The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-02-14

officers Of the Finance Department boueht up
| Mt thirty Der cont. discount and which the
| King afterward redeemed at par.
| bfr. Adams's history dealing. as We have
said. principally with the Federal Government.
and only incidentally with State governments.
| he was not impelled to give particular atten-
| ton to the conditions under which the fran
chise vas exercised in the American Com
| m on wssiths at the time OF tho adoption Of the
| Federal Constitution. This IL nevertheless
subject upon which information ts indispens-
able II we would understand the American
| communities in their political and social as
poets. We ind 1t elucdated with the requisite
| clearness aud fulness BY Mr.. MacAIaster in q
chapter on the spread OF democracy He
points out that the adoption Of the peculiarly
liberal state Constitution OF Ohio was an event
which, although it attracted inadequate notice
at the time really constituted q memorable
triumph for the rights OF man. The Ohio
Constitution was an expression OF what were
then the most advanced ideas OF democratic
government. We are reminded that no person
could in 1903 look over our country without
beholdinR on every hand considerable ves-
tiges Of monarchy. OF aristocrncy. and OF clnss
rule. In the seahoard States. which. acting
upon the advice OF the Continental Congress-
of 1915 had framed Constitutions for them
selves In the early days OF the Revolution
AIRY war. very little OF what would now
be called democracy existed. Everywhere the
political rights OF man we're trammelled with
restrictions which would now be thought in
| tolerablc. The right to vote and the right to
hold office were dependent on religious opinion.
on the ownership OF land. or on the possession
OF personal property. In Maryland and North
Carolina the Qualification for voting was fifty
acres OF land or personal property to the value
Of f:}0 Elsewhere 1t would be white skin
and property to tho value Of SlO. In Pennsyl-
vania it was the payment OF property tax
In another State the voter had to be peace
able man with freehold Of 20 shillngs
or personal estate worth E40. To be on
franchised in South Carolina the free white
man must believe in the existence Of q God
and in = future state OF reward and punish
ment, and he must also have a freehold Of
fifty acres. Of. land. To vote in New
York he must be seized OF free
hold worth ego York money. or pay q
house rent OF 40 shillngs o year. have his
name on the list OF taxpayers. and carry In
his pocket tax receipt In Massachusetts, the
requirement was freehold estate yielding f3
n year income or the possession OF any estate
worth EGO. In Connecticut 1t was an an
nual income Of 81 from freehold. or real es-
tate rated on the tax list at Sl34. In New Jer
sey the franchise had with the lapse OF time
become unintentonaliy broad. Drawn and
accepted in the space Of ten days. its Constl
tuition had never undergone careful
revision. Consequently many phrases were
susceptible Of a construction very diff.
ferent from the writer's intention. and none
were more so than the words which gave
the ballot Ito all inhabitants OF the State :"
who wero twenty-one years OLD and owned n
clear estate worth ESQ proclamation money.
No. a word being said concerning sex. race. or
citizenship. women. negroes, and aliens were
for thifty-ons years FREQ to vote. That they
did vote is proved partly by the traditions in
many New Jersey families Of q Great-Rrand-
mother or srcat-grandaunt who went year after
year to the polls. but chiefly by the law Of 1907.
which restricted the franchise to free white
males. and declared that the Limitation was
made because women. negroes. and aliens had
been allowed to vote. The same law provided
that the payment Of a State or county tax
should be the equivalent Of $50. clear estate
The right to vote. even when secured. did
not by any means carry with it tho right to
hold Office. Thousands Of men who on cleo
tion days came to the polls We're by law hope-
lessly debarred from holding tho Office o;
Sheriff. or taking seat on the beuch. or be-
coming memb ofths Legislature. or reach
ing the place OF Governor OF the State. No
atheist. no free thinker. no jew. no Roman
Catholic. no man. in short who was not be-
liever in some form Of the Protestant faith
could be Governor OF New jersey or New
Hampshire. Connecticut or Vermont Any
rich Christian might DO tho Chief Mag
istrate OF Massachusetts, or OF Maryland.
Elsewhere he must be Trintar.an
nd n hai In tha In AMI rat ~ ha
lures. or Protestant and believer in the d.
vine authority OF the Bible. or acknowledge
ono God. believe In heaven and hell and be
ready to declare openly that every word in
both the Old and the New Testaments was
dictated by the Deity. Not content with these
restrictions, many State Constitutions went
further and required that the Governor should
be not only pious hut rich. In one no must
have an estate OF one hundred pounds. in an
other Of five hundred. In another of five thou
sand in another of ten thousand pounds In yet
others he must hold two hundred and fifty or
500 acres Of land. For seat in either branch
Of tho state Legislatures similar Qualilca-
tions We're exacted. The people Of New Hamp.
shire thought it necessary that each State SEN
ntor should be seized in his own right OF free
hold estate worth 500, and each representa-
tive Of IN estate Of sl0A. Massachusetts
placed her requirements higher and would
suffer nj man to become member OF the up.
per branch OF her General Court who did not
have freehold OF 1900 or personal property Of
5000. For the lower branch the amount was
third as great. Men who aspircd to seat In
the Council OF New Jersey, In the Senate OF
Delaware or Senate OF Maryland, must own
81 900 81 real or personal estate. or lin Della
ware 200 acres Of land. South OF Pennsyl.
vana the land qualification was general
State Senators in North Carolina must own
300 acres. in Georgia 25O acres. and in South
Carolina 500 acres and ten negroes. In all
States no priests or ministers OF any decree
could hold a civil Office it being considered
that the duty OF the clergy was to serve God.
not man.
1t seems that at the outset not n voice was
lifted against these restrictions. but the leaven
OF the Revolution was at work. and one by one
they were slowly swept away First to 20 was
the religious qualification. and when the Con.
tinental Congress framed tho ordinance OF
1TS7 for tho Northwest TaIritories M nNnlin-