Smyrna times., 1896-12-23
Delaware Constitution.
lContinued From First Page.

Committee on Elections, which is nom
partisan, being composed equally of
Democrats and Republicans, made a re-
port which abOlisheS the necessity of
paying poll tax as a qualification to
vote and substitutes a simple poll tax,
to be paid when the voter registers.
At present the qualification to vote is
the payment of a county tax. In con-
sequence of this the collectors do not
collect taxes from the members of the
opposite political parties and thus pre-
vent from voting. The new law would
stop this. In addition the committee
made some excellent recommendations
in reference to bribery at elections, and
it is believed that if they are followed
the State will be delivered from further
disgrace. The report was referred to
the Committee of the Whole, and was
as follows:
Insert in paragraph of Article 4. be-
ginning with the word "and in" and
ending with the words ''any tax, and
insert in lieu thereof the following:
every male citizen of the United
States of the age of 81 years, who shall
have been a citizen for three months,
and resident of this State one year
next preceding an election, and for the
last three months aresident of the cOun-
| ty, and for the last thirty days a resident
of the hundred or election district in
which he may offer to vote, shall be
entitled to vote at such election in the
! hundred of election district of which
he shall at the time be q resident for
| all officers that are now or hereafter be
elected by the people, and upon all
| questions which may be submitted to
! the people for vote" Insert next
after Section 1 of Article 4 the follow
ing: "SectiOn 2. No person who shall
receive, accept or offer to receive or
pay, offer or promise to pay, cOntri-
butte to another, to be paid or used, anv
money or other valuable thing as a
compensation or reward for the giving
or Withholding vote at an election, or
who shall make any promise to in
fuence the giving or Withholding any
such vote, or who shall make or be-
come, directly or indirectly, interested
IN any bet or wager depending upon
the result of any election, shall vote at
any such election, and upon challenges
for any of said causes, the person so
challenged, before the officers author
lied for that purpose shall receive his
vote, shall swear or affirm before such
officers that he has not received, does
not pay, offered or promised to pay,
contributed, offered or promised to
contribute to another to be paid or
used, any money or other valuable
thing as a compensation or reward for
the giving or Withholding of a vote, nor
made of become, directly or indirectly,
interested III any bet or wager depend
ing upon the result of such election.
Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall
provide by law for uniform, registra-
tlOn of the names of all voters in this
State who possess the qualification re-
quired in this article, which registra-
tiOn shall be conclusive evidence to the
election officers of the right of every
person thus registered to vote at any
election thereafter held in this State,
who is not disqualified under the pro.
visions of the second section of this
article, but no person shall vote at any
} election unless his name appears in the
list of registered voters. Such regis
tratiOn shall be commenced not more
than ninety days before nor less thar
, sixty days before, and be completed
not more than twenty days nor less
than ten days before such election, anC
J applications for registration may bt
made on at least five days during sucl
period. Voters shall be registered
upon personal application only, anC
each voter shall at the time of hi
registration fee, to be fixed by law, no
exceeding The registry O
voters made in pursuance hereof may
be corrected, as shall be provided by
law. Registration shall not be re
quired for village, town or city elec
tiOns, except by express provisions o
law. The existing laws in reference Il
the registration of voters shall cOntinu,
! in force until the General Assembly
shall otherwise provide. "
= 1t was decided to adjourn until Jan
uary 4, in order to give the committee
\ a chance to complete their work anC
make reports.
i NOTES OF THE CONVENTION.
Several of the committees held i'm
! pOrtant meetings after adjournment
! The Committee on Judiciary discussed
= proposed changes, but did not com
I plete its report. Life tenure by tn
u gudges will be abolished and appoint
: ments made for term of years, pro
badly ten. The Court of Chancery
9 will be retained, but the practice vii
be modified.
The Committee of Education is dis
. cussing an entire remOdeling of tn
,. school systems and schools for colore
= people will be provided.
The Committee on Corporations
, discussing a plan to guard agains
wildcat companies" At present tn
o property of the corporation only
liable for its debts, while in firm eac
6 member is responsible. There is som
. talk of inserting a clause in the con
!. stitution which will make the stock
holders of a company liable for its in
J. debtedness.
n Many of the delegates were bus
i talking about the proposed plan t
!, divide New Castle county. Tn
= ! question of taxation causes the chic
~ opposition. Last year Wilmingto
paid $175, 600 in taxes, and Brandy
:, wine and Christiana hundreds, whic
- - would be with Wilmington in the ne,
g county, paid $3O,OOO The remainde
% % of the county which would compos
: o the new county paid in taxes $40, OO(
D. Much of the money collected in Wi
mington is used in the rural hundred;
and in a new county this would be of
although the friends of division assel
" that the taxes collected in rural Ne
le Castle are equal to those collected fC
g. county purposes in either Kent {
q Sussex.