Address of His Excellency John A. Andrew

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 edition. Excerpt: ... / freedom of choice to be exercised by the various constituencies, who ought all to be treated by the law of Massachusetts as capable of selecting from among the citizens of the Commonwealth their best representatives. Our limited territory, and the homogeneous character and interests of our people, their intimacy of relations, their nearness to each other by means of their network of railways, the numbers whose legal habitations are in a town or city, while their daily business is from five to fifty or more miles remote therefrom, all tend to render it desirable that each constituency shall be unfettered in its freedom to select the wisest and ablest citizen at its command to sit in the National Council, especially in this grave emergency of our public affairs. And the law, as it stands/is subject to the grave objection of unconstitutionality. The eligibility of a person to an office must be determined by the constitution or the law under whjfh the office was created, and by which its jurisdiction and functions are prescribed. The office of Representative in Congress is created by the constitution of the United States, by which also its powers, duties and incidents are determined. And the constitution fixes the conditions of eligibility by requiring that No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. The question of the right of a State to add new conditions to those of the constitution, was examined in the thirty-fourth Congress by both houses, in the exercise of their respective powers to judge of the elections and qualifications of their own members....