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by the Constitution of the United States. What says that consti-
tution ? In article 1, section 2d, clause first, will be found these
words: "And the electors (voters) in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors (voters) for the most numer-
ous branch of the State Legislature." Some of those new Stales
in fixing the qualifications of their voters, would not and did not
so fix them, as to require naturalization or citizenship as a quali-
fication of the voter, but gave this right to all inhabitants who had
resided for some specified time, six or twelve months, within the
State, District or Territory. Why they did this may be conjec-
tured, but is not certainly known here. The sympathy and fellow
feeling naturally existing among all orderly and industrious
inhabitants of a new country may and probably was a strong
reason. Contrivances of politicians, and a desire to acquire in-
fluence and exercise greater weight in the national Legislature
and national Government, may have been another, and possibly
a controlling motive.

But whatever the motive, it was done, and has often been com-
plained of; so has the grant of the right of suffrage, in the north,
to negroes, runaway slaves and others, been often complained
of; but the right and power of the States so to extend this privi-
lege was unquestionable, and has therefore passed unquestioned.
The extension to negroes of this precious privilege in the north
was at least as great, if not indeed a much greater evil than the
non-exclusion from its use of the unnaturalized white inhabitants
of the west; yet nothing is said of the former, whilst the latter is
used as another great cause of excitement against all foreigners,
and made the pretext for propositions to alter and amend the
naturalization laws in various modes, and such an elongation of
the probationary period, as almost to amount to a prohibition of
all naturalization. Can all or any of the proposed changes in the
naturalization laws remedy, or at all effect the thing complained
of? No ! the complaint is not that citizens vote at elections, but
that non-naturalized foreigners use and abuse that highest preroga-
tive of the citizen. Then your proposed remedy, which only
forbids making or naturalizing citizens, is no remedy. You do
prevent an alien from voting where the law gives to aliens that
right, by preventing him from becoming a citizen ?

Is there then no remedy ? Yes, there is one, and only one,
within the reach of the power of the people of the United Stales,
and that will be found by most of them to be a remedy far worse
than the disease. What is that remedy? Why, to amend the
constitution of the United States, by striking from it the words
above quoted from the 1st clause of the second section and first ar-
ticle of that instrument which secures to the several States the
right to prescribe the qualification of electors (voters) for federal