ELECTION PETITION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2396, 27 February 1915, Page 8

ELECTION PETITION

! - ♦- ■ | TAUMARIINUI CASE REMARKABLE METHODS OF ENROLMENT J. B, YOUNG GIVES EVIDENCE RASH CHARGE AGAINST AN ' OFFICIAL (By TcleffraplL—Special Reporter.) • Te Kliiti, February 26. This afternoon the Taumarunui Election Court concluded the _ hearing of evidence respecting the petition lodged by Mr. C. K. Wilson, the Reform candidate, against the return for the Taumarunui, seat of Mr. W. T. Jennings, who stood in the Opposition interests. Novel Point Regarding Half Maoris. During the evidence of the first witness of the day . a novel point was raised by Mr. Justice Chapman. The witness was William Bell, a half-caste Maori, who could: not write -English, and could not read the language. Ho was asked if he had voted at a certain booth and he answered that he did not vote at all : because he was' informed that he was not on the roll, although he had voted at the 1911 election.-

uouiisel: When you louna mat you were not on the roll did you inake any declaration to secure your'vote? "Witness: No. . ■ ' Mr. Justice Chapman: That raises a novel 'question'. • If •he wanted to make a declaration, how was lie' going to do it? Perhaps he does not understand English well, and there is 1 no provision for making a declaration in Maori. That does not arise here, but it may furnish material for future gument.,/"Return Jennings and Cot License." John Patterson, a labourer of Marakopa, was called by Mr. Finlay, counsel for Mr. Jennings. Mr. Johnstone: Who put you on the roll? . Witness: Mr. James Young. - Mr. Johnstone: Did he.make you any promise? Witness: Yes.' He made us a promise that if we. returned "Mr. Jennings he would get ub license here .within twelve months; ■' Mr. Justice Cooper: What did he mean? , This is' a dry district, is it not? " \ ' Witness: That is the position. . Mr. Finlay:. When did he make this promise?- Was it in 1911? Witness: No.- In August or October last. ' Mr. Justice Cooper: Where did he enrol you? • :- - ■ . Witness: He brought the form out to. where I was working on the road;. : . Mr. Finlay here remarked that he had- decided to call James Burns Young. " /• ' • _ '• Mr. Justice Cooper: Just as you think fit. - James Burns Young stated that he was a land agent in Te Euiti, arid announced that he had always been soundly Liberal politically, and his services were enlisted by. the Licensed Victuallers' Association. Mr. Finlay: Did you ever offer your services to Mr. Jennings ? Witness :> Only on one occasion, and then I wired to him, and asked for enrolment papers,, and told .him to-be sure and see that'l got them. Mr. Finlay : You say you were not acting for Mr. 'Jennings' at all? . Witness: In no capacity, ivhatcver, except that I was always a keen supporter of the- party to which he - belongs. Mr. F&nlay: As a representative . of the Licansed .Victuallers' Association you flommenced- work considerably in advance of the election? Witness: Yes, I went a trip to Marokopa, etc., 1 with' Mr. Brooks,' the Licensed: Victuallers' representative, simply for the purpose of enrolling electors whb favoured .License. : Witness added tihat they enrolled about 200 persons.' He witnessed all the signatures. Mr. Finlay: Did you see all the signatures? Witness: Yes. " '- '' v. ?. Mr. Finlay: There has been evidence given by the Julls that you did not see them sign. -■ ■ Youtsg Attesting Unseed Form?. . Mr. Justice Chapman-: Did you send their papers out with, y<?ur signature attested? -Witness: I did, Your Honour.... Mr. ; Justice Cooper : Is that your practice? : ' ' - - Witness: No, Your Honour. It was done lurriedly and I signed them. Mr.\ Justice Cooper; Jull denies that. He says that when, ho returned the paper your: signature was not on the form ias a witness to his- signature. Witness: Then I am not guilty of attestation. \ Mr: Justice Cooper: In any case it ia a breach of the law. Mr. Finlay: Are you prepared to ffwesir that except where enumerated you actually witnessed tho signatures to every form attested ?..-,' . Witness: Yes. - Mr. Finlay: Then there are four o-t five cases of this. " Witness : .Yea. I think they are all enumerated., • , Mr. : Finlay: On the day of the election, were you marshalling motor-cars? Mr. Justice Cooper : Just one moment before we.pass on to that. Tlicro aro twenty forms which are,witnessed, but have no signature. The witness was' silent. • ■. .. Mr. Justice Chapman: Did yon make a, practice-of signing in blank? _ Witness: Only where-1 knew the person intimately and knew that the signa*■hire was all right. _ Mr. Finlay: In how many instances &0 you think this happened? Witness: Oh, say sixteen. Mr. Justice Cooper: ,Mr. Sohramm, the Registrar, says that he saw piles or forms filled in and attested m advance of the signatures.. ! Witness: He would say anything. Mr. Justice Cooper: There is this: I; would like to point out there are twenty forms put in which you signed in blank. That is clear, because there is no elector's signature on them now. Witness: That, has been my technical breach, Your. Honour. . 1 Mr. Jnstico Chapman: How did these forms come in? Mr. Johnstone; From various sources. The people who got them brought some in, some drifted into tho hands of others, and the police got hsld of some. Mr. Justice Chapman: That is a j matter we must get evidence upon, or a common admission by both sides.

Forms Accompanied by Letters. In reply to further questions from Mr. Finlay witness said that, when he wfts marshalling motor-cars on the day of tho election _ Mr. Jennings expressed some wish against his boilig associated with the liquor party. Mr. Johnstone: When did you receive your appointment from the Licensed Victuallers' Association? ; Witness: In about July or August. Mr. Johustone: How many, forms did you attest? Witness: About 600. Mr. Johnstone: How many did you attest before August? Witness: Not being a Lexicon of repository knowledge I have not- any idea. Mr. Johnstone: Did'you put fullblooded Maoris on the roll ? . Witness: Not: to my-knowledge, Mr, Johnstons! A Maori hua com*) .here and said that jou- put him on

and told Mm that, there was going to be 110 Maori election' this year. Witness: Nothing of tie kind. Mr. Johnstone: You say that the Maori came here and deliberately, told an untruth? Witness: I do. - Mr. Johnstone: Besides putting the Julls on the Toll, did you put Mr. and Mrs. Tomlin on tho roll without seeing them sign? Witness: Yes. Mr. Johnstone: Then that is more than the number you first told Mr. Finlay about? Mr. Johnstone handed to the Court forms already filledin and attested. Ho said that a letter accompanied every form and he drew attention to a cross opposite the plaice where the elector had to sign.' ; Respecting one form Young said that the cross was not put on the paper by him. . Mr. Johnstone: Well, here is one signed in blank, and there is a oross on it. Can you tell me who put that cross there?. Witness —Can I? Mr. Johnstone: Yes; can you? Witness: Yes—l did. They Dlsoussed Mostly Whisky. Young was shown forms signed by Mrs. Lowry and Mrs. Till, and he admitted having attested, the form without' having seen the signature made. The women's husbands had told him the signatures were genuine. "Nothing but honest intent," added Young. ■ Mr. Johnstone: Others you enrolled in similar circumstances ? Witness: No. Mr. Johnstone: Then have a look at this one. Witness: Yes. That is another. That is for Cowan's wife. Mr. Johnstone: Did you know when you enrolled the Rev. Mr. Beattie aii'd' his wife that they had not been twelve months in the Dominion?

Witness: If a person sighs a form to that effect how can I know, otherwise? Mr. Justice ,Chapman: I think you made a mistake. Witness: If you look at the form you will find that it is stated that the people were here only ten months. Mr. Johnstone: Can you aocount for the fact that large numbers of forms sent by you could not be placed bv the Post Office because the Post Office could not find the addressees? . Witness: Surely to goodness I am not called to account for a thing like that. Mr. Johnstone: I.want to know. Witness: Well, there are many bnshmen about here and they change their address often. Mr. Johnstone: Were you a member of Mr. Jennings's committee? Witness: No. Mr; Johnstone:_ Then if Mr. Walsh says .you-were he is riot oorrect? Witness: He may have been flurried and made, a mistake. ■ Mr. Johnstone, touching on certain tours.t asked what the -tourists discussed.. Witness: Various things—mostly whisky. , !• . ■ . ' " Mr. Johnstone: Have you had any whisky to-3ay ? Witness: No.. ; Mr. Justice Cooper: I thought this was a dry district. Mr. Johnstone: • I am afraid not, Your Honours..; .There were twenty thousand notifications last year, . . Suggestion .That a Paper Was Stolen, Mr. _ Jphnstone drew , the witness's attention to, tho fact that Mr. Schramm, tho registrar, had deposed that,ho had seen files of ballot papers filled in and attested, but not signed in Young's office. , ' Among them Mr. Schramm had said _ was the enrolment claim of Mr. Aldridge, the Liberal organiser. Witness: . That "claim never left my office unless tho '• registrar stolo it out of -my ■ office,.. and-. I . quite believe him capable,. of that. said something' about having thrown that claim into his waste-paper basket, and .that it may have been taken from, there'by Mr. Schramm.-

Mr.. Justico Cooper: You must not say. he stole it.' , . • ~. . , Mr. justice Chapman: Why, this is the very claim by. which Aldridge was put on the roll. Here is the official stamp on it,. How, can it have been stolen out of your office? It_ is by virtue ,of this claim' that Aldridge is 'on the roH. Mr. Justice Copper: That is so. It bears the official stamp._ I think, wit-, ness, you were speaking rashly. .. I don't .take seriously what you say. ; Mr. Finlay:_ That is quite , so. Mr. Aldridge has just told me that he pre-sented-the form himself. The only thing is we all saw Schramm take the form out of his picket' this morning and hand it to Mr. Johnstone. Mr. Johnstone: I asked him for it. That is the only means I have of getting it. , _ ' ■ Mr; Justice Cooper: Quite so. The witness was speaking rashly, _ and I don't take seriously ,what he said about its-being stolen.. Mr. Johnstone: I hope he was speaking'rashly. Witness:! am sorry. 'Before finishing his cross-examination, Mr. Johnstone handed in. several other forms, the attestation of which he questioned on the lines previously taken up.' Mr. Finlay: .Do you still maintain that twenty still covers the number of forms you wrongly attested? ' • Witness : I do. Protection' Sought for .Young.. - Before Young left; the witness-box, Mr. Finlay informed, the Court _ that when asking Young to give evidence he had told him that if he came here and told tho Court the whole and the true position, counsel would in his behalf ask for. a certificate of indemnity under Section 202 of , the Legislature Act. Mr. Justice Cooper : .Very well, we will consider your application. Alfred Brooks, a representative of the Licensed' Victuallers' Assooia.tion, said,that Young had been. engaged_by the Association solely for, licensing work, and was told not to touch politics. - Mr. Johnstone: Did the Licensed Victuallers' Association dismiss Young? Witness: Practically, no. Not till about three weeks before the election: Mr. Johnstone: Did you toll-Mr. Wall so? ...

Witness: Not officially. Mr. Johnstone: Did you tell him at all? , . . Witness: I may have told him. m private conversation. Mr. Johnstone: What was he dismissed for? . Witness: Because he was taking too much whisky. ■ ■ To Mr. Finlay: Young was not actually dismissed until after the. elections, but he was under the ban. This concluded the evidence. Court Adjourns to Wellington. The matters of adjournment and further hearing were then arranged. Mr. Justice Cooper said that the examinar tion of the counterfoils would probably take until next week. It was an enormous job, and thousands were yet to be done. The examination must go on in the meantime under the supervision of Mr. Terry of New Plymouth, the Registrar of the Election 1 Court, and a report on the result would be furnished to the Court and to counsel.

The hearing of the petition was then nominally adjourned till March 22 at Wellington, and thereafter it will be adjourned from day to day until it. is reached by tho Court of Appeal. Mr. Justice Chapman: 1 expressly asked the Chief justice that in the event of the Bay of Islands people consenting to take the Question of limitation before the same Court that hears the question in this case, that it shall be beforo the Full C<jurb. It is almost the same tiling as the Court of Appeal, but Mr. Justice Hosking could sit on the Full Court and on the Appeal Court he could not/ because ho'is not a member of division. Til# Nftpi#! l pwpls meed to what beca ordsred,

but the Bay of Islands people havo not yet agreed, and if they don't agree I shall have to meet Mr. Justice Hosking there on March !). Mr. Justice Cooper then said that the order of this Court respecting the adjournment was that upon the judgment of, the Court which would sit in Wellington, a date would be fixed for the .Election Court to hear argument on the whole case. ' "Liberty," he added, "is reserved to both counsel to apply to the Court to hear further evidence upon matters arising out of the examination of tho counterfoils, and similar leave is given to either party to apply for a scrutiny and recount." Just before the Court ro6e Mr. Justks Cooper remarked that it had been a pleasant inquiry, and that no. strong feeling had been shown by counsel or parties on either side.