The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-06-20
WHAT THE LAW IS,
THE REGISTRATION ACT STATED
And COTS Decision Explained. The
Negroes Complain That They
Cannot Easily Comply
with it.


the legislature of South Carolina in
1882. They provide for the registra-
ton Of all voters by supervisor of
registration. one Of whom is appointed
for each county. All male citizens
who wish to vote and are not disquah-
fed by reason Ct having been convic-
ted of crime, ere required to register
with this officer their names, places of
residence, occupations and ages. The
law as passed III 1882 required that
unless all who were then twenty-one
years of age should register before
the next general election they could
not register thereafter, and became
forever disqualified and that those be-
coming of age at any time after the
passage Of the registration law, who
did not register before the general
election next after becoming Of age,
would be forever barred from regis
tering.
The supervisor ofregistration would
issue to the voter certificate of re-
gistration corresponding to the entries
made upon his registration book,
authorizing him to cast his ballot at
the polling place in the district in
which he lived. In case of change of
residence or loss ofcertihcatea certain
method was prescribed for obtaining
new certificate.
When the voter wished to cast his
ballot on election day he had to present
bis certificate of registration to the
managers Of election at the precinct ct
which he was registered, or without it
lie would rot be allowed to cast his
ballet.
The friends of the negroes claim
that this law bore most hard upon the
negroes, ia that as they frequently
changed their residence, OF would
lose their certificates and fail to get
new ones, many of them were deprived
O; the right to vote. The state con-
tended that the law applied to whites
and blacks alike. and that the negro
would have to suffer for his own
negligence or migratory habits. It was
also claimed that the days on which the
Office OF the supervisor of registration
was open were too few to accommodate
the numbers who Wished to register.
The Office was opened so mary days in
each month preceding tie election,
but was not opened on the days i'm.
mediately preceding the election.
This was claimed to be another de-
feet in that voters would neglect to
attempt to get registration certificates
until the election was near at hand. It
was also claimed that there were
various devices whereby the white men
were registered that we're denied the
negroes, and that the whole law was
aimed al the distranchisement of the
negro race.
TIE AMENDMENT oE 1894.
At the session of the legislature held in
December last the law of 1882 was
somewhat amended and the following
was passed
stSection T. Any elcctor who shall have
been entitled to register at the general regis
LIdClOQ III lu0 year u OUI Ao1t OuO LbOuooAo
eight hundred eighty-two, or az any time
subsequent thereto. and who failed to regis
ter at such time as required by law, and who
shall make application under oath, in accord
ance with printed form to be prepared by
the attorney general, setting forth in each
case the fact, to-wit: The full name. age,
occupation and residence of the applicant at
the time of said general registration, or at
any time thereafter when the said applicant
became entitled to register, and the place or
places of his residence since the time when he
became entitled to register, which affidavit
shall be supported by the affidavit OF two
reputable citizens who w,re each fthe age
of twenty-qno years on the thi-tieth day of
June, ammo Gomini eighteen hundred an
eighty-two, or al the time the said applicant
became entitled thereafter TO register, or any
clcctor who hos become a citizen OF this
state by moving into the same, according to
the constitution OF the state. and who shall
make application under oath stating the time
OF his moving into the state and his place Of
residence since living in the state. which ap-
plicatioa shall be supported by the affidavit
OF Two reputable citizens who were twenty
one years OF age at the sine the applicant
became resident of this state. such appli-
can't Shall be allowed to register as voter
and to have issued 20 him certificate as
dcly qualified elector IN the manner and form
row provided by law and be entitled to vote
at said election for the delegates to said con-
vent;ol.'
As can be seen this law provides for
tie registration Of all who were of age
in 1882 and who failed to register, and
Of those who had become of age since
1882 and who failed to register. The
friends Of the negroes claimed that the
rroyisi, rs of this act we're too sewers
for the negroes to comply with, and
that it vas impossible for the negro to
get two credible persons TO swear
where he had lived since 1882, as the
negro probably could not tell all the
places himself. These were the matters
that we're brought to the notice OF
Judge Goff.
JUDGE SoFF's DECISION.
TIE decision of Judge Golf was very
yoluminous and discussed the four
ternth and fifteenth amendment to the
constitution OF the United States
in thGir relation to the limitation of
suffrage, and the guarantee of suffrage
they gave to the colored voter. Coming
to the registration laws Of South Caro-
lima he said: ssIt is not the intention
at this time to state in detail the re-
quirements Of and effect of each section
Of said registration law, but simply
the result that have reached after a
careful scrutiny Of them all, aided as I
have been by the exhaustive analysis
of the same made by counsel. 1 find
no warrant in the constitution for the
certificate required by tie registrati' n
law to be issued TO the voter, the pro-
duction OF which is required at the
Ill. his -.o4a =. Ia la ,.aia. 4 Al Ihis