New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-02-26
A REGISTRY OF VOTERS.

Two things puzzle u.s. First, that any honest, in.
telligent should oppose Registration Of Legal
Voters; Secondly, Thai those who seem 10 favor
Registration should make such 8 mountain Of it.
1t ought not 10 cost more nor to be more difficult
OBJ to register the Legal Voters of our State than
10 hold State Election; IN fact It ehOud c0st less,
since no constsbles or policemen are needed 10
registration, and one good penman for clerk is all
sufficient In any Election District Of our State
but hundred or 30 in the great cities, the Legal
Voters should oil, within dozen, be registered on
the evening of the first day on which Board sits
for that purpose; ard then no more need be done
till the day fixed BY law for reyision-which should
be from three TO nine days before the ensuing
ElectOn-when half day should suffice 10 per-
feet the work. Let the law fix the day on which
the Board shs fret assemble at Q a. VI. for regis
tration in each Election District, and we believe
the work will be substantially finished in three
fourths of them before p. VI. Of that day. For
rot only viii the Assessors know nineteen-t ven
tetbs of tie legal voters in most Of the
rural districts, aud be able to write down
their names ol.hand but there will inevitably
be representatives Of each party on hand in
nearly or quite every district, wi ii lists Of heir
voters IT dy 10 be proposed if the registering Off
GERS should, through ignorance or design omit one
or more Of them. Werepest that the two Assessors,
or two Inspectors OF Election, or the Supervisor
and senior Justice, sitting as Board of Regstra-
ton in any Election District which has less than
three hundred voters-(and not one tenth of the
Election Districts in our State h.ye so many as
that may have those legal voters ali registered by
sunset Of their day Of meeting, leaving nothing to
be dore thereafter but to give opportunity for
scrutiny and revision wbich-supPosing the work to
have been well done originally-will be mere for
malties. We objecr, then, TO any Registry Law
which allows the registering officers to sit and 81.
indefinitely, or to employ more than one clerk.
We object to one that requires great amount Of
expensive publishing or advertising. We do not
think it necessary to pay for printing the Registry
at ell nor for making copies Of it, TO be posted for
public scrutiny. Let the original Registry, as
finally corrected, be deposited with the Town or
City Clerk let certified copy of each District
Registry be entrusted to the first Inspector for
said District; and let any voter Of said District
have the right to demsnd and procure copy by
paying half a cent (or whatever may b. JUST for
each voters game borne thereon; and there can be
no need Of saddling the public with further cost.
BY tie wsy: the voters on the revised list should
have numbers prehxed to their names as they
stand on the Regstry-thus:
To,srL Re,ftszee
,. Abott Aalos.........rear knight, Mills.
2. Alien, EIku J........Iext s. Of yohDsou's s.crs.
Appleton John H...ltA. ". Ct eAooaOus-, D.fic. Sc.
&c, ko., &C, &c, &C, kc.
Tbis, if name should be missed in copying, woult
detect it BY simple glance down the column Of
figures, and Indicate the name omitted on recur.
renee to the original list.
LET Us briefly suggest the cardinal poirt. to
be kept in view in framing Registry Law:
l. Impartialiy.-The members Of the Board
should be expressly sworn 10 make true, fun, cor.
rect list Of the Legal Voters and zone Others, with
out favor or psrtissnsS,p.
II. PsHieity The Board should 81. openly, on
4 dsy Puscribed By las, ia lr6l; ard plainly