Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1902-11-21
Republican County Chairman of
Ninth Makes Statement.
TazewcH. Va. Nov. - 10

Der Of the daily papers of the State ON
the 18th, deserves some answer and
explanation, as it contains AN attrack
upon the clerk Of the county court q
this county wholly misleading and I'M
justified. The facts are these:
1t was found a few days before the
election that the registration books
for several precincts i'm the county i'm
the hands Of the registrars did not
correspond with the copies thereof in
the clerks Office. The law presumes
and presupposes that the registration
books for each precinct will be made i'm
duplicate, one copy to be filed i'm the
= clerks Office and the other to remain
in the hands OF the registrars. No
provision Is made for case where
these books are not the same. for it was
not supposed that there would or
could be any difference between them.
! The registration hooks OF the Liberty
Hill precinct, mentioned i'm the above
statement, did not correspond at all.
The copy filed i'm the clerks Office con
tanned l3s names while the copy re-
tulned by the registrars contained only
% names. Besides this difference i'm
the number of names, the copy retain
ed by the registrars containd names
not i'm the other.
4 Under these circumstances. the
question arose as 10 which book re-
presented the true result Of the work
OF the registrars, each having the re-
quired certilicat, of the registrars rs
follows:
Virginia, Tazewell county-to-wit:
1--WE, the undersigned members Of
the board Of registration for Maiden
Spring Magsterial district, do hereby
certify that the following Is IA true roll
OF voters in Liberty Hill precinct. re-
gistered by us mt n registration held
Tor said precinct on the 23rd day of
September, 1902, containing I25 names.
Given under our hands this 10th.
day of October, 1902.
(Signed)
"E. Il. SCoTr, Chairman.
Nv. p. PAYNE.
y. w. MCGUIRE. Sec'y."
81 hereby certify that T.. r. Scott. w
p. Payne and J. w. Mcclure. and whose
names are signed To the foregoing
certificate, have this day made oath
before me to the truth of the same.
"Given under my hand this. the 10th.
day of October, 1902.
(Signed) "T. w. WINGo. J.P."
1t will be seen that there was n
variance between the certificate and
the true number OF names in each ease.
which would seem 10 have been n mis-
take in counting.
was anxious that no mistake
should be made, and that the law
SHOULD be strictly complied with At
the same time, / was anxious that no
man who had shown himself qualified
and had been admitted to registration
should be refused vote. 1t is now
contended that thirteen names on the
book in the clerks office had been re-
fused registration, but there was and is
nothing on the said book to Indicate
who they were, or that any one on the
list was refused registration, and this
contention is in the face of the above
certificate.
consulted two lawyers - one n
Democrat and the othera Republican
on the question. After an examina-
ton of the law, they both advised me
that the copy of the registration book
in the clerks Office was placed there
for public inspection and information |
as to who were registered; that the
citizen had a right to rely upon it to
avail himself of his legal remedies in
case his name had been improperly left
nom 1t; that the two books being pre-
sumed to have been originally iden-
teal and of equal dignity, duplicates.
not one n copy of the other, it would
follow that the one in the clerks office.
being public record, open for inspec-
ton, would be given the greater dig
nifty and authority, in case Of an after
discovered difference between them.
Acting under this advice, which then
seemed to me reasonable and still does.
had the clerk Of the circuit court mot
the clerk OF the county court, as the
above statement asserts) TO make a
copy OF the list of names contained in
the book of registration for Liberty
Hill precinct in his Office, compare it
and certify it; and this certified list I