Show Miscegenation The hight to afre tent it EDITOR Jn sorio p A few day since the salt lafee gierald had a paragraph of enquiry on the subject gf the power of tho legislative bly to prohibit the marriage of ahito and colored persons and seamed in doubt this question has been ide aided by the supreme court of sv s era of th e stales since the lata amendments to the united slater constitution among them iho su preme court of indiana and au holding hat ho state legislatures control oter this subject only question came up before judge stales circuit judge in the eastern district of virginia A colored man and a white woman both residents of virgan ft where buch marriages marri agea are forbidden by lawrent law went over to th e district of columbia where they lire legal and married aej then return eato virginia and were indicted when tho roan attempted to the caso from the stale court inta the ignited states court judge hughes held that there are two classes of privileges attaching fa A american citizen to wit those which he has as a citizen of the united states and those which ha kas at a citizen of the state where he resides as a member of society that he amendment at the U S constitution forbids the states from abridge ing belonging to a person as citizen of the united states I but does not prohibit the states from abridging the privileges of their own citizens as members of society marriage said judge hushes is a privilege belonging to a person as a member of society and as citizens of the states in they reside and may be abridged atthe will of the state in which they are domiciled nor is it a contract within the pro vision of the section of the first article of the U S constitution forbidding the states to pass any laws impairing the of contracts for the very obvious reason that marriage when consummated ia much more than a contract it th enbe cames a stales and a public civil institution ution to ba legislative isla tive authority of the local community and that raid clalice only embraces lawful contracts and nt such as are against the this case efty be found in extensor in virginia law boumal Jo ind an abstract in the st louis Central Lair journal of july page 56 |