The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-28

new constitutional right. which is ex- emption from discrimination in the ex- ercise of the elective franchise on ac- count of race. color or previous con- dition of servitude. From this 1t ap- pears that the right of suffrage Is not a necessary attribute of national cfti- zenishp but that exemption from dis crimination in the exercise of that right on account of race, etc. is. The right to vote in the States comes from the States.
 Mir. Handley-Thafs the doctrine.
 Mir. Watts (continuing 10 read) but the right of exemption from the pro- hibited discrimination comes from the United States. The first has not been granted or secured sby the Constitution of the United States, but the last has heen.''
 have other authorities but have not time to notice them. except inciden- tally to say that the same doctrine is held in Blacker vs McPherson, 146 U. S., and in other cases. Now. mark you, another thing righ: there, the right of citizens of the United States to vote is rish. which the State has given to tke citizen within its borders to vote.
 At the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, and if am not mistaken
 
 Amendment, no Southern Stat had given the negro the right to vote with in its borders.
 Now. gentlemen, I must hurry on. My friend from Jefferson. MT. White. says. t.Could you provide a law that the people of the Black Belt should be governed by one law as to suffrage. different from that prevailing in other portions of the State? In other words. could you put fence around them and say that they could vote under certain conditions entirely different from the balance of the Slater? That seems to be his test. I answer yes.
 It has been expressly decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in
 the case of Lewis against Missouri, 120 U. S., and in later cases, that ev- cry State has the right and that Ala
 bama has the right now set up one set of qualifications in one Congress sional District for suffrage, and 10 set an entirely different set of quahfca-
 tions in each of the other Congression- al Districts, the only thing insisted
 upon being that whatever qualifications you provide for each district shall ap- ply to every voter in 1t. He asks could We say that all straight haired men should vote and that those who do not have straight hair shall not. Let me read you something which may per.
 haps answer that question, little better than I can. I read from the
 case of Williams vs. the State of SMts- sissippi, ITO U. S.: Restrained by the Federal Constitution from discrimi-
 hating against the negro race. the Con- vention discrininated against its char acteristics. and the offenses to which it's weaker members were prone, but nothing tangible can be deduced from this. If weakness were to be taken
 advantage of. it was to he icne with
 in the field of permissible action uTlde the limitations imposed by the Fed
 eral Constitution and the means of 1; were alleged characteristics of the ne. gro race not the administration of the
 law. by the officers of the State. Be-
 sides, the operation of the Constitution and laws is not limited by their lan-
 guage or effects to one race. They reach
 weak and vicious white men as well as weak and vicious negro men, and whatever is sinister in their intentions,
 if anything. can be prevented by both races, by the exertion of that duty
 which voluntarily pays taxes and re- frains from crime"
 Now while I have that book befors me, permit me to refer to my learned friend from Montgomery. Governor Jones. Governor Jones said that when you read the proceedings of this Con- vention in connection with what we adopt here, they will say that the evl- | dent purpose was to disfranchise the
 negro. Now what IS the law on that subject? I am reading from a memo
 randum. I refer to the case of Black
 CT vs. McPherson, 146 U..S.: The framers of the Constitution employed
 words in their natural sense, and where
 they are plain and clear. resort to col- lateral aids to interpret them is un- ! necessary and cannot be indulged in to | narrow or enlarge the text" That Is what the Supreme Court of the U. S. | decided in reference to that. Then he says: But the purpose is clear" We'll
 let us see what the Supreme Court of
 the United States says about that in
 construing the Mississippi Cons.itu- ton. '"There Is an allegation of the pur-
 pose of the Convention to disfranchise citizen of the colored race,
 but with this we have no l concern. unless the purpose is executed by the Constitution or the laws or by those who administer them" So much for the purpose. So much for resorting to evidence alunde to find out what our intention was. The Supreme Court say they do not care anything about the purpose. It does not make any difference about our purpose. The question Is, what have we done? Tn | that connection, I want to call your at- | tention to two other cases in reference to what Governor Jones said. He told you about the queue case, and his arr gument was that the law would be construed in accordance with its ad- ministration. He might also have cited you the case of Yick We vs. Hop kins, 118 U. S., where the City of San Francisco enacted a law that nobody should have a laundry in any except wooden building. and they construed | that to be in its operations and in it's | language also, unconstitutional and void. But when you come later down the line. you will find in the case of Wood vs Brush, 140 IT. S. and Jugiro vs. Brush, 140 U. S.. it was decided by that same Supreme Court That a law groes from the jury does not make the | law otherwise constitutional, invalid. " | So that. if we pass a law which Is valid. it's administration Is another thing. Now, then, who have we per mitted to vote. We have permitted the l soldier of the war of 1872. who bore | that first flag of thirteen stars, repre- sentng the Union of the States, and | the thirteen stripes which represented | the thirteen colonies that formed this
 Union. We give that right to the sol | dier in the Mexican War We give it | to the Union soldier in the war between the States. We give it to the gallant