The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-11-13
ON REGISTRATION.
The Opinion of City Solicitor
COlWell.
A Certificate Of Registration in An
other Town is Good in This City.

City Solicitor Colwell has today given
his opinion to the Board OF Canvassers
and Registration relative TO the real sig
nificance of the word resides" as used
in connection with wculd-be registry
voters. In substance his opinion Is that
a certificate of registration from any
other town or city OF the State may quail
fy the person holding ii to vote in this
city after a residence OF six months
here, even though he actually register
ed In the other town or city.
The complete opinion is as follows:
sin response to request in resolution
OF your board for my opinion as to the
right OF persons under the provision OF
Section ! Of Article z Of amendments OF
the Constitution to be placed on the
registry list IN Providence in 1895, such
persons not having registered III 1894,
L have the honor 10 advise that upon
reference 10 the provisions OF said Sec
ton ] find that the determination OF the
questions you submit turns upon what
meaning is to be given to the word 're-
sides as used in the section, that Is
whether the registration referred TO is
that which had Deen made in the town
or city where the party resides at the
time OF his registration, or Intended to
refer TO a registration to be made in the
town or city where the party resides at
tho time he is proposing to vote, so that,
for instance, re- istration in another town
or city han that OF the city OF Provi-
dence where the party proposes TO vote,
although made previous to the 3lst day OF
Decem Der, 1894, would not answer the
requirements as TO registration In Provi-
oence where he proposes 10 vote in 1895.
."While by some construction OF language
IL might be claimed that the word 'ro-
Sides as used in said sentence, should
he held 10 apply to tho residence of the
party at the time and place where he pro-
$500. a. "a 49, ct. -. tAA xvIAl. a4..-
tence together, il seems to me that il Is
quite different that the meaning and in
ten OF the amendment was to provide
that n party who had lived in the State
two years and has resided in the town or
city in which he offered to vote six
months, and had been registered in any
town or city where he was residing on
or before the 3lst day of December, had
the right to vote being otherwise quail
fled in the town or city here he propos-
es TO vote, and that IL was not intended
to SO provide that a person duly regis
tered in n town or city. moving into
another town. and residing there the
requisite time and otherwise qualified,
should lose mis- vote for that year, by res-
son OF not having been also registered
the year before in the town where he
proposed TO vote.
81 understand, too, that strict grammat-
zeal construction of the language referred
10 would give 10 the WOrQ 'reSlOcs'
the meaning OF resided as referred
10 the place where the.thing proposed was
TO be done
"Further, j find that the General AS
sembly, chapter 6. of the rights and quail
ifications OF voters construed this same
word resides used in the second sec
tion of Article III of the Constitution, in
the same connection as referring to the
town in which the party resided at
the time OF his registry, and used the
word resided in defining what was
meant by a similar provision in the same
section before amended where the word
resides is also used. In view, therefore,
of what l have set forth as to what con
struction, in my opinion, should be put
upon the provisions in said Section / of
Article III OF amendments OF the Con-
stitution as TO qualification by registry,
l advise that in both instances you put
the registration in another town or.city,
duly certified to as having been made on
or before the 31st day of Decem Der, 1894.
entities the party TO vote in Providence
in 1895, 40 far rs registry Is concerned, as
well as II said registry had been made
within the required time, in the city of
Providence, where the party proposes to
vote in 1895. and that the names of such
PARTIES being otherwise qualified should
be put upon the registry list, and upon
the personal property list respectively for
1895.
Respectfully submitted,s
"FRANCIs CoLwELI,
"City Solicitor