HUTT COUNTY ELECTION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1302, 4 December 1911, Page 5

HUTT COUNTY ELECTION.

il ELECTOR'S DOUBTS. D RETURNING OFFICER EXPLAINS. Recently «, fanner from Whiteman's ' Valley called at Tin; Domixiox Office tn give particulars of what he retarded as * peculiarities, and perhaps irregularities, B in tbe recent Unit County elections. 1 Tho elector's .-ton- was this. The elcc- * fions- were held on November 8. At ! . about .'I o'clock in (lis afternoon this cleci tor went to the Whiteman's Vallev booth J to vote. Outside tho booth lie met two f acquaintances, who told him (hey had e gone into the booth for the purpose of e voting, but had not been allowed to do l so, and had been told in explanation that i their names had been struck off tho roll. . They knew of no reason why they should bo prevented from voting. Then the elector first mentioned went in to vote. , Ho mentioned the case of his two ae- * quaintauces, and tho returning officer 1 showed him the roll with the names ' struck out. The elector counted thirty- - one names struck off. Subsequently, the f first-mentioned elector advised his two ac--1 quaintances to go to the Silverstream s booth, live miles away, and there seek s an opportunity of voting. They went, b and they voted.

A Dominion representative called on the Hiitt County clerk to place the information before him. The clerk stated that ho had been approached bv an elector on the subject, aud that he had told the elector that nothing could be done in the matter now. as the time for lodging objections had lapsed—that the period was fourteen days. Tho clerk and the returning officer then said that perhaps as the matter of the elections was a little. complex at first sight, there was probablv some misunderstanding. The elections, he explained, concerned the Hutt County. There was to be elected oiio member to represent the countv en the Hospital and Charitablo Aid Board. There were to be elected, also, six persons who were to constitute the Hutt County Council. These were two distinctly separate elections. The county was divided' info five ridings. Each of four of the ridings elected one member, and one riding elected two. A separate roll was provided for every election. For tho County Council election some electors were entitled to exercise more than one vote, but for the Hospital Board election every elector was entitled to exercise one vote only. For the purposes of tho Hospital Board election the Hutt Town District roll, also, was used, and where electors' names appeared on this and on the county roll they were struck off the latter, and voted on the- town district qualification.