The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-03-20
AN,EXTRA SESSION. ASKED.
NEGROES. MAKE AN APPEAL AS TO
The REGISTRATION.

-: -.
An Address Looking to an Immediate Test
of the State Registration Laws in the
United States Court--:heir Course Out
lined.
CoLUMB1A, S. c., March Is 5-Yester-
day morning a committee from the
Colored Ministers Union, composed of
the Revs. R. E. Hart and w. D. Chap
pelle, headed by retiring Congress
man George ". Murray, as chairman
called on Governor Evans in regard to
the registration matter. and made the
request of him to call the State Legis-
lature in extra session, for the purpose
Of allowing further time for the regis
tration Of colored voters, averrlng
that the ten days allowed by the act,
which have now expired have been
entirely insufficient and inadequate to
permit of the registration of those
qualified voters who applied.
The committee waited on the Gov
ernor at the executive chamber about
l .. NJ, and they presented to him
the following paper, making state
ments in accord Herewith:
"As representatives OF the Mlniste,
rial Union and the Republican party
organized to aid the masses in qualify
ing themselves to discharge the high
est function of citizenship in order
that they might take part in choosing
delegates to the Constitutional con:
vention. in which the status of their
citizenship is to be fixed or destroyed,
having received advices from all parts
of the State relative to the manner,
conduct, and extent of registration
during the ten days set apart for reg
istration, which are exhausted today,
we assure you that not more than 10,
600 electors were registered within the
entire State and that many more than
1O0,0 900, after unparalleled exposure,
suffering and sacrifices. remain un-
registered and disfranchised and that
the four remaining days under the
law, namely the first Mondays in
April, May, Juaeand July are wholly
Inadequate, therefore in behalf of
these thousands of wronged and in
iured persons we call upon your ex-
cellency to pray that the Legislature
be convened in extraordinary session
to provide means whereby these more
than hundred thousand citizens may
qualify themselves to exercise their
constitutional right IN the selection Of
delegates.
eve respectfully submit that stat.
utes creating such conditions as re-
quire electors to travel from ten to
fifty and seventy-fve miles to the va.
rious county seats and to expose them,
selves in sunshine, rain and cold for
weeks in endeavoring to qualify them
selves, and to have them sent away at
the enc of which without even an op-
portunity to register, to say nothing OF
their unccnstitutionality, are too cruel
and barbarous for the civilization OF
the age.
1--WE further submit that the time
SET apart for registration is wholly In.
sufficient Under recent decision OF
the Attorney General in relating to
placing the penalty on delinquents in
the collection of taSos, persons who
were in the tax Office during the pc
riod for paying the same anu failed of
an opportunity, are exempted from
the penalties, and we claim that regis.
tratIon as conducted in our State is
analogous to paying taxes, and that
electors who did all they could to
qualify themselves within the pres
cribed period and manner are not en-
titled to the penalty Of disfranchise-
ment.