DUNEDIN CENTRAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2368, 26 January 1915, Page 7

DUNEDIN CENTRAL

THOSE DISALLOWED VOTES SOUaTOR,6ENEMUS OPINION / The true legal position with regard to the votes disallowed in Dunedin Central, by whioh Mr. J. W. Munro lost tho majority he held by the incorrect early declaration of the poll, is set forth in a legal opinion given by tho Solioi-tor-General to tha Tdinister in Charge of the Electoral Department (the Bight Hon. W. F; Massey). :.'. The opinion has speoial referenoe to a statement made by certain Opposition journals that the Government, 2 the Prime Minister had chosen to do so, oould nave put right the errors which caused Mr.' Munro to lose the seat. Following is the text or the opinion:—

'At the recent Parliamentary. election for Dunedin Central a number of Informal and invalid votes were given in favour of Mr. Munro. The informality oonsisted in the faot that the ballot papers used for these votes had, the consecutive number of the voter written ;openly on the fact of the ballot-paper, in violation of the provisions of Section 88 of the Legislature Amendment Act, 1910, as. amended by. Section-. 19 of the Legislature Amendment Act, 1914. On ! a recount these votes were accordingly rejected.'and Mr. Statbam was decjaied to be eleoted. • Had the votasin question been valid there would have ocen a majority in favour of Mr. Munro, "Under these circumstances 1 i am asked to advise whether the Governor-in-Counoil has power under Section 237 of the Legislature Act, 1908, to declaro the votes in question to be valid, and thereby to confer the seat on Mr. Munro. i the defeated-candidate.; I am of opinion that the Governor-in-Coun-cil has no such powerj either jnder that section or otherwise.. '. "Section 237 of the Legislature Aot, 1908, provides that 'where >ny accidental or unavoidable impediment, misfeasance, or omission happens, the Gov-ernbr-in-Council may take such measures as are necessary for: removing or ■rectifying the same, or may postpone the day on which any electoral roll is to ■come into., force, or may declare any |suoh roll valid, or may declare any or all of tho proceedings at or about any 'election valid, notwithstanding such, impediment, misfeasance, or omission.' "The only part of this section whioh could possibly apply to the present case jis that'which enables the Governor-in-,Council to 'declare any or all of the proceedings at, or about an eleotion. .valid.' It is suggested that a vote is •'a prooeeding at or. about an election,' bnd that the Governor-in-Council can therefore declare that an invalid vote is Valid. Ido not think, however, that' bo wide an interpretation can be rightly nr reasonably placed on these words. u;he result of such an interpretation .would be that the Governor-in-Council could in his absolute discretion take 'away a seat from a candidate who had jbeen lawfully eleoted thereto, and conifer'the seat upon a rival candidate who [had not been lawfully elected. •■ If any ■other reasonable interpretation of the [section is possible, it is. not to be asfsumed that the Legislature intended to confer so extraordinary ■ a-power upon the Executive Government. lam of opinion, therefore, that the true meaniing of the .section is that the Governor-in-Council has power to validate ah 'election which, as regards all the candidates, has been invalidated by some, irregularity, but that he has no power [to declare that, a oandidato who has. (been validly eleoted haß not been elected, and to confer.the seat upon.a rival candidate instead. In other wordsj the 'power of validation extends to the elec- | tion as a whole, not to the respective rights of two rival candidates., As between suoh candidates the only authority whioh can determine their rights Is en Election Court, and there Is no ■place for the exercise of discretionary Sxecutive power."

, -VOTERS ON THE BOLL. (By? Sblegraph.—Press Ajuoolatlon,) Dunedln,-January 25. - , ' The number of voters on the- Dunedln Central.roll on the occasion of the feneral election on December 10 was 914, while the number of votes recorded waj 7899. Thus, 1516 electors failed ,to vote. The net number on the roll whioh will be used on Wednesday week is now 9415, an increase of 601 on the previous total. Adding' 501 to the 1515 (who did not on December 10, a. itotal of ,2016 additional votes are eligible for the coming occasion.