The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1866-08-16
REGISTRATION OF voTERs.


regard to the proper mode Of procedure
in the registration of voters, we will
give some Of our views in hopes that
they may be Of service.
Every applicant, before he can be
registered, is bound to swear or affirm
that he has "never given aid, counte'
nance or support to those in armed hos
tility to the United States" and that
he has "never expressed desire for
the triumph of said enemies over the
arms of the United States"-meaning,
as a matter of course, that he has never
given such aid &c, or expressed openly
in words such desire, freely and volun
tarily, under no circumstances of COM
pulsion around him, and with the seri-
GUS intention to help the cause of such
enemies. The Constitution says that
the taking of such oath shall not be
deemed conclusive evidence Of the right
of such person to votc-meaniug that it
may be rebutted by other eyidence--but
it must be deemed prin,a .tctcie evil
dence, and sufficient to entitle the party
to be registered unless oycr-ruled by the
stronger evidence of witnesses called
and openly testifying to actual facts
If the Register himself has had suspi'
cions in his mind of the guilt of the
party, tho taking of the oath should be
amply sufficient to clear away all such
suspicious; and he should register him
unless objections are made by others,
not in secret manner, but openly mad,
and sustained by witnesses examined
under oath. 1.-THE Register, of his own
knowledge, believes the party to have
committed disqualifyipg acts he should
perhaps so advise the party, and if he
does not voluntarily relinquish his ap.
plication, the Register must administer
to him the oath, and give him chance
by the production of witnesses to disa-
buse, it may be, the mind Of the Regis.
tex,
After the applicant shall have taken
the oath, in which he so deliberately
disavows all guilty intention, it does not
seem right for the Register (uuless
where objections are regularly made, }
TO proceed TO cross examine and perhaps
entangle the party, who may no, be al.
ways astute enough to explain himself,
though well aware Of the goodness Of
his inteutioss. If he suspects the por'
ty to be unaware of the nature Of the
oath he is about to take, he should en-,
dcayor candidly to enlighten his mind
on the subject, and probably, in such
preliminary conversation, the Register
may discover that he may have been
mistaken himself In general, it should
be laid down as the rule, that the ap.
plicant who takes the oath ia entitled Il
be registered without further question
unless good legal evidence is produced
against him.
The law itself regards ii as very Sc
rious matter wrongfuiiy 10 exclude q
qualified voter, when it threatens the
Register with penalty Of from one hun
bred TO FIVE hundred dollars, aud to be
disGanchised himself Whenever,
then, he determines TO act beyond the
oath of the party he Is treading on dan
gcrous ground, as he is liable TO prose-
cutiou in every case where the party
has not bceu excluded according TO the
strict provisions Of the law. 1t is an
awful responsibility for any one thus to
be invested with the power TO decide on
the right ola fellow citizen TO vote
that right which has always been re-
garded as the very dearest by every
American citizcn-and he must be a
reckless partzan indeed who would
abuse such high trust to advance the
interest of his party merely
When objections are made, aud
proved, they should be serious ones in
deed to outweigh the oath Of the party
who alone knows best the intention of
his own mind. Suppose, for instance,
it be proved against a man that he, at
one time, lodged and fed rebels when
they we're in his neighborhood That
of itself is not sufficient proof, for the
best Union men Of the land were com.
PEELED to do the same thing; and the
act of kindness shown them by the par
ty may have been intended merely to
ward off danger from himsefand neigh
bors. 1t must be by proof of repeated
suspicious acts, and open admission by
words, that the presumption in his ia
vor, raised by his own oath, can be
overcome. 1t would not do to construe
such acts against him because he was
always Democrat, when the motive
which actuated him may have been pre-
cisely the same as that of his Union
neighbor who did the same thing His
oath being conclusive that his intention