Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1880-10-08
JUDGE BOWIE'S OPINION.
In the Matter ofthe Petition of Henry
A. Allen for Registration.

of the LIST section of the LIST article of the
constitution of this State, title, Effective
Franchise" and the 18th section of the Act
of 1876, CHI. 249 being 16 section of Rivised
Code) title, Registration of voters.
The evidence substantially proves that the
petitioner was bornin Virginia, andre moved
with his parents, in his infancy, to thi.
county and election district, where he re.
sided until he was about thirty lone years o.
age. Then he went to Washington to enter
the service of the government, and was ap
pointed next day II Waterman in the Treas
ury Department, which position he still holds
that he was registered and voted in this
county before he went to Washington, and
has voted twice since; that he was married
in Washington in 1875, and lives there with
his wife in a house rented by the month
that it always was his intention to return to
this county should he lose his office; that he
has an undivided interest in lands here, on
which his mother resides; that his name
was stricken from the list of qualified voters
by the Register without his knowledge, and
he applied to be restored and was refused
The constitution, title, Elective Fran
chise," art. l, sec. l, declares, every white
male citizen of the United States, of the age
of twenty-one years or upwards, who has
been resident of the State for one year
and of the Legislative district or county in
which he may offer to vote for six months
next preceding the election, shall be enti-
tied to vote in the ward or election district
in which he resides at all elections hereafter
to be held in this State"
BY section 5, it is enacted, "The General
Assembly shall provide by law for uniform
registration Of the names of all voters in
this State who possess the qualifications pre-
scribed by this article, which registration
shall be conclusive evidence to the Judges OF
election of the right of every person thus
registered to vote at any election thereafter
to be held in this State"
| In pursuance of this constitutional pro-
vision various Acts of Assembly were pass
ed, among others 1870, oh. -, 1874, oh. 400
and lastly 1876, CHI. 249, under which the
present registrations are made.
Section 10, of this act, (being section 16 OF
the Revised Code) enacts, "No person shall
be entitled TO be or remain registered in any
precinct or election district unless he shall
have been resident of the State for one
year, and ofthe City of Baltimore or the coun.
ty in which registration be claimed six
months, next preceding the next ensuing
election at which such registration would
be evidence of the right Of the person SC
registered to vote; and the residence ne
cessary to entltle any person to vote or re-
| main SO registered to vote, and the evidence
necessary TO entitle any person to be OF
remain so registered shall be an actuaL bona
tide residence, within the precinct or district
within which such person may claim to re.
side and to be registered, and such actual
bona fide residence shall be established upon
the oath or affirmation of competent evi-
dence to the satisfaction Of the register to
whom the application is made and to the
satisfaction Of the judge or judges to whom
any appeal is made under the provisions OF
this act"
1t has been contended that the section last
cited qualities the first section of the LIST ar
tice of the constitution and restricts its
meaning to the corporal presence of the
voter within the county and State. There
is not any necessary conflict between the
terms used in the constitution and the act
A legal residence may be actual and bona
fide as well as a local residence. But if
there is any such contrarity of meaning the
act must yield to the constitution.
The right OF suffrage being created and
confined by the organic law, it may be
considered as an axiom that the Legislature
cannot add to, alter or change the funda-
mental franchise from which all legislative
authority springs. The creature cannot
control the creator.
If any authority be necessary for such a
self-cvdent proposition it may be found in
the decision Of the Court Of Appeals, Thomas
and Others, Md. Rep. lS0, where in an
analogous case it was held that where the
constitution defines the qualification of an
officer, it is not within thcpower of the Leg
islature to change or add to it, unless the
power be given expressly or by implication
Assuming that the act of 1876, oh. 249, does
not affect the question, there being no ex-
press or implied power given by the consti-
tuition to the Legislature to qualify the right
to vote,) the main question is, what is meant
by the term resident" in sec. l. art. /, Of
the constitution as cited.
1t is an elementary rule Of Interpretation
that all language is TO be construed with due
regard TO the subject matter TO which it re-
| fers and the circumstances under which it
was used.
The subject matter is the Elective Fran
chise," as to which our Declaration of Rights
asserts, that "the right Of the people to par
tcipate in the Legislature is the best security
of liberty, and the foundation of all free gov
ernment for this purpose elections ought
TO be free and frequent and every white male
citizen having the qualifications prescribed
by the constitution ougM 10 hooe the right Of
suffrage"
ton designed to give practical effect 10 the
general principles Of government announced
in the Declaration of Rights, and these in
struments are to he construed, if possible, in
harmony with each other. From the adOp
ton Of the constitution of l777 TO that o.
1867, all the articles of each, prescribing the
qualifications Of voters, have made resi-
dence" an essential part Of the qualification
of Il voter.
This perqusite was described by the terms
shaving resided" or "who has been a resi-
dent Of the State" or their equivalents.
"The constitution, unlike the Acts OF the
Legislature, owes its whole force and an
thority TO its ratification by the people, and
they judge of it by the meaning apparent
upon its face, according to the general use
of the words employed, where they do moi
appear TO have been used in legal or tech
nical sense. "-Pickings Appeal 20, Md. 400
"ln constituting it it is our duty TO inter
pref il according to its language; where thai
is plain and unambiguOus we are not at lib
erty to conjecture what may have been tho
possible intention Of its trainers not ex
pressed in its Language" -2S, Nd, Pa.
The words employed in sec. /, art. /, o
the constitution are broad enough 10 en-
brace all citizens of Maryland who having
once resided in the State and having ac'
quired "a d0micil or home, leave il for TEN
porary purpose, intending ultimately TO re-
turn.
In some Of the latter cases, in Massachu
sets and New Hampshire, the term "resi
dent" "inhabitant," "having dwelling Of
home" used in regard % voting, the settle
ment Of paupers and taxation are declared
10 besynonymous with d0micii as understood
at common law. Abingdon VS.. North Bridg.
water, 22 Pick. 8, l70-l7G. Blanchard vs.
Stearns, 8 Metcalf 27s-304
In the opinion of the Judges of the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts (Chiei Judge Shaw
and ALL TO the House OF Representatives o.
Massachusetts, il is said "the right voting il
conferred on the citizen achO hds resitiod with
in this Commonwealth and who has resided
within the town or district" We consider
these descriptions, though differing in terms
as identical In meaning, and that "inhabi
tant" mentioned in the original constitution
and one who has resided as expressed in the
amendments designate the same person
"And both Of these expressions, ~ used in