The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-12-01
which ! have been CONSIDERING. from those

which | have been considering, from those
pending against the judges OF election:
/. They aileae that the persons who were
prevented from registering were Of African
descent, but omit TO charge that they were
prevented from registering on account OF
race, color, or previous condition of seryi-
tude." These are not indictments, there
fore, founded upon the fifteenth amendment
| or any act OF Congress passed for enforcing
il. We are not at liberty to- infer from the
mere circumstance that man was of any
particular race, and prevented from exer-
clslng right, that he was 90 prevented on
account Of his race. That fact must be
charged before it can be proved, and ibe fall
ure to charge !, is, think, fatal to the. In.
dictments, so far as the fifteenth amendment
and the statutes enforcing 1t are concerned.
2. These three indictments each charge in
substance that the defendant .tdid refuse
and knowingly omit TO give to sll citizens of
the United States Ia bis ward the same and
equal opportunity, without distinction OF
rnce, color. or previous condition of seryi-
tude, to register, &c; !; but, to the contrary
thereof, refused and knowingly omitted to
give A, B, c, d, and E the opportunity to
register which he gave to others, the said A,
b, C, D, and e being qualified, &c, and cit.
zens Of the United States Of "Afric,n race
and descent" By not charging that the re-
fusal was on account Of the race, &C., of the
injured persons, these indictments, for the
reasons have stated, do not come under the
fifteenth amendment. II they are valid at
all, to give jurisdiction to ehis court It must
be under the fourteenth amendment and the
4th section of the act OF May, 1870. But, for
reasons already abundantiy stated, registra-
tion is right conferred by the State. Each
Of the three indictments under immediate
consideration expressly reeites that the right
Is conferred by the laws Of Virginia, aud
that the duties Of the registrar were duties
imposed by State laws. Nor DO they charge
that in consequence of the failure of the in.
jured persons named to be admitted to reg.
istration they lost their right to vote either at
State election or an election held for officers
of the United States. The denial merely OF
registration is an offence against the State,
if it be on any other account than Of race,
color, &c. II the indictments had
charged that the denial had been on
account of race, &r., the offence would
have been cognizible here; or If, after charg.
ing the denial, the indictments had gooe on
to charge that in consequence thereof the citi-
zen Of the United States was prevented from
voting at an election held for member Of
Congress, or electors of a president of the
United States, am inclined to think that the
offence would have been cognizable here.
But charge merely that citizen OF the
United States was denied registration, with
out other allegation TO make it appear that
some right was abridged which belonged to
the man as citizen OF the Uuited States, is
not sufficient to give cognizance Of the Of
| fence TO this court.
am, therefore, of opinion that the de-
murrers to these indictments against the Pc
tersburg registrars ought to be sustained, and
tina. the latter ought to be quashed.