Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-11-01

other, does not seem to be well under
stood beyond the State of Maryland but
a Washington correspondent who has
taken pains to hear both sides Of the
question states the following as the
facts:
1.-THE amended Constitution of Mary
land, adopted In 1866, DISTINGUISHES for
ever all who took arms In the rebellion,
and makes it the joint duty Of both
Judges and Registers of Election to use
all diligence TO the end that the ballot
shall be protected from prostitution by
disloyal votes. The Registry law of the
same year was framed with especial
reference to the practical disfranchlSe-
ment of that class so numerous IN all
the Border States, who, while not en-
gaging personally in the rebellion, yet
gave it moral cOuntenance and sympa-
thy. To this end the law provided that
each voter applying TO be registered
must take a stringent oath OF allegiance
and swear that he would not only sup |
mort the Constitution and laws of the |
State, but had never given aid or cOun- |
tenauCe to or openly expressed sympathy |
for the rebellion. 1t was believed this |
would practically purge the State OF all !
disloyal influence at the first registry |
which took place in 1865. There were |
| three Registers for each voting precinct, |
! appointed by the Governor. The regis |
try passed off without much excitement,
the class who were preCluded by the
stripgencv of the oath generally not
making any effort to place their names
on the lists. In the city OF Baltimore
| something over ten thousand votes were
registered, or about forty (40) per cent.
of the total vote At the second regis
tratiOn. which takes place this year and
is now being perfected, the law only re-
quiges one Register for each precinct.
wbois appointed by the Governor.
This registry is not yet complete, and
the Attorney General for the State, at
the request OF Gov. Swami, recently gave
his opinion on the subject, which was
to the effect that, the registry not being
completed, the Judges Of eli elton 10 the
recent municipal election in Baltimore
could only be guided by the registry OF
last year They pursued that course,
and their action in that election is the
immediate cause of the charges Of Off
Cial misconduct brought against the
police commissioners.
The chief point Of conflict betweeB the
, parties is this: Gov. Swami and his
+ friends claim that the registration is
final; that voters name, having once
been placed on the registry, it is conclu-
sive as to his right to vote, and that the
, Judges of election have no right to go
: behind the registry to inquire into the
antecedents of any voter, or to question
IN, ha 10 ~ uh tn
but that they must receive it, irrespec-
tive of his previous record.
= On the other hand, the radical Union
g men and the police commissioners hold
I that the registry is not conclusive, and
they fall back on the provision of the
State Constitution, which requires that
both the registers and the Judges OF
the election shall use all diligence to
keep the ballot-boX free from dislOyal
d votes. They contend that this gives
: them g discretionary power to revise the
h registry by rejecting the votes OF per
e sons of known disloyalty, and in sup
port of this view they adduce another
provision of the constitution which pro
J. vides that at the first election held after
J. its adoption the judges shall require the
r. oath Of allegiance from every voter, and
that at every subsequent election they
~ may require it to be taken, thus leaving
'r it entirely discretionary with them
n They further assert that the registration
r now going on, owing to the fact thai
n some of the registers appointed by tint
Governor are men of known Southern
sympathies, is simply means of re
n storing the State to the hands Of The
n dislOyal party, because the registers dc
not scrutiniEe the applicants, but permi
u every one to register who will take tn
10 oath, no matter what his record may
J. have been. Thus, through perjury anC
N fraud, it is claimed the very objects O
q. the registry law are defeated.
There is no serious question about tht
registry anywhere in the State save ii
Re-, the city of Baltimore. The Registry o
the present year, though not quite com
Il plete, shows in that city something ovei
70 Is 1000 names. If the Judges of Election
=, who are appointed by and responsible t.
d the Police Commissioners exercise dis
70 cretionary power over the registry, the
- Conservative party feel that there is M
= chance for them. From this spiings al
L the trouble. la the municipal election
IS lust held the old registry was used anC
r. the Conservatives let the election go by
:. default, but on the action of the Judges
70 of Election on that occasion they raist
~ charges of official misconduct against
) the Police Commissioners. The chic
y of these charges was that the provision
r. of the law requiring the presence of g
r. box at each polling place for rejected
ID votes was not complied with, but the
~ Commissioners have already shown tc
i0 the satisfaction Of their opponents thai
they provided such boxes at every poll
ing place, AMI that the failure to ust
them in some instances was Il ferelic
ton OF the Judges, for which they art
II responsible to the Commissioners.
"a Other charges are made, but they art
h not of serious character. Up to tht
is recent election it was admitted on al
n hands that the Commissioners were do
ing their duty well and that the city
:, was well governed.
Mrs. Deborah Bedford, aged ninety
!. three years, the sole survivor Of The