The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1866-07-14

- Alta meeting Of the " johnson Club +"
Of the Eleventh District of this county, held a
few days since, the following resolution was
adopted:
ResoIved, That the continuance of the present
Registry Law, made during the war, is too strin-
gent in its character for time of peace, and
ought to be so modified as to exclude only those
who have taken an active part IN the rebellion.p
Section A, of Article lst of the Constitution,
says:
No person who has at any time been in arm
ed hostility to the United States or the lawful
authorities thereof, or who has been in any man
ner in the service of the so-caled GO Confederate
States of America" and no person who has vol
UNFAIRLY left this State and gone within the mill
tary lines of the so-called @ Confederate States
or armies" with the purpose of adhering to said
States or armies, and no person who has given
any aid, comfort, countenance or support to
those engaged in armed hostility to the United
States either by contributing to the enemies OF
the United States or unlawfully sending within
the lines of such enemies money or goods, or let
tiers, or information, or who has disloyally held
communication with the enemies of the United
States, or who has advised any person to enter
the service of the said enemies or aided any per-
son so to enter, or who has by any open deed or
word declared his adhesion to the cause of the
enemies of the United States, or his desire for
the triumph of said enemies over the armies of
the United States, shall ever be entitled to vote
at any election to be held in this State or to hold
any Office of honor, profit or trust under thelaw
of this State, unless since such unlawful acts he
shall have voluntarily entered into the military
service of the United States, and have been hon
orably discharged therefrom, or shall be on the
day of election actually and voluntarily in such
service or unles he shall be restored to his full
rights ofcitizenship by an act of the General AS.
sembly passed by vote of two-thirds of all the
members elected to each House rrefa
From the reading of the above express provi.
sion of the Constitution it will be seen that it Is
not in the poscer of the Legislature to make such
modification in the Registry Law as is suggest
ed by the Eleventh District meeting,
When the Constitution was made, it was con-
tended by many that it was of no force or effect,
because it was not made in times of peace"
but during the war; 1t is not worth while
to rem ind this class OF men of any provision in
the Constitution, as they do not regard it. There
are Others, however, acting with them, whom
we would remind that the Registry Law is not
more stringent than the Constitution itself which
they can very readily perceive by reading the
section quoted above. If any one has done any
of the acts mentioned, or used any of the decla-
rations enumerated in Sec. 4, Art. LIST, of the
Constitution, and wishes to be registered as q
voter, his remedy is not by a modification of the
Registry Law, for the Constitution expressly pro-
hibits such modification, but his remedy is by
q
ment as provided by the Constitution. Or if
any one who has not violated the Constitution
has been improperly rejected by the Registers
his remedy is not by modification of the law, but
by application for enfranchisement, which can
be done without trouble or expense TO him. We
publish this for the benefit of those who seem to
think that the Registry Law can be SO modified
as to exclude from voting only those who have
taken an active part in the rebellion.