Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-25
STATES RIGHTS,
Has Congress Jurisdiction Over
Reconstructed Statesl
Certain Mississipplans Seem 10
Think Not.

Neport Oh the VuulciaIy Oommittoo OF
the Constitutional Convention at Jack
son Cpon the Act of Congress Readmtt.
ting the Ssatp Into tho Union--Actton
Postponed.
JACKSON, Miss, Aug, gs.-The judi
ciary committee of the constitutional
convention submitted its report Friday,
1t was signed Willy p Harris, chairman.
but WAS written by ex-Chief Justice
Simrall, veteran Republican. The re-
port says in parts
The committee to which was referred
! the following resolution:
RESOLVED, That the Judiciary commit
tee be requested TO make special report
| at as early day as possible upon the ef.
! feet of the act OF congress readmitting
| Mississippi into the Union, limiting the
| right of the state Of Mississippi TO impose
| certain restrictions upon the right OF fran.
chise, and otherwise prohibiting the state
! from changing the constitution OF the
| state of Mississippi, adopted in 1869 SO far
as the said act shall affect the work of this
| convention,
beg leave to respectfully submit the fol-
| sowing report;
| Without venturng to decide what con
| gress might possibly undertake TO do by
assumed authority, your COMMITTEES pro-
ceedS at once to consider the legal action
| submitted. In the Federal constitution
there are several provisions which relate
| to the elective franchise, The first is the
second section Of first article
The house of representatives shnii DO
| composed OF ---- members chosen by the
| people Of the several states and the elec-
| tors in each state shall have the Qualihca-
| ti0ns required for electors of the most
numerous branch OF the state legislature.
1t will be noted that this section does
not prescribe, or indeed contemplate, unit
form qualification In all the states. Ths
entire subject Of the tranchse--as TO who
shall have it.. and the qualifications of the
elector--is left TO the absolute aud unre-
stricted discretion of the stats As might
be expected, when the constitution WAS
framed and adopted, each state had u rule
! Of It's owl. There was ~ uniformity
then; there was not in 1870, the date of the
renlmission act, nor does IL exist now
The fourth section Of Article | Is as fol-
lows:
The times, places and manner Of holding
elections for senators and representatives
shall be prescribed in each state by the
legislature thereof, but The congress may
at any time, by law, change, make or alter
such regulations, except ms to the place
Of chosing senators The power conferred
by this section Is confined 10 a Change hy
congress OF tile TINT and place and man
uer Of holding an election for representa-
tives, b. determined and fixed by the
states, Congress may appoint time aud
manner for congressional aud senatorial
rlsctions.
Bat who shau vote Mt the congressional
elections--whether both sexes or one, and
TIT What hour, whether the electors shall
own property, whether educated or not Is
lett precisely where it was placed by the
second section Of the same article tll,
The fourteenth amendment terms recog.
nIze the right OF the state TO determine
who shall yote Those clauses which 70.
dgice the representation, If any male citi
zen Of the United States and of the state,
are excluded from the franchise as u class,
IL Is plain IN the opinion Of the commit
Tee from this section Of the constitution.
1hnt congress cannot confer suffrage, can
moi make . voter and that we must loJk
to the several states, ana their laws and
constitutions 10 ascertain who are legally
competent TO vote for Federal elective CHI
GERS.
The fifteenth amendment has but one
operation, and was engrafted in the con
stituton for the single purpose Of laying
ing against the oolored man because Of race
or previous condition o. seryitude. The
state has just as large discretion in rcgu-
lating the franchise as il had before its
adoption, with tht single limitation that
the regulations whicJ it preseribes shall
apply alike to both races. II property
or education qualification shall be
thought wise or expedent, or II the pay
ment Of taxes, or longer residence in
state and county should be deemed expo-
dent either or all may be adopted. pro
yided they are applied alike 10 both races
Another important question directly
connected with this investigation is what
was the status OF Mississippi at the close
Of the civil war; More especially what
was the conception OF congress, aud en-
what promises did it proceed Ia the meas
ures and scheme Of reconstruction IL
must be conceded on all sides that the
state had either severed het connection
with the Union, aud bad placed herself
outside of it, or that her acts in concert
with other states, in like circumstances.
had so far interpreted aud displaced Fed
tral authority that she had lost her Fed
eral relations rs n state in the Union.
Congress accepted the latter view. The
reconstruction acts, aud. indeed the
series # measures coRnate thereto, cul-
lninatlng into the resdmission act Of 1870.
ARE predicted Oh the idea that the state
had lost a remarkable form OF govern
tnent, in the sense Of the guaranty clause
of the constitution on that subject. aud
that il was the duty of congress Ia the
exercise OF its political powers to assure
to her such government.
New states admitted to the dignity nj
sisterhood In the Union have the same de-
gree and measure Of sovereignty as did
any one OF the original thirteen states. and
that this Independence and sovereignty
was necessarily implied and guaranteed
by the Federal compact.
Whatever may have been the effect Of
the action of the southern states denom-
mated either n secession or rebellion, and
OF the reconstruction acts viewed as Judi
cial or political questions and without
enumerating the diverse opinions on these
important questions, we are OF the opinion
that the readmission Of these states into
the union fully and forever settled the
status OF the s.Ates thus readmitted, and
that the congress thereby lost all control
or jurisdiction over this matter, and the
states thus readmitted into the union he
came at once ipso facto under the con-
stitution reinvested with al the sovereign
lowers possessed by any aud all the other
states.
No action was taken on the report,
and, after dispOsing Of routine business,
the convention adjourned over till Mon
day.
An accident TO the machinery IN the
electric light works at Xenia, o., viii de-