New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-09
REGISTRATION AND BALLOT REFORM.

Governor Hill, it seems, has been misreport-
ed. He does not demand that the annual regis
tlation law of New Yorll and Brooklyn should
be extended so as to cover the farmer voter;
but as will be seen in an Albany letter printed
on another page of THE TRIBUNE he does suS-
geSt that the registry system of the minor cities
of the State should be applied to the rural cleo
ton districts. This thought has come to him
while reading the newspaper accounts OF the
recent Massachusetts, election under the form
of the Australian secret-ballOt system adopted
by that State. The rural voter of MaSsachu-
sets is Observation-Disclosures the rural voter Of
Newly Orll must be registered if the SaXton
Ballot Reform bill is to become a law. The
newspaper organs of the Governor are also
making the same suggestion, and arguing that
the Saxton bill will he fatally defective unless
it contains some provision for the registration
Of the farmer voters.
1t is amusing, in view Of this sudden demand
by Democrats for " a uniform Registration law"
that the Statute-b0oks of the State show that
the registration law of 1859, passed by the Re-
publican Legislature Of that year, which re-
Quired the registration Of all voters, farmers a
well as city residents, was repealed by the
Democratic Legislature Of 1870. 1t was the
Republican Legislature of 1872 which restored
the registry laws so far as they applied to the
minor cities Of the State and pas sed the stIin-
gent laws regarding annual registration in
Newly ork and Brooklyn which have since done
so much to prevent fraudulent voting in those
cities Mr.. David b. Hill was a member of the
Assembly in 1872, and we are surprised to note,
in view Of his recent zeal in the cause of regis
tation, that he voted against every one Of the
three acts by which the registration Of the
voters in Newly ork, Brooklyn and the remain
ing cities Of the State was secuted. When the
Registration Act concerning the registration Of
voters in the minor cities was under discussion
he was especially prominent among those Dem
ocIats who were opposing it. 1t is with some
astonshment that we discover that he was then
opposed to the registration of farmers who vote
in villages having above 900 inhabitants
as thousands of them do Below is an extract
from "The Albany Argus OF April II, 1872,
containing a portion Of its report of the action
If the Assembly the evening previous on the
Registration bill mentioned, and disclosing Mr..
Hills attitude at that time:
Mr.. Alvori moved. for the purpose of asceralnlng
the sense of the House the question, to amend the
first section so as to make 1t apply to incorporated
villages containing more thaa 900 inhabitants
according TO the last census.
Mr. j. b. Hnl opposed the amendment on the
ground that there necessity Of extending the
to incorporated villages, VI would entail use
less expense upon them and hn did not believe any
Of them wanted IT,
Was it "a useless expense" in 1872 to have
registration lists drawn up containing the names
of farmers, and yet not "uSeeSs expense" in
1889 to have such list containing their names =?
But perhaps Mr.. Hill will say that longer OBJ
eervatlOn Of elections in this State has convinced
him that the registration of the farmer voter is
necessary if we are to have pure elections. II
so many who have been looking upon the cleo
tons OF this State for an equal period Of time
with him will say in reply that an effective
registration law in the minor cities of the State
must also be passed if fraudulent voting is 70
be wholly stopped. Whatever illegal voting
there may be in rural communities, it is insip
nifcant compared with that in the minor cities
and therefore no deadier blow was ever struck
at pure elections than was given by Governor
Hill in 1887 when he vetoed Assemblyman
Youngmans bill extending the New-York and
Brooklyn Annual Registration Act over the
other cities of the State. The Massachusetts
Rural Registration Act, of which Mr. Hill is so
enaniored, resembles closely the Registration
Act of New-York applicable to the smaller cities,
and il has the same vicious feature namely,