New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-23
FORFEITURE OF REPRESENTATION.

tutes the evening extra and it's numerous
editions. This extra begins, We have
sometimes thought, with the ''second
edition." and has been known to tail of
into . mere handbill. Some of our jour-
mails seem to subsist upon extras. From
this apochryphal service Of information
We have been led to suppose that the De-
mocracy relies exclusively on reversing the
results of the Presidential election in
Florida, Oregon or Louisiana. It is as
well, perhaps, that our fellow-citizens
should understand that this is fallacious
expectation. If these elections stand as
the people have decided, they will secure
the Inauguration Of Mr.. Hayes. If Con-
gress constitute itself q returning board and
open the electoral conduct Of all the States,
not only the three States whose returns are
excepted to by the Democracy would be
subjected to examination, but other States
whose electoral votes are as large or larger
than any one of the three mentioned, will
be scrutinized and, perhaps, excl uded.
Suppose Congress shall devote itself to
the inquiry whether any State has forfeit
ed its representation by the denial or
abridgment of Suffrage? The constitu-
ton provides in the fourteenth amend
ment that if any eitizen of the United
States, qualified to vote, is denied or
abridged of his rights. the number of Re-
representatives. in Congress to which such
State may be entitled shall be reduced
according to the number of the citizens
whose votes may have been so denied or
abridged.
We have noted discrepancy between
the language of the constitution and that
of the act intended to carry it into effect.
The constitution says that if the right of
suffrage '.is denied" or Gin any way
abridged" The act of Congress reads:
"Shoald any State deny or abridge the
right" Of any male citizen thereof, and Of
the United States, etc. The constitution
directs Congress to enforce the forfeiture
of representation upon the fact Of denial
or abridgment by any means; the act OF
Congress would restrict this denial or
abridgment to an act Of State legislation.
This meaning of the constitution will be-
come matter Of construction, and those
who have the power to enforce the for
fixture will have the power to amend the
law into conformity with the constitution,
or even tho constitution itself.
l. The constitution obviously intended
to exclude from representation not merely
. number of persons equal to those who
may have been denied their suffrage, but
q number Of constituents equal to the
whole class and category who have been
abridged of their suffrage. An individual
may be denied his VOTE. but his vote can
not be abridged. The rights of class
may be abridged by tho denial or limita-
ton Of personal suffrage.
In the event that the rights of Re-
publicans as class, and especially of
colored Republicans, must be respected
the enforcement of the constitutional pro-
visions will become necessary. If the
suffrage and representation of the colored
people can not be counted as they wish, it
will not be counted at all. However, such
diminution of the representative force of
the Southern States may be deprecated
by ourselves and other Republicans, still
this guarantee of rights granted the COL
ored people, with the danger of a repeal
or notification of the constitutional re-
suits of the late war, may compel the Re-
publicans of the North and West to resort
to such measure.
In this point Of view the senatorial
committee now in session here seem to
direct their inquiries to ascertain how far
a general intimidation may have abridged
the rights of suffrage by perversion, and
how far the infiction of death may have
been ''denial" Of suffrage to Republicans
as class, and to colored Republicans as
the principal element Of that class.
The clear and consistent evidence of |
Messrs. Hall, Hamblet and Gallagher
proves the existence of systematic pur-
pose to deny and abridge the suffrage of |
all Republicans as q class. The Senate |
committee will learn from that and other |
evidence that this denial and abridgment |
has been for political reasons alone. To
prove this proposition we will be obliged |
to establish an inference, to our mind, in
evitable. The denial and abridgment of |
suffrage does not grow out of any hostility |
Of races. The white Democrats depend |
On the colored citizens for large part of |
The labor in the field and household. They
rent lands to the colored people, they
enter in partnership in the culture of the
crops, they render and accept such SER
vices as the reciprocal needs of each may
render proper.
1t is only when the exercise of the right |
If suffrage threatens to maintain the |
supremacy of the Republican party and
its principles that this inhuman and sys-
,ematic denial and abridgment of this
light begins. Previous to the fourth of |
July, 1876, testifes Mr. Hall, "everything
vas peaceful" The Democracy then Or
,anized and drilled in rife clubs, received
rms from elsewhere, and commenced the
assault upon colored Republicans, as in
Georgia and Carolina, by at