The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, MARCH 9.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 379, 9 March 1880, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, MARCH 9.

The Government have taken the initiatory steps for bringing into force the "Registration of Electors Act, 1879," by the appointment of those officers to whom will be entrusted the duty of compiling the Electoral Rolls of the

colony, viz., the registrars. The duties of these officers are exceedingly onerous and responsible, and upon the care and zeal with which they execute their duties will depend in a great measure the completeness and purity of the rolls. Hitherto the office has been frequently combined with that of Resident Magistrate. Under the new Act, however, the two offices are incompatible, as the Resident Magistrate practically takes the place of the Revising Officer, his Court .being appointed the tribunal for the settlement of all disputes as to the right of any person to have his name inserted on a roll, or whether the name of one already on should be struck off.

We have said that the duties of registrars are onerous and responsible, and we think a perusal of the sixth section of the Act, which defines them, will bear out the assertion. The section runs as follows :—

As soon as conveniently may bo after the commencement of this Act the Registrar of every electoral district shall form a new roll for such district, by placing thereon the names of all persons who ar c qualified in such district to vote for members of the House of Representatives, and who are on the roll of any electoral district in force at the time of the commencement of this Act.

Forthwith, after a new division of the colony into electoral districts, in pursuance of any law for the time being in force for the constitution of such districts, new rolls shall be formed in like manner as is prescribed for the formation of the first roll.

It shall be the duty of every Registiar to make the rolls as complete as possible, and with that object from time to time to place theraon, or add thereto, the name of every person of whose qualification as an elector he ia satisfied; and it shall further be his duty to assure himself of the right of every man to have his name retained upon the roll.

It will be observed that the Kegistrar is directed to form a new roll by placing thereon, not the names of such persons who send in claims, but those of " all persons who are qualified . ... to vote." He is further charged with the trifling duty of assuring himself " of the right of every man to have his name retained upon the roll." In practice, no doubt these officers will confine themselves to enrolling those who prefer claims, and striking off such as are objected to, or are notoriously disqualified by death or removal. But none the less does the Act contemplate an active officer ever on the alert, going about, in fact, like another far-famed personage, seeking whom he may — place on or strike off his roll.

A few words may not be out of place as to the provisions of the Act in so far as they affect the electors themselves. "The Qualification of Electors Act 1879," confers the right to vote on every man of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who (1) owns a freehold estate of the value of twenty-five pounds, to which he has been entitled for six months prior to registration, or who (2) has resided for twelve months in the colony and for six months in the electoral district for which he claims to vote. We omit the regulations as to the Maori franchise as not generally interesting to the electors of this district. It will be observed that the latter, or residence qualification embraces a large number of persons who were excluded under former legislation. It is not necessary to be a householder. Farm servants, sons living with their parents, bachelor uncles, &c, are all included. But besides the extension of the franchise itself, the means for getting placed on the roll are greatly facilitated. Formerly applications to register had to be made during one month in the year only. Now they can ba made at any time, and if no wellfounded objection exists, an applicant's name will be placed on the roll fifteen days after his claim has been made. If, having his name on a roll under the residence qualification, a man removes from one- district to another, he can, after one month's residence in the latter district, have his name struck off" the roll of the district he has left and inserted on that of his new residence. The only exception to this latter provision is that no registrar shall " so insert any name (i.e., by transfer) after the issue of a writ for an election, and before its return."

Section 27 enacts that " The roll so formed, added to, and altered from time to time as aforesaid, shall, for the time being, be the roll for the district for which it is made." It will be seen, therefore, that, instead of a roll made up as from September 1 in each year, and containing no new names since the 31st of the March preceding, under the new Act we should, in theory at least, have a roll complete with all requisite alterations and additions up to ths very eve of an election. Whether the result will be as satisfactory in practice as it looks on paper is a matter which depends on so many considerations, such a hopeful view of human nature that we must say we have great doubts on the point. If we could suppose that all registrars would be men of an almost superhuman range of knowledge as to the habits and movements of their fellow-men, that all qualified electors would invariably take the proper steps to register themselves, and by no means leave it till too late, and then exercise an Englishman's privilege of growling— that electioneering agents were suddenly to become affected with scrupulosity, and decline to have any baud in "stuffing" rolls or polling " dummies " —if we could suppose all this, we might hope that future elections would stand a chance of really proving a reflex of public opinion. However, the intention of the Act is doubtless good, and in the truest

sense of the word, liberal, and it rests with those chiefly interested, viz., the electors themselves, to make it a success. Let every man who is entitled to

a vote put in his claim at once, and let him also be willing to assist the registrar in deciding on the Una fides of the claims of others, and the rolls will come near being what they are intended to be —a"complete record of the names of all adult men in the colony, absolute wanderers excepted. ,

A slight shock of earthquake was felt in the town on Friday nigbi last, shortly after 1 a.m.

We beg to draw the attention of our readers to an advertisement appearing in imother column, and intimating that the Middle Island Native Land Purchases

Commission will hold a session here, commencing on Friday next, March 12th.

"We have been favoured by Mr Dixon, Steward to the Hospital, with the following statements of Returns from that Institution for the month ending February 29th, 1880:—Admitted—Males, 4; females, 0. Died—Male, 1; females, 0. Discharged—Males, 5 ; females, 0. Total in Hospital at that date —Males, 2 ; females, 0.

At Nelson the other day a gentleman named Alfred Harley was charged with driving through the streets at night without lights. He admitted the charge, but stated it was purely an act of Providence ; a gust of wind having blown out both lamps. The Bench could hardly see it in that light, and was of opinion that the responsibility should be fixed on the driver— not on Providence. So they fined him accord-

ingly

On Friday, March 5, the funeral of the widow of the late Mr E. Hay, of Annandale, Pigeon Bay, took place at the Scotch Cemetery, Christchurch. There was a very large number of persons present, including most of the leading settlers of the Peninsula, who came specially to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of one of the pioneers of Canterbury. The Hays of Pigeon Bay are intimately associated with the early history of Canterbury. They were always careful to exercise a warm and kindly hospitality to all with whom they were brought into contact, and the late Mrs Hay will be missed by a wide circle of friends, not only in the province but beyond its bounds, by whom she was held in much respect and esteem. A sad accident happened on Wednesday last, the 3rd instant, at Pigeon Bay, to a young man named George Kuster. It appears that the young man was working for Mr Pridon of that bay, and was on the day mentioned engaged in loading up horses with grass seed, when ODe of the horses let out at him in a most vicious manner, causing a compound fracture to the skull and severely marking him about the forehead and face. Dr. Guthrie fortunately happened to be in the bay at the time, and was quickly in attendance. Kuster was taken to fthe Hospital on Friday, and is, we learn, under the skilful treatment of the doctor, progressing most favourably. An interesting whaleboat sailing race took place in our Bay on Saturday afternoon last, between the Avalanche and the Dream, the former being sailed by her owner (Mr Baker, of French Farm), assisted by Mr McNeil and another, and the latter by Mr Tosswill, owner, assisted by Messrs G. Wright, C. Barker, and H. Tosswill. The boats started from Tekau Bay, their course being round the buoy off Wainui, round the buoy off Green's Point, round the schooner Clyde (lying to the south-east of the Government Wharf), and back to Tekau Bay. Both boats displayed excellent sailing abilities, and were well handled : but the Avalanche led the whole route, and readied her destination with 5 minutes to spare. The race was repeated, the same course being adopted, which again resulted in a victory for the Avalanche, but with only 3 minutes to the good. The weather, wind, and water were all that could be desired. Messrs Curry and Wcrsley, of Grehan Valley, sent, or rather intended to send, from this district, per Wellington, on Thursday, 15 pigs, consigned to Messrs 1 Wright, Stcphenson, and Co., Dunedin; 14, however, only went, as one pig, being unwilling to undergo the unpleasantness of a sea voyage, preferred jumping over the wharf. Whether he reached our happy shores in safety or whether he fell a victim to fclo de se, we have been unable to i learn, although we believe a vigorous search was made for him, lanterns and torches being to the fore. Since writing tho above, wo havo been informed that the former fate happily fell to piggy's lot.

A correspondent writes as follows: —" I should like to know whether it is worse to break a Borough By-law or to break the Sabbath? I have been mustering some stray sheep for the past two or three days, and have experienced some difficulty in collecting some 300 head, which are intended to be sent to the Plead of the Bay. Now, according to the By-laws of the Borough of Akaroa, there are cortain prescribed hours for driving cattle through the town ; consequently, I am not able to take my sheep through to-day (Saturday). I must leave it untill evening, before taking them through the town, thereby precluding the possibility of taking them to their destination without the risk of losing, possibly the half of them, or breaking the By-law in question. The consequence is that I am compelled to encroach on the Sabbath, and being rather of a religious turn of mind, it comes against the grain for me to do so. The By-law

in question is all very well for large cities, but it is not at all applicable for a small town like ours, where there is practically no back road whereby a person is able to take his stock. The sooner the By-law is repealed the better it will be for myself and many other small farmers, because time means money with us as well as others.—Yours &c, Cockatoo."

Messrs Matson and Co. held a, sale of Hoi'ses and Cattle at the head of, the Bay yesterday, in Mr Shadbolt's paddock. A large gathering from all parts of the Peninsula was present. About 170 head of cattle were entered, nearly all boing sold. Prices may be considered satisfactory :—Yearlings fetching to £2 15. Three lots of mixed yearlings and two-year-olds were sold at £2 17s, £3 ss, and £4' ressspectively. Calves at 255. Cows in milk were quitted at £3 15s to £4 Is 6d. Fat heifers realized £5 12, and fat bullocks to £7 2s 6d. Some working bullocks and a good stamp of horses of various classes were offered, but failed to find purchasers. A sow and litter of pigs sold for £5.

meeting of the Akaroa School Committee was held last evening in the schoolroom . Present : Messrs Meech (in the chair), Checkley, Westenra, Sims, and Wiggins. Letters were read from the Board of Education in reply to communication from the Committee, granting certain requisition which had been * applied for for the schools, and also authorizing the procurement of a tank for the master's house. The expense of changing the position of the gymnastic apparatus was likewise authorized. A circular was received, containing instructions as to the duties of the master in case of the appearance of any contagious disease in the school. Some small accounts were passed for payment. The appointment of a Secretary was talked over, and the Chairman and Mr Sims were authorized to appoint some one to that office, subject to the approval of the Committee at its next meeting. It was resolved to have some circulars printed in the form of the third schedule of the Education Act, and to send such notices to parents who neglect to send their children to school. The Committee then adjourned.