Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-03-11
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP,

Tutnful ana Ingenious nei8noor SAID, yester
day, of the new election bill introduced BY the
Hon. Mr. Meacham, of the House commit.
tee on the District of Columbia:
"We have already alluded to the hill re-
ported by Mr. Meacham to regulate the quail
fcations of voters in this CITY. It is neither
more nor less than a bill to allow foreigners to
vote IN this city before they have acquired a
residence here. This gives the foreigner an
advantage over the native-born citizen For Q
native Of any of the States must reside in the
city year before he is qualified to vote. But
this bill allows an Irishman to vote the day
after he is naturali1ed
NOW, We will ask any honest man, any true
patriot, II there is the least justice in such
measure In what other section of the Union
Is foreigner allowed privileges which are
denied to native citizens
I'VE will add that numerous petitions have
been sent to Congress in favor of this bill, all
signed by foreigners, Catholics, and Sag
NIGHTS. Not one name of an opponent Of the
present administration could be found on
these petitions. Will House of Representa-
tiyes containing large majority Of opponents
of the administration, sanction a measure
which is demanded by the administration to
crafty it's revenge"
There appears to be a fatal moral oblisuity
in every statement of facts our talented, in.
genuous and truthful neighbor essays, as is
palpably manifest in what we here quote
from its columns. Thus, the bill requires the
same residence in our city on the part of for.
eign born citisens before being entitled to ex.
ercise the franchise, as On the part of those to
the manor born. In this particular it ia
identical with the law as it now stands, though
at the last election in obedience to secret or
ders issued from Know Nothing lodges, the
judges of the election, every man of them
Know NOthings, except in two wards in each
Of which their opponents were allowed sin.
gle judge set the law as interpreted by the
Circuit Court, openly at defiance, and thus
| deprived hundreds Of foreign born citizens Of
their guaranteed legal rights. The bill, as
drawn up, in this connection simply provides
against the repetition of any such fraud by
| any party managers whoever they may be.
The bill, as does the existing law, allows q
| naturalized citizen to vote at any time after
his naturalization, provided he has the ne.
cessary other qualification of years resi-
dence here before Offering his vote.
The petitions in favor Of the bill were signed
by u very large number of our very best citi-
Gems of all parties and religious sects; oppo-
nents as we'll az friends of the Administration
The Administration has had no more to do
with the application for the enactment of this
| so necessary law, than the man in the moon
We doubt whether any member of it even
| knows now that an effort is being made to
L . Il - E.
ton from the shameless outrages, arranged
frauds, &C., by which the law guaranteeing
it was violated last year by direction of the
| Know Nothing lodges of the city
We only ask honorable members of Congress
of all parties to give it careful reading;
when they will perceive that it simply pro-
vides that citizens who now enjoy the right of
suffrage here, shall not be defrauded of that
| right by arts and tricks such as those by which
perhaps FIVE or six hundred anti-Know Moth.
ing legal voters were prevented from voting
in June last. The lodges, by prearrangement,
got all their voters to the polls early, crowding
away from them their peaceful opponents by
stationing bullies around to insult and IN al
II
contend for their rights. Their partizan
judges shut down the polling windows in the
Third Ward in the face Of hundreds of their
opponents thus kept away, who were anxious
to deposte their votes. The bill authorizes
additional voting places in each ward, to pre-
vent an excuse for the recurrence of anything
of that sort in W ashington.
1t is also proposes hereafter to prevent any
party from packing" the election commis-
sions with men all of one political party; al.
lowing the party having the majority in the
Councils to elect two and their opponents the
other one for each Ward.
With reference to foreign-bor citizens, we
repeat, it simply provides that if they have
had the qualification of the previous resi-.
den,e required under the law rs it now stands
on becoming naturalized they shall enjoy the
rights OF citizenship. Until the rise of Know
Nottingham the idea Of questioning their right
to vote until after they had been naturalized
one year, was never dreamed Of in this com
munity.
The Streets and Reservations.-Ths citi
zena Of Washington are under many obIiga
tions to Senator Brown, of Mississippi, for tn,
solicitudo he manifests to prevent the desecra
ton Of their city's magnificent avenues ani
public reservations by efforts to occupy ant
cucumber them for private and joint stool
purposes. But for the exercise Of due care t.
preserve them for their originally intended
uses there would be schemes before the pub
lie for the occupation Of half the avenues by
Railroad Companies, and shanties would soor
grace every Government reservation in the
District of Columbia. Our city is on the high
road TO magnifeence, the wisdom of the vast
plan on which it was laid out being already
manifest in the elegance and symmetry Of it.
details, which are being gradually developed
as public and private improvements rise w
among US one after the other. We remeInbe,
L IL almost Wilderness With brt ri . - 4