Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 10.djvu/744

 732 FEDERAL REPORTER. �be no legal guilt. The same may be said of the crime of forgery, us knowledge and an intent to defraud are essential elements of the crime. A great many other cases, illustrative of the principle, might be eited if it were deemed neoessary. Let us sec how far it is applicable to the case now under consideration. �Through amendments to the constitution of the United States, which now constitute part of that iftstrnment and are parts of the supreme law of the land, those of our fellow-citizens who were held in slavery were emancipated, and clothed with all the rights of citi- zenship. They have, under the constitution, all the rights that you and I possess. Yea, more : having just emorged from a servile con- dition, and being incapable of defeudiug themselves against the aggressions of the more intelligent and stronger race, statutes in- tended to secure to them the full benefit of the recent constitutional amendments have been passed for their special protection. Among others, congress has enacted (Rev. St. § 5510) that "every person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinauce, regulation, or cus- tom, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any inhabitant of any state or territory to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the constitution and laws of the United States * * * on account of such inhabitant being au alien, or by reason of his color or race, * * * shall be punished, " etc. �It is important to note the intent and scope of this statute. The mere fact of defendant having excluded the colored boy mentioned in the indictment from the privileges of the school taught by him, would not be a violation of the act. More than this must be proven before you will be authorized to convict. He must have been ex- cluded under some color of law, statute, ordinanee. regulation, or custom of the state, and on account of his color. If, therefore, this defendant did exclude the colored boy named in the indictment from the privileges of the school taught by him, after being requested by the trustees of the subdistrict to permit him to enter it, claiming tho right to do so under authority of the statute providing for the sepa- rate education of colored children in schools to be established and maintained for that purpose, and did so on account of his color, the court instructs you that you ought to find him guilty as charged, un- less you shall find in his favor upon the question of fact to which I will hereafter direct your attention. �We -will, however, before presenting the question ot fact upon which the resuit in this case depends, notice the several defences urged by defendant's counsel : ��� �