The Brookhaven leader., 1890-08-28
THE STATE CONVENTION.
The Franchise Problem Still Agitating
MississippIs Statesmen.
Report of tho judiciary Committee Upon
the Fundamental Restriction Contained
In the Act of Congress Readmlttlns Mis-
sissippI Into the Union.


the Fundamental Restriction Contained
In the Act of Congress Readmlttlns Mis-
sissippi Into the Union.
JACKSON, MISS, Aug. 23.-When the
the Convention came to order this morn
ing Judge Chrisman of the Judiciary
Committee submitted the special report
Of the committee on the fundamental
restrictions contained in the act of Con-
gress of 1870, readmitting Mississippi
into the Union. The report was lis
tened to with the closest attention, and
at the conclusion of the reading Judge
Harris asked that it be laid over at the
! pleasure Of the Convention until the
call Of counties could be had.
The call of counties lasted until 1870
o'clock, and then the Convention ad-
journed until Monday afternoon.
The report was not called up and is
not likely to be. The Convention asked
the committee for it's opinion and re-
ceivcd an unanimous answer, and it Is
supposed that the Convention will pro-
ceed on the basis of that answer.
TIE COMMITTEES REPORT.
The committee to which was referred
the resolution, that the Judiciary
Committee be requested to make a
special report at as early day as posi-
BILE upon the effect of the act of Con-
gress readmitting Mississippi into the
Union, limiting the right of the State
Of Mississippi to impose certain restric-
tions upon the right OF franchise 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 submit the
| following report:
Without Venturing to decide what
Congress might possibly undertake to dc
| by assumed authority, your committee
proceeds at once to consider the legal
question submitted. In the Federal
Constitution there are several provisions
which relate to the elective franchise.
The first is the second section Of the
first article:
The House of Representatives shall
be composed of - members chosen by
the people of the several States, and
the electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of
| the most numerous branch of the State
Legislature"
1t will be noted that this section does
not prescribe, or indeed contemplate
uniform qualification in all the States.
The entire subject of the franchise as to
who shall have it and the qualifications
of tho elector are left to the absolute
and unrestricted discretion of the State.
AS might be expected, when the Consti-
tuition was framed and adopted each
State had rule of its own. Some
States-many of them-required the
elector to own freehold estate OF q
certain value: others a certain annual
| income from freehold, others property
Of defined worth, and Connecticut pre-
scribed that the voter should be of
quiet and orderly behavior; another of
the payment of taxes assessed. There
was not uniformity then. There was
not in 1870, the date OF the readmission
act nor does it exist now. The fourth
section of Article | is as follows:
Tho times, places and manner of
holding elections for Senators and Rep
resentatives 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 as to the place of choosing Sena-
tors"
The power conferred by this section is
confined to a change by Congress of the
time and place aad manner of holding
an election for Representatives as de-
termined and fixed by the State. Con-
gress may appoint time at which Con-
gressional elections may be held, and
the places and manner or methods of
1 onrOi m
the time and manner of Senatorial cleo
tions. But who shall vote at the
Congressional elections-whether both
sexes or one, and at what age, whether
the electors shall own property, whether
educated or not-is left precisely where
it was placed by the second section OF
the same article.
The Fourteenth Amendment recog-
nizes the right of the State to deter
mine who shall vote by those clauses
which reduce the representation, If any
citizen of the United States and of the
State are
EXCLUDED FROM THE FRANCHISE
as a class. Contemporary history shows
that the clauses of this amendment
which relate to the franchise were in
serted to give the State the choice OF
retaining inc COlOreu TdCo 40 pdT1 VI VIC
electoral duty with full representation,
or it's exclusion with diminished repre-
sentatlon.
1t is plain, in the opinion of the COM
mittee, from this section of the Consti-
tuition, that Congress cannot confer suf-
frage or cannot make voter, and that
we must look to the several States and
their laws and constitutions to ascertain
who are legally competent to vote for
Federal elective officers, as those OF the
State.
The choosing of Senators by the State
Legislature is Indirectly a choice by the
State electoral body. Its power to do SO
was derived from the fourth section OF
Article 4 of the Constitution.
"The United States shall guarantee to
every State in this Union republican
form of government"
The Supreme Court in interpreting
this clause refers to the States that par
ticipated in framing the Constitution as
illustrations and examples of republican
governments, all agreeing essentially In
the source Of authority, form and pow
ers of government, but varying in their
municipal laws, and especially in the
regulation of the franchise.
In the nature of things Congress can
not make a constitution for a State.
Each State must perform that act OF
sovereignty for itself.
''New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union" says clause
of Section 3, Article T. But before the
act of admission takes place the States
constitution is submitted to Congress
that it may be determined whether the
government is republican.