The Montana post., 1868-12-04
wANTED--A REGISTRATION
- LAW.
AT the ensuing session OF Congress.


and kindred questions now claiming the
attention of Legislators and journalists,
there is one law important 10 the Terri
tories. we trust may not be overlooked.
We refer TO general Registration Law
We know this has been highly obnox-
ious subject to the Democracy of Mon
tana, because former bills proposed dis
/ franchised those who had voluntarily
borne arms against the government.
The tendency is. however, to universal
with evidence of present loyalty We
do not believe the present Congress
would pass bill disfranchising any cit
| izen for having served in the late rebel =
lion. and he showing present good faith
and allegiance to- the government, it
would be wholly inconsistent with the
established policy to do so. Therefore,
the Democratic element of Montana.
claiming allegiance TO the government.
and denouncing in unspariEg terms the
| frauds that disgrace too frequently Ter
/ ritorial as well as State elections. will
join with us in asking a strict Registra>
tion Law TO prevent recurrence cf such
events. The object to be attained is
summed up in this; A voter must be a
| citizen of the L nited States and Nom
tana, and tEen vote only once at any
one election. Whether the suffrage and
naturalization laws be lax or stringent.
one thing is incontrovertible, an alien
TO our government has no right to make
its laws and universal suffrage to citi-
zens is as far as lioerali;y can go. The
fact of the British government present-
ing as an offset 10 our Alabama claims a
bill OF forty-five millions of dollars for
damages done TO British subjects resi-
dent in this country during the rebel
lion. is staEtlingly suggestive
that our alien English population look
TO the British Lion as their protector,
and maintaining their allegiance to that
Government have no claim to a voice in
] ours. These territories, stretched along
the nothern frontier, are overrun by
thousands of foreigners who have never
| become, or declared their intention of
becoming, citizens of the United States,
but who vote at every election men
who are either indifferent or hostile 10
our Republican Government, who owe
allegiance to foreign power and would
demand redress of grievances at its
hands as in the case just referred TO.
| Whether Republicans or Democrats turn
them from the polls. Who votes for
our lawmakers or executive officers
must be citizens of Montana Another
most infamous crime is repeating" IL
needs no logic TO convince any one that,
10 ascertain the will of the people is an
utter impossibility where double voting
is practiced, and to defeat that is To
destroy the life giving principle of our
Government. We believe as Wilkes
says in the Spirit, "the only crime
higher than treason is fraudulent voting
Treason plots, fradd pollutes treason
defies the Government, fraud defiles il
treason disturbs the flow, fraud poisons
the sacred fountain. Treason aims to
found a new State, which possibly NAV
be pure. Fraud aims to prostitute the
existing Government into an engine for
the perpetual promotion of crime. 1t
strikes at freedom not with the mailed
hand of despot, but like an assassin
that caresses while he stabs" Our Ter
ritories are suffering from the preva-
lence of fraudulent voting, and the con-
troll of the ballot>box by men who have
no interest in our local or general gov-
ernment. a large per centage of the
/ population is almost as nomadic as the
savages-that floating element, large
proportion of which is no more identi-
fed with any particular Territory or To-
cality than the grasshoppers, and is too
often used to fix upon permanent resi-
dents unjust and irksome measures
These evils can be prevented but in one
way by a strict, equitable registration
law, compelling citizenship, sufficient
time OF residence in the Territory, or a
voting precinct, to acquaint the citizen
| VIII ltS INTERESTS anu d register ol al
voters that a fair expression of the peo-
Pile may be obtained. II we recollect
Alright. Senator Williams last year in
troduced bill for Territorial registra-
ton but il did not become a law. We
hope in the present Congress a statute
covering these points will be enacted,
and something like n just election be.
come the rule in the Territories
ormsby county. Nevada, gave official