DECLARED VOID.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 448, 5 March 1909, Page 9

DECLARED VOID.

AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD ELECTION. THE USE OF PROXIES. toy TBL&SBAI'II— I'lir.SS association.) Auckland, March 4. Judgment was given by Mr. Kottlo, S.M., to-day in regard to a petition to havo the recent election of Messrs. J. H. Gunson, J. J. Craig, and 11. U. Heather, to the Auckland Harbour Jioard declared void, on tins ground of irregularities in connection with the uso of proxies. In giving his decision the Magistrate said: "The main, indeed, tlio only grounds, upon which the petitioners relied at the hearing in support of their petition were: (1) That persons who wero not members of the firms on the roll wero improperly allowed to vote under proxies given by such firms; and (2) That persons woro allowed to vote for corporate bodies under proxies which wore not under the corporate or common seal of such cor])orato bodies. On an examination of the proxies it was admitted by counsel for tho respondents that 213 were used and passed by the Returning Officer, and that of this number 44 were clearly .invalid, as they had been given by firms on the roll to persons who woro not members of such firms. I find on au inspection of the proxies that 97 of them, purporting to have been given by corporato bodies, are not under the corporato or common seal of such corporato bodies as required by section US (2) of tho Harbours Act 1908, and were therefore invalid. Adding tlieso to the said 44 invalid proxies, in other words 141 persons wero improperly allowed to voto at the election. It is contended by counsel for Mr. Heather that having regard to these provisions tho Court should, instead of declaring tho election void, separato tho invalid from tho valid votes; open the voting papers, and ascertain for what candidates tho persons whose votes aro invalid voted, and then recount the valid votes and declare that the three candidates who havo received tho highest number of votes were duly elected. If tho number of invalid votes had been small, I might

have taken this coursc, but having regard to the large number (141) of invalid votes recorded at the election, and having regard also to the fact that one of the respondents has, through counsel, intimated that ho prefers a fresh election if tho election under roview is void, I am of the opinion that tho proper, fairest, and most satisfactory course to tako is to dcclare the election void on tho ground that by reason of the irregularities beforo referred to, tho result of the election was materially affected. I, therefore, order accordingly." With regard to costs, his Worship said that though prima facio a successful petitioner was entitled to costs against tho respondents, there was, in his case, no blamo attachable to tho latter for tho irregularities which had occurred, nor was he prepared to convict tho. Returning Officor of "negligence" or "misfeasance," which, tinder the Act, would justify an order against him. Ho would, therefore, make no order as to costs.