Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1883-10-27
THE CIVIL RIGHTS CASES
DISMISSED.
CONGRESS WITHOUT AUTHORITY TO

CONO hESS II ACAEOr1A ~
ENACT THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.
WAsHINGToN, October 15-Tbe
most important decision rendered
by the Supreme Court OF the United
to-day was that in the FIVE
cases commonly known as the Civil
Rights cases. The titles of these
cases and the States from which they
came are as follows The United
States against Murray Stanley, from
the United States Circuit Court for
the District of Kansas the United
States against Michael Ryan, from
the United States Circuit Court for
the District of California the Uni
ted States Court against Samuel
Nichols, from the United States Cir
cult Court for the Western District
0: Missouri /; the United S,s'es
against Samuel D. Singleton, from
he United States Circuit Court tor
he Southern District of New York,
and Richard A. Robinson and wife
against the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad Company, from the United
States Circuit Court for the District
of Tennessee.
These cases were all based on the
first and second sections of the Civil
Rights Act CT 1875, and were re-
spec,ively prosecutions under that
act for not admitting certain colored
pereons to equal accommodations
and privileges in inns or hotels, in
railroad cars and in theatres. The
defence set up in every cas- was the
alleged unconstitutionality Of the
law.
WHAT THE COURT DECIDES.
The Court, in an opinion by JUS
tice Bradley, held
FIrst-That Congress had no con
stitutional authority to pass the SET
tons in question:, under either the
Thirteenth or Fourteenth Amend
ment Of the Constitution.
Second-That the Fourteenth
Amendment is prohibitory upon the
State only and that the Legislation,
authorized to be adopted by Con.
gress for enforcing that Amendment
is not direct legislation on the mat
ters respecting which the States arc
prohibited from making or enforcing
certain laws or doing certain acts,
but is corrective legislation neces-
sary or proper for counteracting and
redressing the effect of such laws or
acts that in forbidding the States,
for example, to deprive any person
of life, liberty or property without
due process Of law, and giving Con
gress power to enforce the prohibi-
ton, it was not intended to give
Congress power to provide due pro
cess of law for the protection OF life:
liberty and property (which would
embrace almost all subjects OF legis-
l%ation), but to provide modes Of re-
dress for co%unteracting the operation
and effect Of State laws obnoxious
10 the prohibition.
7Hird-That the Thirteenth
Amendment gave no power TO Con
gress to pass the sections referred to,
because that Amendment relates TO
slavery and involuntary s%ervitude,
which it abolishes, and gives Con-
gress power TO pass laws for its en-
torcement ; that this power only ex-
tends to the subject matter OF the
Amendment itself, namely : slavery
aud involuntary servitude, and the
necessary incidents and consequences
of those conditions; that it has moth
ing TODD with different races or COL
ors Lut only refers to slavery-the
legal equality of different races and
classes Of citizens being provided for
i'll the Fourteenth Amendment,
which prohibits the States from do
ing anything to interfere with such
equality ; that it is no infringement
of the Thirteenth Amendment to re.
fuse to any person the equal accom-.
modations and privileges Of any inn
or a place of public entertainment,
however it may be violative OF his
legal rights !; that it imposes upon
him no badge OF slavery or involun
tary servitude, which Imply some
SOFT of subsection of n person te
another aud the incapacity incident
thereto, such %as~inability to hold
property, to make contracts. to be
parties in court, etc. !; and that if the
original Civil Rights Act which
abolished these incapacities might be
supported by the Thirteenth Amend
meut, il does not, therefore, follow
that the act OF 1875 car be support
ed by it.
Fourth-That this decision affect,
only the validity OF the law in the
States and no, in the Territories OF
the District OF Columbia-where tbs
legislative power of Congress is un