Weekly national intelligencer., 1857-10-17

ony polt1eay; and IN ofcef 70 neutf1xo the vote Or
the fcrner the latter resolved to exercise the elective
franchise, which it did not require any very liberal
srucen to msintsn GUARANTEED to her by the terms
Of the Constitution The fev instances Of the kind show
that the majority Of the Jersey them now
not swift to overstep the bounds of decoru intrude
whore their charactsrsc modesty and serespect might
be wounded. ssfla sss Esgss ss.gs isa.s -
In the year 1906 new house and jail were to be
erected in the county of Essex Strenuous exertions
made have them located elsewhere than at New
ark which had been the county town from very early
period Sufficient influence was brought to bear upon
the Legislature the passage of approv
ed November 9th of that year, authorsng special eec
ton, at which 6 the ha6itants Of the county "quafed
to vote in elections for members Of the State Legsa-
ture &c. described the qualified electors to de-
termine by their votes where the budings should be
located The contest caused great excitement through
out the county, and under legal advice of SORT
when the election held February, 1907, of
full age, whether single married, possessing the
required property qualification, permitted by the
judges Of election to vote But the conflict proceeded
and the blood of the combatants waxed warmer Judge
HoRNBLowER informs me, the number of female voters
increased and it found that single and
epsy married woman in the county not only Of full
age, but also worth fifty pounds proclamation money,
clear estate and such entitled to vote they chose.
So apparent the frauds pracsed at this election
that the Legislature at the ensuing session did not hes
tate to set it aside having been illegally conducted
and, by repeating the authorizing it, left the build
ngs to be erected in Newark which they egtimatey
belonged And in order that future occurrence of
the kind should take place, act passed. (approv
ed November 16 1907 the preamble to which is fol-
lows
"Whereas doubts have been raised and great diversi-
ties in practice obtained throughout the State in regard
to the admission of aliens females and persons Of color
negroes to vote in elections also in regard to the mode
OF ascertanng the qualifications of voters in respect to
esate and whereas is highly necessary to the safety
quiet good order and dignity of the State to clear up
the said doubts by act of the Of the
people decaratory of the true and meaning of the
constitution, and to its just execution in these
according to the intent of the trainers there
of: Therefore, &c. SC.
This act confined the right of suffrage to free ohte male
citizens of twenyone years. worth fifty pounds procla-
nation money clear estate and disposed of the property
qualification by declaring that every person otherwise
titled to vote whose should be enrolled on the last
ta1sts for the State county should be considered as
worth the fifty pounds, thus by Legislative enactment de-
termning the meaning of the constitution and settling
the difficulty The law remained unchanged until the
adoption of the constitution few years SINCE which
shall VOTE and removes the property qualification alto
gether.
remember rightly the privilege of voting has been
exercised legally by in some of the New England
States but cannot present recall the facts and have
not leisure to hunt them up. w. A. WHITEHEAD.
OcToBER 5.-Since the foregoing was written / have
received through the Hon. JAMES PARKER of Perth Am
boy, additional information, from which appears
that the practice of female suffrage time
general than had previously any to suppose.
In 1870 prominent member of the Society of Friends
was the committee of the Assembly frame cleo
tion law, and the constitution might be construed
to include females in ORDER is sad respect his
being allowed to vote in that religious
society-the act drawn by the committee as to
read he she" when referring to the qualified voter
and although this act repealed in 1897, new act
passed the 22d February of that year. and which took
effect the 1s March, 1898, retained the phrase
ology Under this law and not before Mr. PARKER states
that females voted in Ezabethtown at contested
election for Counclmen and in the Presidential contest
of 1900 there many instances of their voting in diff
ferent parts of the State and thereafter until the pas
sage of the act of 1907 to which have referred the
practice continued in various places when contests
animated close. At election in Hunterdon county
in 1902 women of color allowed vote
and their votes elected member of the Legislature.
w. A w.