CARDS AT LICENSING ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 504, 11 May 1909, Page 4

CARDS AT LICENSING ELECTIONS.

THE SHANNON CASE. IMPORTANT DECISION, (nr TELEaEArn—speciili connEsromnoffij Palmerston North, May ID. Mr. D. Thomson, delivered an inportant and' interesting judgment tliis morning in the case heard- boforo him last Monday, when Michael Movnilian was- charged with breaches of the Licensing Act by issuing directions how to voto to doctors tyt Shannon, on tho day of tho Licensing Committee election, March 9, 1909.' Mr. Cooperappourod for defendant, and Mr. C. A. Loughnan for tho police. " ' The following facts wero admitted That atl election for a Licensing Committee took place on March 9, at Shannon; that the' polling booth was properly constituted ; that Frederick Thomson was an elector; that defendant handed him a card with directions how to .'vote, when ho was on his way to the polling booth; that, candidates for election wero the same i as printed on tho card, and the voting papc-r was an ordinary form as . specified in tho Legislature Act,-1908; that Thomson voted at tho election immo , diatoly. after 'receiving, tho card.. - Tho informations wore laid under Section. 157 of tho Legislature Act. and tho' 'first question raised was as, to whether that emotion could bo invoked \at all. ;It dealt prim-' ' arily with oifenccs -at elections of nwpibcra of Parliament, while the election at which tho alleged olfenco; was oommittod, was-for a Licensing Committee, under tho Licensing ; Act,| 1908; The last Act, • however, by Sootion 44, provided that "Every such election shall be conducted in the same manner as elections of members of Parliament." It was contondod by the prosecution that theso. words incorporated tho whole of Part 111. of . tho Legislature Act, headed: "Regulations of Elections^,except suoh sections as wera, manifestly/excluded by. reason of other-pro-V vision - having bewi made by the Licensing 1 : Act, a?, for example, the provision for'fixing tho day of the election. v Tho procedure,;, in cases of disputed elections, oto., sections' dealing with offences, and the maintenance of order at elections, were in. Part HI., and': it was submitted that, if they did not'apply : . to elections of. Licensing ... Committees, ■ 'it ; would be no olfenco to interfere with electors in a polling booth, : or even to . commit per- • sonat-ion., > " ' On tho other band, it was, contended that the Licensing Act showed plainly that it was not intended to incorporate Part 111 of tho • Legislature Act generally for,-if it had been so intended, Sections 45 and 46, providing for the notification of the result of an election in like manner to atx, eloction of a taom- . ■ ber for Parliament, and providing for a publio half holiday, would not have been necessary, as they ;wore already provided in Part HI. Also, it was asked OMtist' there be a ' second ballot: in certain otrcumstanocs? Had " every candidato a right to free use of public sohoolroomS as provided in tho Legislaturo Act ? '. Must ■ overy candidate furnisn'_ a re-; i turn of expenses? -Those questions,' it was submitted, showed tho ! improbability of tho words' in ■ Section 44. having ' tho "teaming, ■ sought to' ,be. put on them:' It was furthor .submitted that Courts p-onld not ..hold an act to bo a criminal olfenco unless the Sta--tute, in clear and unequivocal language, 'stated it',to'<b'o; so. -

: His 'Worship held; that , the words of Soo.tioit: 44,0f tho Jjiceri'sing Act were not suffi-'. ioient, to, incorporate Section. 157 of the Legislature Act. . He agreed"' with . defendant's counsel tliat,'even where. it;was possible 'to' interpret an ambiguous section so as: to in-, volvo a criminal offence, yet, if the section. .would bear' a ( reasonable. with-', out doing so, the latter . intpn>retation would, be adopted by tho Courts., .His Worship ' could oonceive of no- reason why the Aot complained of 1 ib the present instance should be forbidden in a /Parliamentary ..election, and, allowed in a Licensing Committee eleo-, .lion, but:the only question for him to consider' was what the; Legislature had said on' the '.subjeet. ''i'lt seemed ; that' tho words .in 41: "Kvory election., shall'; be con«' ■ ducted in tho same manner' as 'of .'' membors of Parliament" only referred to tho acts of* tho, Returning Officer. The : section did not, say that tho oonduct of all porsons" ;in a Liceh'sing'Coihmitteo cliHitidil'shofilQ bo the same as if it-were a Parliamentary elecbut simply that the election- should. biS conducted, in : tho samo manner. That, his Worship .took to mean, was that" the oleo-. ! tion. should bo conducted •• by.: tho ■ Returning: '.Officer.according to the 'same procedure.'. Both informations would bo dismissed, and, . as tho question.was purely a legal one, with . costs £'} 2s. . ■... ' 1 .-