A PUBLIC SCANDAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 495, 30 April 1909, Page 4

A PUBLIC SCANDAL.

The condition of the municipal roll of Wellington, as revealed by. statements of the Ileturning4)incer, Mb. ' Ames, would be farcical if it were not a public scandal. At the time of 'the Mayoral election of a year ag0..,-we drew attention to the fact that no proper scrutiny of the names was practised. .The roll has not been.revised since its condition today is even .worse; In relation : to the election just concluded comments have' been made on the Small.number of votes recorded, compared with the number of names on the, roll.; This disparity is not so much the fault;of indifferent, citizens who do not take the trouble to vote, as it is due to the fact that the roll contains hundreds of names of citizens who cannot possibly vote, because they are dead, or have removed to'other districts, possibly years ago. 'Moreover, the names of citizens frequently are' duplicated arid some appear even' three;or four times. The Eeturning-Officer, Me. Ames, states, that on one occasion he represented to the authorities that he knew of-about twenty well-known electors who had died, and that he,wished to strike'their names off the roll. He then learned that ho had , no power to 'do 'so. '■ ■; He points out that other electors have died put of the city, and the, authorities : have had no record of their death. The question of securing evidence of death,'however, matters little, when the Returaing-Officer is powerless in any case to striko the names of. deceased electorsjoff the roll. The names on that amazing document total almost half the entire population; including men, women and children, of the city, a fact which is. ridiculous in itself. - While a great many of the owners of those names are unable to vote, for the good reasons al-, ready given, others without doubt exercise a privilege', to iwhich they'have at most a very doubtful title. The residential qualification is .-'.plainly", much abused, and from the Returning-Officer's own statements it would seem that almost anyone can claim inclusion on the roll, and be admitted to the rights of a. citizen. Hit. Ames states that he once questioned the rights of a number' of hotel boarders to inclusion, but it was pointed put'thatthe. Town Clerk was liable to a fine.of £s.if names were not included in the roll,: and the applications were allowed to pass. / "Therefore we have put svorybody on the roll," states Me. Ames, : "and we do not scrutiiiise the applica- i fcions." A large proportion of these people probably vote once, at the pressure .; )f some interested party, and thereafter i irift to other parts, whilo their names, ' md those of numerous successors, remain j ;o swell the roll. This condition of af- ! tairs is bad enough to call for an immc- .•' liate remedy, but a worse aspect of thejj

i * L icipal olcotion- system is i! hi. is admittedly nothing to prc- * in < i tor recording a soparato valid \< nH ins particular candidate atovory boot No comparison is mado between .tlio rolls used by tho various deputy returning officers, there is no check of any kind, but every inducement is given to fraud. .Mr. Ames declares that ho has discussed the matter frequently with thq authorities,-but nothing has been done. Thero is no reason why move slipshod methods should bo followed Im a municipal than in a Parliamentary election, 1 and the .law'which claimß to regulate these proceedings,- but which admits irregularities that would be discreditable to Turkey, ■should be amended without fail during the coming session.