The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-10-05

10 authorize any interference with the State laws
prescribing the qualifications Of voter, for such in
reference has boon attempted The power of the
State in this particular s certainly supreme until Con
grcss acts The amendment did not add to the
privileges and immunities Of citizen II simply
furnished additional guarantee Tor the protection
such as no already had No new voters were necessa
rily made by IT, Indirectly II may have had that
effect because It may have increased the number of
citizens entitled TO suffrage under the constitution and
laws of the States; but il operates for this purpose
all through the States and the state laws, and not
directly upon the citizen. II Is clear, therefore,
think that the constitution has not added the right OF
suffrage to the privileges and mmunes Of citizenship
they existed at the time II was adopted This makes
II proper to inquire whether suffrage was cooxtensivo
with the citizenship Of the States at the time It's
adoption II was then IL may with force be argued
that suffrage Of the rights which belonged to
citizenship and in the enjoyment Of which every cIti
must be protected But II II was not the contrary
may with proprety be assumed
ORIGINAL STATUS or THE STATES.
When the constitution of the United States was
adopted all the several States, with the exception OF
Rhode Island, had constitutions of their own. Rhode
Island continued TO act under its charter from the
Crown Upon examination of those constitutions
find that in State all citizens permitted to
vote Each State determined Tor Itself who should have
that power
After citing instances of such action the part of
the different States, the opinion proceeds thus
In this condition Of the law in respect to suffrage in
the several States It for moment be doubted
that II II had been intended TO make all citizens of the
United States voters the trainers Of the constitution
would not have left ii TO implication So important
change in tho condition Of citizenship 1t actually
sted # intended would have been expressly declared
But If further proof is necessary show that such
change intended ii easily be found both in and
out Of the constitution BY article 4, section ?,
it is provided that sthe citizens Of eacn State
shall be entitled to all the privileges and
immunes Of citizens in the several States II suf-
frage is necessarily part of citizenship, then the
citizens OF each State must be entitled to in
the several States. This Is more than asserting
that they may change their residence and become
citizens Of the State and thus be voters 1t goes
TO the extent of insisting that while retaining their
original citizenship they may vote in any State. This,
we think has never been claimed, And again, by the
very terms Of the amendment have been consider
ing uhe Fourteenth) Representatives shall be appor
toned among the several States according TO their
spective numbers counting the whole number Of per-
in each State excluding Indians not taxed. But
when the right TO vote al any election LOT the choce OF
electors for President and Vice President OF the United
States representatives IN Congress- tho executive and
judicial officers of State the members of
the Legislature thereof is denied to any of the
male inhabitants OF such State, being twenty years
of age and citizens OF the United States or in any way
abridged except for participation in the rebellion
other crime the basis of representation therein shall
be reduced in the proportion which the number
male citizens shall be \ TO the whole number of male
citizens twenty years of age in such State" Why
this If IL in the power of the Legislature TO
deny the right Of suffrage to some male nhabitants2
And If suffrage was necessarily one of the absolute
rights Of citizenship, why conlne the operation of
the limitation to male inhabtantsS Women and chill
dren arc have seem 'personsn They
counted in the enumeration upon which the apporon-
ment is to be made but II they necessarily voters
because of their citizenship unless clearly excluded,
why inct the penalty the exclusion OF males alone
Clearly no such form of words would have been Sc
lected to express the idea here indicated suffrage
the absolute right of all citizens
And still again. alter the adoption Of the Fourteenth
amendment it was deemed necessary to adopt 1f-
teenth, as iolows:-
The right Of citizens of the United States shall
denied abridged by the United States by
state account Of color previous condition of
vtude.
The Fourteenth amendment had already provided
that State should make or enforce any law which
should abridge the privileges or immunites of citizens
nj ha nj
privileges immunities why amend the constitution
10 prevent its being denied account of race, &c
Nothing is evident than that the greater must
include the less and If all were already protected why
go through with the form of amending the constitution
protect partf
A REPUBLICAN FORM or GOVERNMENT
IL is true that the United States guarantees to every
State republican form OF government art T. -.
1t is also true that State pass bill OF atainder
TART 10 sec I0 and that person be deprived Of
life liberty property without due process OF law
(Amendmentsl All these several provisions OF the
constitution must be construed in connection with the
other parts Of the instrument and in the light Of the
surrounding circumstances. The guaranty is of
republican form of government No particular govern
ment designated as republican; neither is the exact
form to be guaranteed in any manner especially deslg
mated Here, as in other parts 81 the instrument
compelled 10 resort elsewhere to ascertain what
intended Tho guaranty necessarily implies
duty on the part Of the States themselves to
had governments when the constitution was
adopted In all the people participated TO some extent
through their representatives elected in the manner
tuition did not change They were accepted precisely
they were and is therefore, to be presumed that
they 1t the duty OF the States to provide.
Thus we have unmistakable evidence Of what was re-
publican iorm within the meaning Of that term as
employed in the constitution. AS has been seen, all
the citizens Of the States were not invested with tho
right OF suffrage. In all perhaps New Jersey,
this right was only bestowed upon men, and not upon
all Of them Under these circumstances is certainly
now too late to contend that government is not
republican, within the meaning OF this guaranty in
the constitution, because women are not made voters
The same may be said OF the other provisions just
quoted. Women excluded from suffrage in nearly
all the States by the express provisions of their cons
tutions and laws II that had been equivalent to bill
Of atander certainly It's abrogation would not have
been left TO implication. Nothing less than express
language would have been employed to effect radical
q change. So also of the amendment which declares
that no person shall be deprived of life liberty
property without due process Of law adopted as II was
early as 17oL II suffrage was Intended to be in
cluded within obligations language better adapted
express that intent would most certainly have been
employed. The right Of suffrage, when granted, Will
be protected He who has 1t only be deprived OF II
by due process Of law but in order to claim protection
he must first show that he has the right
PRooY OUTSIDE CONSTITUTION
But we have already sufficiently considered the proof
found upon the inside of the constitution That upon
the outside is equally effective. The constitution was
submitted TO the States for adoption In 1857 and
ratified BY nine States in 1885, finally by the hr
teen original States ia 1890 Vermont was the first
State admitted to the Union and II came in under
constitution which conferred the right OF suffrage only
upon Of the full age OF wentyon years, having
resided in the State for the space Of ono whole year
before the election, ana VINO were OF quiet
peaceable behavior. This in 1871. The next year.
1902 Kentucky followed, with constitution combining
the right of suffrage TO free male citizens OF the
age of twenty years who had resided in the State
two years in the county In which they offered TO
vote one year next before the election. Then followed
Tennessee in 1896 with voters OF recmen of the age
OF twenty-one years and upward possessing freehold
the county wherein they may vote, and being nhab
of the State reenen being inhabitants Of any
one county the State six months Immediately pre-
ceding the aay of election But need not particular
lie further. No state has ever been admitted to
the Union which has conferred the right Of suffrage
upon women and this has never been considered valid
objection her admission On the contrary as Is claimed
In the argument the right OF suffrage was Withdrawn
from women early 1907 in the State OF New Jer
sey without any attempt to obtain the interference OF
the United States to prevent IT, Since then the gov
ernments OF the nsurgent States have been reorgan
lied under requirement that before their representa-
tves could be admitted TO seats in Congress they must
have adopted new constitutions, republican in form
In these constitutions suffrage conferred
on women and yet the States have been restored TO
their original position States in the Union Besides
this citizenship has not in all been made condi-
precedent the enjoyment OF the right Of suffrage
Thus in Missouri of foreign birth, who have