of the city of Providence, or of any member of the same, or upon any proposition to impose a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town, shall in such case be admitted by the canvassers to vote, unless upon a certificate from the collector of taxes of such town that he has on or before the last day of December, in the year next preceding, paid a tax assessed for and within such year, upon his property therein, valued at least at one hundred and thirty-four dollars.

SEC. 7. Any collector of taxes or other officer authorized to receive the taxes in either of the two preceding sections mentioned, who shall wilfully refuse to grant the certificate therein prescribed, to any person demanding the same, and legally entitled thereto, or shall grant such certificate to one not entitled thereto, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every offence.

SEC. 8. Every town clerk shall provide a suitable book for the registry of the names of all persons who, in order to vote, are required by the constitution to be registered; which book shall be kept in the office of the town clerk, for the purpose of such registry only, and shall always be open to the inspection of any elector of such town; and every town clerk in this state is hereby required to register in said book the name of every male inhabitant of the town, who shall demand such registry, and who shall declare that he is qualified by birth, and is or will be within a year qualified by age and residence, to vote in such town, together with the date of the registry; and shall also register therein the name of every such inhabitant demanded to be registered by any elector of such town, who shall declare that such inhabitant is qualified by birth, and is or will be within a year qualified by age and residence to vote therein; in which case, besides the date of the registry, he shall also register opposite the name of such inhabitant the name of the elector demanding the same. Every town clerk who shall neglect to provide and keep such book, or who shall refuse at all suitable times to permit such inspection of the same, or who shall refuse or neglect to register the name of any person upon demand and declaration as aforesaid, or shall register a name without a date, or with a false date, or shall fraudulently erase from the registry the name of any person duly registered thereon, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every such offence.

SEC. 9. No person whose name is upon the registry of any town shall be deemed to be registered therein who shall have died, or who for the space of one year shall have ceased to reside in such town; and it shall be the duty of the town

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council of each town, on the second Monday of June in each year, carefully to examine the registry of such town, in open meeting, and to purge the same, by placing against the names of all persons thereon who are dead, or who for the space of one year shall have ceased to reside in such town, the word dead," or "non-resident," as the case may be, and to correct the registry where the same person is registered more than once thereon; and if the name of any person shall be wilfully or fraudulently stricken from the registry as aforesaid, whose name should be retained thereon, every member of the town council wilfully and fraudulently concurring in the same, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for every name so stricken off as aforesaid.

SEC. 10. On or before the first Monday of December and in the month of December in each year, the town clerk of every town shall deliver to the assessors of taxes for their respective towns a certified copy from their registry of the names of all persons then registered in the town, alphabetically arranged, placing opposite the name of every person thereon the amount of his assessed property tax for and within said year; and such assessors of taxes shall within five days thereafter, in every year, assess upon every person whose name shall have been registered as aforesaid, as his registry tax, a tax of one dollar, or such sum as with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar, and return to the clerk's office of the town said copy of the registry by them duly certified, with the registry tax assessed against each person placed against his name thereon, which copy so returned it shall be the duty of the town clerk to put on file in his office. The town clerk shall, within ten days after the first Monday of December in each year, deliver a duly certified copy of the registry, with the assessments aforesaid, to the collector of taxes for such town. Every town clerk neglecting or refusing to deliver such certified copy to the assessors as aforesaid, or wilfully delivering a false or imperfect copy, shall forfeit the sum of three hundred dollars; and if any assessors of taxes shall wholly neglect or refuse to make such assessments, each and every such assessor so neglecting or refusing, shall forfeit the sum of one thousand dollars, and be liable to imprisonment for one year; and if any assessors shall wilfully neglect or refuse to assess as aforesaid any person registered as aforesaid, each and every assessor so neglecting or refusing, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every person whom he shall so neglect or refuse to assess as afore

SEC. 11. It shall be the duty of the collector of taxes in each town to be and remain in the town clerk's office, and in the town of Newport and city of Providence, to be and remain at his own or at the town clerk's office, from and after the day of his receiving the copy of the registry in the last section mentioned, for at least six hours in each day, to wit: from twelve o'clock to six o'clock, during the last six days of December, Sunday excepted, in each year; or in case of absence to appoint some one as his agent, there to remain as aforesaid, during the period aforesaid, to receive the registry tax: provided, however, that the certificate of such payment shall, in case of payment to the agent, be under the hand of the collector, in order to avail as proof before the board of canvassers. If the collector shall die, resign, be unable, or neglect or refuse to do his duty herein before required, the town clerk of each town shall receive and certify the payment of the registry tax with the same effect that the collector might do. Any wilful neglect or refusal of duty on the part of the collector or town clerk, under this section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five, nor more than one thousand dollars.

SEC. 12. Every town or ward clerk, upon payment or tender of his legal fees, which shall be the same for the ward clerks as for the town clerks, shall furnish to any person demanding the same, a certified copy of any list of voters whose votes have been given in at any election. Every town clerk shall, upon like payment or tender, furnish to any person demanding the same, a certified copy of any registration of voters, and shall also, upon the request of any person and tender of legal fees, and without unreasonable delay, examine the records, and certify to the estate of any person, and shall furnish copies of any instrument or writing which may be on record, or in the files of his office. Every collector of taxes shall, upon like request and payment or tender, and without unreasonable delay, furnish to any elector a certified list of those who have paid to him, state, town and registry taxes, and the amounts and times of such payments; and shall grant certificates setting forth whether a certain person or persons have or have not paid to him such taxes, and if paid, to what amount, and at what time; and every town, ward clerk or collector of taxes, who shall refuse or unreasonably delay to furnish such lists or certificates upon payment or tender as aforesaid, shall for every such offence, forfeit not less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars.

SEC. 13. On or before the last Monday of February, in

every year, every collector of taxes, or other officer authorized to receive the same, shall furnish to the town clerks of their respective towns, duly certified alphabetical lists of all persons registered on or before the last day of December next preceding, in their respective towns, who shall have paid such officer on or before the last day of December next preceding, their taxes assessed for and within said year preceding, together with the amount of the payment by each, specifying whether the tax was a registry tax or a tax on property, valued at least, at one hundred and thirty-four dollars. On or before the last Monday in February, in every year, every town clerk shall furnish to the town councils of their respective towns, a duly certified alphabetical list of all persons registered therein on or before the last day of December next preceding, for the purpose of voting; and separately therefrom correct alphabetical lists of the names of all persons entitled to vote under article second, section first, of the constitution; and every town clerk, and every collector of taxes, or other officer authorized to receive the same, who shall wilfully refuse or neglect to deliver such lists as aforesaid within the time above limited, or who shall wilfully deliver false or imperfect lists, shall forfeit not less than five hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not less than six months, either or both, at the discretion of the court who shall try such offenders.

SEC. 14. The town councils of the several towns shall, on or before the last Monday of February in every year, make out correct alphabetical lists of all persons qualified to vote generally, to wit: of all persons entitled to vote under article second, section first, of the constitution; and of all persons entitled by registry and payment of registry and other taxes, or by the performance of military duty, to vote in their respective towns; and separately from such lists, correct alphabetical lists of all persons entitled to vote upon any proposition to impose a tax or expend money in their respective towns, to wit: of all persons entitled to vote under article second, section first, of the constitution; and of all persons who, on or before the last day of December next preceding, have paid assessed taxes to the amount of one dollar, and upon whose property in their several towns, valued at least at one hundred and thirty-four dollars, a tax or taxes have been assessed and paid, within the year next preceding, and on or before the last day of December therein; and shall cause such lists to be posted up in three or more public places in their respective towns, and one in the town clerk's office, which last

list shall be open to the examination of any elector of the town at all reasonable hours: provided, however, that separate lists of the voters in each ward of the city of Providence, shall be made out by the mayor and aldermen of said city, and the lists for each ward shall be posted up in some public place in the ward, and in the office of the city clerk; and any person who shall take down, destroy or deface such lists. so posted up, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars, or may be imprisoned three calendar months.

SEC. 15. On or before the third Monday of March, in every year, the town councils of the several towns shall be in session at some convenient place or places for a reasonable time, in their respective towns, for the purpose of correcting such lists; and the notice of the time or times, and place or places of holding said sessions shall be given by the town councils upon the lists posted up as aforesaid. The members of the town councils, and the town clerks of the several towns, shall be paid by their respective towns one dollar each for every day's attendance in the discharge of their duties under this act; and the town clerks shall in addition be paid legal fees for their recording and making out the several lists and returns in this act required.

SEC. 16. At least ten days previous to the first Wednesday in April, said town councils shall cause to be posted up as aforesaid, lists of persons entitled to vote in their respective towns so by them corrected as aforesaid; and shall, on the Monday preceding the first Wednesday of April, hold a session for the purpose of further correcting said lists, which session shall be holden for at least two hours. Said board of canvassers shall also, at least two days previous to any election of representatives to congress, or of electors of president and vice president of the United States, and to the election of any state, town or city officers, hold a session for the purpose of further correcting the town and ward lists of voters; in which case the lists need not be posted up as aforesaid, but notice of the time and place of such session shall be given, for at least ten days previous thereto, by posting up notices thereof in three or more public places in every town, and one in each ward in the city of Providence, and one in the town or city clerk's office; or instead of such notice, by publication in one or more newspapers published in such town. The lists of voters so corrected shall be by said town councils certified by their presiding officer, and on the same day delivered to the town clerks of their respective towns, to be delivered by said town clerks to the moderators of town meeting in their respective