Note DL — LETTER XXVIII.

In Massachusetts and most of New England the blacks are legally citizens, and, as such, have the right of voting; they do not, however, at present exercise this right, either because they are prevented from doing so, or because their names are designedly omitted on the list of tax-payers, which in some States forms the list of voters. [Blacks vote and always have voted in Massachusetts.—Transl.] The constitution of Connecticut, formed in 1818, excludes them from this franchise. In New York, real estate of the value of 250 dollars, and the payment of taxes is made the electoral qualification of blacks. [The new constitution of Pennsylvania, formed in 1838, restricts the right of suffrage to the whites, although it was extended to blacks by the old constitution.—Transl.] The Western States, in which slavery does not exist, do not admit blacks to vote, and in the slave-holding States, it may readily be imagined that they do not enjoy that privilege.