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Passed Jan.
24,1867. |
Entitled, AN ACT to restore to full citizenship,
and the right to vote and hold office, all persons
who may be deprived thereof by the provisions
contained in the fourth Section of the first Arti-
cle of the Constitution of this State. |
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Preamble. |
Whereas, by the provisions of the fourth Section.
of the first Article of the Constitution of this State,
a large portion of the citizens otherwise entitled to
vote and hold office, have been deprived of those
privileges whilst they remain liable to taxation, to
the performance of Military duty, and in all other
respects, subject to laws in whose enactment they
can have no participation, all of which is contrary
to the principles on which Republican Govern-
ments are established; and whereas, there is every
reason to believe that the persons so deprived of
the right of voting and of holding office are now
faithful to the State and the Government of the
United States; and whereas, these restrictions were
designed to be temporary as is evident from the
fact that power is wisely given to the General As-
sembly in the very Section of the Constitution
which imposes such restrictions to remove them in
all cases by an Act passed by a vote of two-thirds
of all the members elected to each House; and
whereas, the reasons for such restrictions have, by
the return of peace, now happily ceased to exist
and it is therefore right and proper by a speedy ex-
ercise of the power so reserved to the General As-
sembly to re-establish and re-affirm the right of the
people to participate ia the Legislature, justly de-
clared in the Declaration of Rights to be the secu-
rity of liberty and the foundation of all free Gov-
ernment; therefore, |
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Restored to
fall rights of
citizenship. |
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly
of Maryland, Two-thirds of all the inembers elect-
ed to each House concurring, that all persons
otherwise entitled to vote and hold office who may
be deprived of those privileges by reason of any of
the provisions of the fourth Section of the first Ar-
ticle of the Constitution of this State be and they |
