Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-02-17

thereof"
The very language employed in this section
IL lts sufficient Interpretation. The rights of
citizenship as well az their right TO become
citizens, are such rights as they enjoyed be-
cause they were citizens of states, but not the
rights of state citizenship (Which the General
Government had never conferred upon them)
and also the right to be naturaized and made
citizens of the United States. To thoroughly
understand this we must treat the term
United States Gas it is only entitled to be
treated III this connection) as the single body
formed by the aggregation of the whole of
them under one form of government, and not
as separate sovereignties. Thus treated,
there is no difficulty in understanding that
there is certain general citizenship common
TO all the citizens OF the states, and natural
lied foreigners also who may be citizens
OF any of them from want (for example) of
state requisite of residence and a state citi-
zenshlp which she may determine and define
by her own laws. The right to say who
alone should be citizens OF any State was
never Questioned as a reserved right of such
state before the enactment Of the section just
quoted nor was there any warrant for doing
SO down to the time of the adoption
OF the Fourteenth amendment of the
Constitution of the United States,
which provides that ''all persons born
or naturalizod in the United States, and sub
Ject to the jurisdistion thereof are citizens of
the United States and of the state
wherein they reside" This amend
ment, however, was not adopted until
the year 1866, and therefore so far AZ citizen
ship OF a state is concerned, had no signfi-
cance until that time.
1t has never been seriously contended that
Congress has any power to prescribe the quail
fcation of voters in the several States. That
power rests with the States alone. which have
almost AZ many different laws or provisions
upon that subject, as there are different COM
munlties. Congress has full power to regu-
late the time, place and manner of eecting
representatives, and the time, and
manner OF electing senators but no
power OF prescribing the conditions for exer-
else of the election franchise. That I'M
portant function il one of the reserved
powers OF the States, and part of their SOW
erlgn rights. This may seem strange doc
trlne to great many excellent and homes.
people, who in one way or another have come
to believe that Congressional power is snf
clent for all things But, to properly under
stand our complex system of government
they must take into account the source whence
the United States Government sprung, the
powers conferred upon it by the States and
their people who created 1t, and the object
they had in view i'll such creation Viewing
1t, rs the student of its history must. AZ II
government of limited powers though
entirely sovereign where they exist-he will
or expression which, directly, or by any
liberal construction of it, or Inference re-
shifting from 1t, warrants the assumption that
the general government can by penalty, or
otherwise interfere with the right of citi-
zen OF state to vote ut the elections held
here
Then what does section 1896 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States mean? II
meals this that the citizenship which belonged
to tho deHerter III virtue of his being an ill
habltant of the Union and II citizen of IL state
or Ill IL condition to become such, il taken
away from hlm, with all its rights, and that
lie il forever excluded from holding any Office
of trust or profit under the United States, or
Of exercising the rights Of citizens thereof
lie Ii In effect, SO far as this terrible penalty
Is denounced against him, an alien precludud
from being n tde-master even and not in any
respect entitled to call upon the United States
government to protect him in any civil rights,
or to call himself by the proud title of Amer
lcan citizen. But he is not on that account
any the less n citizen of a state (f lie were
one beiore) entitled to its protection, owing
duty to Its government, and with the right to
share in the administration of its affairs, and
take part i'll the elections held therein.
Entertaining these views, We instruct you
that Ellis Furgerson had the right to vote at
the election i'll this State Oh the Tuesday next
after the first Monday of last November. and
thut his ballot was improperly rejected by the
defendant.
The other question is-did the defendant
in his indictment knowingly and wilfuly
reject it II he did then your verdict should
be against him, unless you are satisfied from
the evidence. that he acted honestly in so
doing, and through mistake. An inspector of
an election is judge for the occasion his
functions are Judicial as well az executive
lie is to decide, with the aidof his associates
and such light as surrounds him at the time,
upon the constitutional question of mans
right to vote Now as Judges are the same
as other people and with like intrmities of
Judgment also it has ever been the law that
no Judge can be questioned for mistake or
error of judgment and only can he be called
to account where lie acts fraudulently or cor
ruptly, or with wilful determination to do as
he please The old maxim that every man il
presumed to know the law. has no application
in the case of judge who commits mistake
or error. He is to do the best he can in all
due honesty, and il he fail of a correct judg-
ment, there il no remedy against him on that
account and ought not to be any. In the
state vs.. Mcdonald, 18th Haw. pages 555-G.
which was case where an inspector was in
dcted for taking an Illegal vote this Court
instructed the jury that if presiding officer
or judge of election, acting honestly from the
best Judgment he can form on the evidence
before him, take a vote which turns out to be
an Illegal vote. he is not liable legally or
morally. But if such officer, knowing Il vote
to be Illegal. takes it corruptly, his position
cannot protect him from the just punishment
of his oirense. In the case Immediately fol-
lowing that of State W.. Porter, where the
defendant was indicted for refusing legal
vote the Court defined the meaning of the
the term corruption, which seems to be
treated i'll election cases AZ tie equivalent of
willfulness to be 'the willfully and corruDtly
doing an act, or omittlng a duty which per-
son acting in public capacity knows it to be
his duty to do or omit, in disregard OF Ills
official duty, and the obligation of his oath"
Applying the language of those cases to the
case You have in hand, we instruct YOU. that
it you believe from the evidence before you,
that the defendant did not act in rejecting
the vote of Furgersoli, against his knowledge
of his right OF vote and was not influenced
10y Il corrupt motive. yuu ought to aaluit
him. Also, If Your minds are not clear that
he intended to violate the law. you also ought
to acquit him.
The Jury in tho Tyre case hon retired
and Tue case Of Stg'e VI Hamilton aud
derijek was adlien at o'clock Deputy
Anor' ey Cooper rerr' s. ntcd the State
a7d H'try sasrpi"y, II a, appeared FOR
the d, funsH,
Jsmes II psias he peaseeutine witacss
testified as iyI!nWa; saw tins 5efer9spts
a ihe LJgau Hpu-r 1T 10 10 the evening
cam iG!o WimWg!on in She eitern0ou
sud Hd" agnle purchssps th,u start, d
nomo; gtter avng the hogan HOUSE
whore | had siopped. say too mon
approach: LLari One say. 'Guuss he h
Tar enouah, ~ Us slao bin p" They camc
up gri kIock me down aud robbed me-
tiras xAmIu. n---3ame to Wilmington
b nj 3'ciocE in the Afternoon WAS not
in iiqcor; witness identified tn prisoners