any
of the male inhabitants of such State |
except for crime, the basis of repre-
sentatiOn of such State shall be re-
duced in the proportion specified.
Not only does this second assume
that the right of male inhabitants to
vote was the especial object Of its
protection, but il assumes and ad-
mits the right Of a State, notwith-
standing the existence of that clause
under which the defendant claims to
the contrary, to any Of the male in
habitants the right to vote which is
allowed to other male inhabitants.
The regulation Of the suffrage is
conceded to States right. The case
Of Myra Bradwell, decided at the re-
cent term of the Supreme Court of
the United States, sustains both Of
these. questions. The Fourteenth
Amendment gives no right to the
women to vote, and the voting by