Daily Republican., 1883-10-30
TUESDAY, OCTOBER so, 1859.
Rhode Island and DiSfrancbiss.
ment.


Rhode Island and Disrrancbiss.
ment.
The criticisms that are going the
rounds OF the Republican papers on
Senator Anthony's article in the North
American Review, justityirg restricted
suffrage in Rhode Island, are appropri
ate and deserved. l. matters not what
the State would be politically, whether
Democrat or Republican, that is no
good ground for the distranchis ment
of any class of people. What is more
to Rhode Island discrelit is that only
foreigners are required to possess Ger,
tain uual,ticatious in the way of free.
hold possessions that no other class or
nativity OF people Is required to pos
sess. What is still more to her dscrrd
it is the fact that property is tho basis
of suffrage for foreigners in that State.
A property qualification, il applied to
all classes OF people, could not be .justi-
tied in general sense, much less can it
be justified when applied toa specified
class aud to mons others. In Rhode Is.
land it is applied TO foreigners only,
whether those foreigners he English,
Irish, German, Dane or scandinavian.
This peculiar law requires foreigner
to be possessed of real estate valued at
not less than Sl34, before ne can avail
himself Of the benefits of suffrage. No
matter now degraded or ignorant that
man may be, if he shows shat he owns
lot worth Sl3i, he can vote, while the
intelligent foreigner Of good character
anu worth thou sands of do lars in per
son.l property, is deprived OF a vote.
The objection in Rhode ls and to for
eigner voting seems not to be that he Is
foreign born. but that he does NOT own
properly. Clearly such a discrIm!na-
ton IN Isl be violation of the Consti-
tuition Of tine United States, and i, seems
remarkably Y strange that no intelligent
foreigner in that State has up TO this
Court.
Nothing gained politically by the Re.
publican party OF Rhode Island by this
discriminating disirancnlsement can
pallate the wrong committed. The
Republicans are III power i'll the State
and should immsdiatey elm nate this
unjust provision from the Constitu
ton
In 1850 the State contained p"pul,t-
rion OF ?,6, ,j3i, Of which l33, $3.50 were
males and l4j, j0l were females The
foreign puplta'lun am ,'int-l 10 - 9G,
In that year the STATE east NOR. vote,
for President tn she ever cas- before
the Whole be'ns 2s.914, Of which Gar
field received Is, l9j and Hancock
1879, kepub.i an majority 7,il6. Jhi,
vote was IN the proper tion of one j,
four and sixteenth. ut the male pUpula.
ton, Delaware in 1880 hah popula
tion Of sos, OF which ~, lUS were
males aud 7l,juO were teIn les The
foreign porniatlon was 9,i6S. In 1873.
Democratic ard li,G20 were Repub!i
can. This vOt. was in the ratio Of on.
the ualr pop,Hntiun From this il would
apItar Il a. I'VE and one-teirh part OF
the male population ont of four and
s.X-'enti, did not vote inkhode Island
The great failing of it in presumed wa
caused lv III" unjust discrimination
against foreigners voting. Without
chis discrimination and on full vote
taking Delaware as . comparison
Rhode Island should have poIled il
$780, -, go votes. l. is not likely tha
the po.ltira vote Of Rhode Island
wOuL have been IutteIlLuy change,
10y iu,, vote without any discnmina
zion. II Is a manufacturing State an,
her interest bang safer WiIu the Re
pUbIIcah- IL power tn" foreign VOTE
womb most .lkGiv have been abua
evenly divided Therefore we do DO
look upon senator Anthony AS II mi4r'
representative of the State. fne mo,
We cln say against lin is, that "
are -u:pgiI.tl to tird INN not ouI,
apolOl.ziug f,r BAT uphpiiIr- a las
thai discriminate, against only ,hoS
citizens Of foreign birth that do ne
happen Ia BE- ppS~"ssor1 Of u freehold
The REruBLfCAN has frequently ht
fore taken occasion 10 CiItiCise thl
parl Ot thr lIioera' CuuNitu'iou o
Eh' de. .,iid and therefore j. me- latte
day convert to the principles ot rqualjt
in suffrage.
THE Ur1SI$" reported in this morn
InE'a PAPERS, rs having taken pIac
amongst til" colorel people of GAu,t
Milan uIVn'y, T.xt-, NJ do tbt exists