456 HASTINGS—POLICE POWER OF THE STATE. [June 19, 
it even after it has entered the state from any burdens by reason of its 
foreign origin. The act of Missouri encroaches upon this power, and is 
therefore, in our judgment, unconstitutional and void.”’ 
During this year also, in the *United States vs. Reese, the court 
construed the fifteenth amendment and limited again the power 
of Congress to legislate in matters of police within the states. It 
held an act of Congress fixing a punishment for hindering or pre- 
venting voting, which was intended to enforce that amendment, un- 
constitutional, because the lawmakers had not distinguished between 
discrimination on account of race and discrimination for other rea- 
sons, and had assumed to act in reference to offenses against free- 
dom of the national elections generally. Congress was held to 
have power under this amendment only to act with reference to 
race discriminations. 
The decision is interesting as showing how slow the courts 
were to turn power over to Congress which had belonged to the 
states and how different the view of the effect of the constitutional 
amendments in the Supreme Court from that in the Congress where 
they originated. The dissenting opinions of Justices Clifford and 
Hunt are especially interesting as showing how easily the act could 
be so construed as to remove the objection ; and, indeed, the de- 
cision is open to criticism as neglecting the general principle that 
laws are to be pronounced unconstitutional by the courts, after they 
have been duly adopted by the legislative body, only in plain cases. 
Still in the same year, in *Henderson vs. Mayor of New York, 
the old question of the Passenger cases came up again; and to 
show how the amendments to the constitution were bringing back 
all the old questions with such new features as legal ingenuity 
could throw into them, the question now arose on an enactment of 
the state of New York dating as far back as 1849 and apparently 
passed to meet the objections to the law which was under considera- 
tion and held bad in the Passenger cases. 
The law provided that every carrier of passengers should, for 
every one landed, either provide a bond in the sum of $300 to the 
state of New York against his becoming a public charge within four 
years or else commute such bond bya cash payment of $1.50, 
so cents to be for the benefit of other counties in the state, and the 
remainder to be expended by the commissioners of immigration for 
certain purposes in New York city. 
192 U. S., 214 (1875). 292 U.S.,,260 (1875); 
