Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/17

 term "registration of voters," as used by congress, as to embrace the system of laws in the state of Delaware governing the assessment of her citizens, in order that the manifest intention of congress should be carried out; and, second, we have endeavored to show that while congress may have contemplated provisions of registry laws existing in other states, which have no existence here under our system, there still remains sufficient subject-matter to make the application of those laws simple, practicable and easy. Under these circumstances, unless I can find in the argument of counsel insuperable objections, I shall be compelled to give such a construction to our laws as to give them substantially the character of a registration of voters as contemplated by congress.

It is urged by both the counsel for the objectors that the registration of voters, to meet the requirements of the act of congress, must be a registration of voters "qua voters" or "as voters" alone, and one of counsel goes so far as to say it ought to be conclusive evidence of ail the qualifications of the voters, or the act of congress would not embrace it as a "registration of voters."

This latter idea is thoroughly refuted by the settled practice and construction of the registration laws of Pennsylvania, which afford no conclusive evidence of a man's right to vote if upon it, or of the deprivation of a man's right if not on it, as will appear from Purdon's Digest of Pennsylvania Laws, too voluminous to be here cited (see chapter "Elections," Annual Digest for 1873-78).

But have we not shown already that the clerks of the peace in each county, by authority of law, make up lists of voters as such voters affording prima facie evidence of the right to vote upon the payment of tax, for the use of the inspectors of election in each election district in the state? Can it be said that that is not a list of voters on which, by requirement of law, the word "voted" is to be marked opposite the name of every person who does vote; and when these lists are to be retained for the purpose of evidence of the fact of voting?

An examination of the statutes hereinafter cited of the