The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-03

siitutiopai term of residence before D. has taken
PLACE M % b ihe edo pse Ses s pg UH thS
be evidence that the voter was resident In the ais
sldence required at any time before the day Of regis
aten Evidence eoq of continued residence to the day
tion, as required, and would be an Idle ceremony
she Of m SnS Of The sec
any Court could Insure uniformity in the Boaris OF
CsnvRssers this point, even II the views suggested
Pfceseiy the same diculty extends to the of
persons coming to reside Ia the state OF returned
citizens. Each must antl.irate the period OF clna,i-
tutional qualification by ten days residence more
they must prove the consi .uttonal requirement.
complete in order to be regste[ea ten days before e
hcation ten days One year aud ten days la the one
oIher is the requirement of the act The proof can
not be made before the Board OF Canvassers 10 any
other in accoI dance with the act and In this
!he requirement ls clearly yioalye Of the Uonstitu;
OF dence be complete at the moment the oHec to
80 in regard to persons entitled TO vote on age,
supposing any provision for registration IN favor OF
that Class & tSS5S nSos M AL AL wnJaeg voter og be s
tct his right before 1t has accrued, n II happens
OF election. According also to the terms OF the acJ
such yoer II placed on the received iisL WDpd m be
SCI sed-there are no exceptions This Is In direct
In the Sc OF naturaized citizens whose natural
ization papers shall be produced less than ten days
the act from exercising the right OF electors because
can vassers len days before election is Indispensable
in order to repatriation IL must be rem, moegea mat
ever any qu lifted citizen exercise the right OF an
ten days before the election without subjectng the
eeGtCn @ odnse1s ou 10 e me ede What shall be- tie
proof on which sous OF nRturalzed citizens are TO
to registration will depend on the discretion OF the
canvassers and be accepted or rejected at pleasure
IT seems inevitable that Ia all cases wnere the
voters qualifications become complete according TO
the Constitution only within ten DAYS bsfore any
general election he cannot be relieved from INABILITY
TO I, axe he PROOF ieIuHep e. % & h9 "a acS snu h
be sustained as Constitutional. For these reasons
toHal and of course void We cannot dec are it par
italy void because Of the special provisions a1plica
and it. were possible rd to sustain tain the fncc bal
6 e the eaae S which Tepeas M
sistent with The act and !hus Philadelphia would oe
This we cannot do, II must exist as entirety, o r
not at all Indeed OF this Consdera
to be made IN order by registration IN other portions
primary lists OF he assessors and application is
nade % be registered that exists ia I4th section ap
At Length This GeaTy appears In III tR and
admit that unwlse and even unfsir legislation II
such thing could be Imputed TO act OF the Legs
legislation may be careful investiga ion.
su S IN bCd In penalties aOt esee
ciay In that portion applicable To the city, against
election officers yet there denounced against
Boards OF Canvsssers for wrongfuy refusing 60 re-
gister voter who may have me. every requiston In
order TO entle him to be registered HIS security,
This ought to be Sufficient. But the attempted
change of the election laws has its strong If not
only reason in the assumption, in some instances no
doubt just that official oaths have been insufficient,
under existing laws to guard against cheating and
frauds in elections What reason there is to expect
that they be better observed under the new law is
not apparent. No higher qualification for the office
OF a canvasser is required than for a judge or in
spector of an election board. The same results
may therefore be as reasonably anticipated in the
one case as in the other. The securing OF fairness
is not imposed in the provisions on the subject,
most certainly.
But l will not follow this train of thought fur
ther. l agree that it is always a grave matter to
aside an act of the Legislature, and doubt if
there is any instance yet of its having been done
where the people have asked by petition for legsla
ton. They are careful of their constitutional
rights. In the case in hand which is an act of the
greatest public Importance, the Daily Legislative
Record, an official publication of the legislative
proceedings, gives no account OF petitions OF the
people for the great change of law attempted, or,
far the city is concerned that the act was the
work of any committee; but it does show that the
provisions to it virtually the work of q single
member, and presented to the House in manuscript,
and without having been printed, passed the House
without debate.
In this shape it went to the Senate, where it was
almost Immediately agreed to, without the allow
ance OF debate or printing This may well account
for the incongruous and unconstitutional features
of the act. These facts, however, have had no
weight whatever in producing the result at which
we have arrived They might well stimulate the
activity of the scrutiny exercised in examining the
provisions OF the act but they had no other effect
have not specially noticed the citation of au-
thorities by counsel for the respondents to prove
that registration laws have been held constitutional
by the Courts of other States This might be owing
to the peculiarites of the constitutional provisions
of those States; but another reason exists for not
noticing them. We do not mean at this moment to
decide that no constitutional Registration law can
be enacted. For myself, think there might be,
and possibly in such form as to protect the rights
of all legal voters, and secure the people, to some
extent at least, against the possibility of fraud at
the ballOt-bOX. BE this, however, as it may be- we
are not ready to say the act in question is of this
character, within the pOwerO the Legislature to
pass. This conclusion leaves all the election laws
in force which were intended to be superseded by
this act.
These provisions are well understood. They have
been in operation many years, with but compare
lively few complaints, not resulting from the laws
themselves so much as from the want of vigilance
in administering them, This the penalties of the
law should remedy. Elections under these laws will
therefore impose no hardship nor do any wrong to
the people, if conducted the law requires, and it
is in this spirit ought to expect them to be
Quoted. For these and other reasons which might
be given majority of think that the injunction
prayed for in each of the bills ought to be granted,
ON the cOmplainants each entering bail in the sum
of $1,000, to be approved by the Court or az Judge
thereof,
Justices Read and Agnew read dissenting Opin-
ions, that of Judge Agnew being of great length.
Justice Strong also read an opinion, Concurring
with the decree entered, but differing with the
Chief Justice upon the cOnstitutOnality of cer-
tain sections.