New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-10

Nca. England States register the.I legal voters,
ard wa are confident that far fewer Illegal votes
were polltd in the whole Of them in lo56 than in
this City or Ph.dephis alone.
But TIE TRIBUNE believes, or pretenis 20 be-
lieye, that the Registers appointed by Mayor
Swami, or by the Plug Ugly Clubs that gave
MAYOR Swami bis election. are by the fact ofther
" appointment, to attain the purity Of recording
sngels " Gays Tie AtIas. Ono nothing Like 1t
THE TRIBUNE believes that Election Officers. like
others. are not too good to be watched, and 1t
simply proposes to haze them wit;hed. Let the
Registering officers make out thar list o! the legal
voters; then let the People review and scrutinize
il. If they find there any names that should not
BE-. let them challenge those names, and let proof
for and against their right to stand there be
profered and taken, and decision made thereon.
Ii any legal voters be left of the Registers list
let them claim their right and make il good BY
sffdsyt and testimony. Ifa man has resided
YEAR in the State, and four months in the County,
it cannst be hard job to prove it. 1t be uutfuy
preteuds TO have done 80. it cannot be difficult to
convict him of the fraud pro7ded time be allowed.
lie UlltcuItl u'N IL bunb AV A"AA VPfOA'"''J -
allowed. The bogus voter watches bis opportu-
nifty, and offers his vote when he feels sure there
is no one present who knows that be has no hight,
If questioned BY the Inspectors, he answers
promptly and confidently, snd. no one knowing
why it should not be, his vote is taken. But If he
were required to inscribe his name on a public
registry or check LIST, which should hang up in some
l.. r f.rS S,rtft,, md oh
lenge he would never dare TO brave the ordeal. The
convicted felons, who now vote illegally in Our
rotten Wards in droyes, would never enter their
names 10 be scIutinized and challenged on the
ground Of their felony. The - repeaters,' who
now start at the Battery and vote al the way up
to Kingsbridge, perhaps recoiling where cha-
leneed-snd perhaps not-could make no head
wsy under Regi.try-nor could those who vote
without being residents or without being nat
uralized-snd this is why those who proftby such
voting mean to prevent Registration OF Legal
Voters so long as possible. We .flst however,
that they are not TO RUE our nealy chosen Legi'la'
ture.
There is but one Property Test known to our
present Constitution, and We did our best to pre-
vent the adoption Of that while the supporters of
tn. AAas--and we presume its Editors with them
upheld and voted for it. Are they not the wrong
set to talk Of restricting" and "obstructing
the exercise of the right of suffrage
We do not propose to deprive one citizen of the
Right of Suffrage. We do think it would be well
if those naturalized hereafter were required to
obtain their papers one year before voting, just as
those who remove into our State must DO The
object Of the two restrictions is the same-to pre-
vent the manufacture Of votes for use in pending
election.
The fact that many voters do not exercise their
Right of Suffrage neither disprOves nor belittes
the fact that many vote who have no right or vote
more than once. If half the legal voters staid
away from the polls We should nevertheless object
to the polling instead of as many unnaturslzed or
nonresident, or duplicating voters Besides, we
think many legal voters are repelled by the fact
that their suiraees if cast, neutrazed by those
who have no right
The atlas says if we had Registers, the voters
would be required L" TO run the gauntlet of two
4" sets of scoundrels instead Of OLe." 0 no! the
Z" two sets Of scoundrels would be compelled to
run the gauntlet Of the public s:rutiny. If the
Registers put any names on the Registry Of men
who were not entitled to be there, or left of any
of men who were, they would be exposed and
baied by the scrutiny and challenges Of the People.
Every one culpably left off would have his action
against the official wrong. .doers every one wrong.
fully put or kept on would expose the wrong-doers
to Like action and penalty at the suit of any Of
those aggreved by their mafeasance. But in New
England, where registries are universal complaints
of abuses are very rare. And the Registry when
perfected, would be a check on the Inspectors
who could return no more votes than the number
Of voters on the Register, without exposing them
selves to detection and punishment
If there were ever 8 case in New. Orleans where
gang Of armed bulles took possession Of the Reg.
istry Office then we say that to hold such posses.
sion through several days was moral impossible.
ty while the blocking up of polls BY such gangs Of
bullies is an everyday occurrence. The polls need
only be blocked for q few hours to secure the de.
sired resut, while the Registry Office must be
blocked up for days to subserye the nefaIious Pur
pose.
THE TRIBUNE does know that the outrageous
vote lately poed in Baltimore could not have been
polled under Registry law. II names had been
fraudulently added to the Registry, they would
have been challenged and thrown off; if votes had
been polled in defiance of the Registry say 900
in a Ward where the Registry showed but GOO
yoiers-that fact would justify and insure rejec-
nc Tn aknrt IL -.