The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-04-01
proposed to him to pay for post trader
ship was, that the secretary of war weighed
somewhat more than he did and he did not
think it would do TO attack him.
The enforcement Act Decision.

Elsewhere we give the full text of the
opinion of the supreme court in the cele-
brated Louisiana cases arising out of the
test the validity of the enforcement legisl-
alton of congress; and 1t is one which
should be carefully studied The defen-
dants had been found guilty, and a motion
was made for arrest OF Judgment on the
ground that the several counts OF the in
dictment we're invalid. The appeal arose
on this motion. There were sixteen counts
t,ased upon section @ of the act of May 81,
1870, prohibiting the banding together or
conspiring of any persons to prevent citl
zens from exercising the rights secured to
them by the constitution and the laws OF
the United States, it being alleged that
Alexander Tilman and Levi Nelson, per
sons of color, had been So Injured. The
court first took up the consideration of the
nature of the - iation between the Federal
government ~yC he state governments,
with a view to DE- ling whether the righ.s
alleged to have been interfered with are
such as the constitution and the laws OF
| the United States guarantee, or such as
come within the sphere of the state. The
ANALYSIS of the nature of our complex gov.
ernment is an exquisite piece Of legal acu
men. a sound utterance OF political wisdom
1t is tor the general principles therein laiC
down that the opinion will be received
with satisfaction by the friends of constitu
tional government throughout the country
but in a summary of the effects of The
decision, we have at present only to dea
with the application of these principles
1t is held that the first and ninth counts
declaring the baCding and conspiracy o
the defendants TO prevent Tilman and Mel
son from lawfully assembling, are volC
because the right of lawfully assembling
does not come to them from the constitu
ton of the United States, but under thu
state government, and as a natural effec
of citizenship in a Republic 1t is helC
that the second and tenth counts, declaring
the banding and conspiracy OF the defend
ants to deprive the plaintiffs of their right t.
bear arms, are void for the same reason
as the constitutional provisions on thes,
points are intended merely as restriction
on The powers of congress. The third ant
eleventh counts, declaring the banding
and conspiracy of the defendants to deprive
the plaintiffs of their liberty and lives, ar,
held 20 be void because liberty and life arr
rights within the control of the state gov
ernment, and the restriction placed in th'
fourteenth amendment to the Fedora
constitution is designed simply for states
and not to operate between individuals il
the same state The fourth and Twelfth
counts, virtually asserting deprivation o
the protection of the law for life and pro
perty, are held to he void on account G
vagueness and because the plCyision, a
held in regard to the previous counts, of th
declaration In the fourteenth amendment, il
against state depriving a citizen OF eQua
protection of the laws, and does not affec
the relations Of individual citizens. TIL,
sixth and fourteenth and seventh ant
fifteenth counts touched upon the right e
vote. and are held TO De void because, il
the opinion of the court, the right to vot
is one conferred by the state government
and is not a necessary attribute of nationa
citizenship. The national government il
the fifteenth amendment to the constItu
ton is merely vested with the right to pre-
hlbit the disfranchisement of citizen OF
account of race, color or previous ccnditio
of servitude. These race and color reason
for the interference of the defendants ar
not averred in these counts Thus all bu
four of the sixteen counts fail, because tn
rights interfered with do not come unde
the terms of the enforcement act, as bein
granted by the constitution and laws of tt
United States The other four count
allcye race and color as the cause of inter
ference, but they are declared void o
purely technical grounds. They assert il
reference with the free exercise and Ell
j5yment of every, each, all and singula
: the rights granted by the constitution,
, which form of pleading is declared to b
altogether too indefinite to serve as not
fication to the accused Of the charge mad
against hin. The judgment is concurre
in by the whole court and the opinion
. concurred in by all the judges exceE
! Justice Clifford 1t may be described {
the final and authoritative enunciation
the doctrine of the duality Of the America
system of government and the 5.-,l natul
1 of American citizenship. ChieI-J usti'
: Waite in this decision and in the terms
its utterance, has vindicated his dispos
} ton and his capacity to emulate the tau
of Jay. Marshall and Taney.-N
World