DISFRANCHISED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 154, 25 March 1919, Page 8

DISFRANCHISED SOLDIERS

THE CASE EXPLAINED

DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS

WHY GOVERNMENT IS

POWERLESS

The difficulty that has cropped up about the enrolment of a number of returned eoldiers was discussed by Ministers and a deputation which waited upon them yesterday afternoon. The. deputation was an unusually representative one. Jlr. C.-W. Batten (president). Mr. D. M. Seymour (general secretary), and Mr. A. Ciirtajne (local secretary) represented the Returned Soldiers' Association, the Bev. J. Dawson and the Hov. W. .T. Conine represented tho New Zealand Alliance, and Mr. J. Raw and Mr. F. Madden the trade interests. Tho Ministers who iecelved them wore Kir .Tiimes Allen (Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Drfence) and Sir Francis Bell (Attorney-General). The Facts,

The facts are so well known as scarcely to need recapitulating. The Act makes provision for the taking of the votes of members of the Expeditionary Force and of persons who aro on tho roll for this liquor ballot in April. No other persons aro entitled. There is one trifling exception to this rule, but it does not affect tho ease as it interests returned eoldiers. The Act makes no provision for the taking of tho votes of discharged soldiers otherwise than as ordinary civilians. After a soldier is discharged he must get on the roll like any ordinary civilian. It is said that a number of returned soldiers have been disfranchised under the rules as they arc. Some men returned a little time 'before the time for the closing of the rolls, and were discharged from the force before, the closing date. Their minds were not concerned chiefly, if at all, with the licensing issue a.t tho time,' and they did not get on the roll. These men are not now entitled to vote, and it was in the hope of persuading the Government to make some special provision for these wen that the deputation waited on Ministers yesterday.. It is not probable that the number of men concerned is Inrge. . ' • The speakers for the deputation made a strong appeal to the Government to take such measures as were now open to them to give these returned men the privilege of the vote on the important, issue to be submitted. Mr. Bniten .'aid that tho Returned Soldiers' Association knew of no men who had been disfranchised in Wellington, but it was reported to him that there were a number of men in iucMand who werp concerned, and that there was a possibility of serious trouble if they were not given the vote. Hie information was that tliPro were 350 men in this position in Auckland. The Law As It Is. Sir Francis Bell expounded the law with the utmost clearness and the fullest detail to tho deputation to show that it was not possible for the Government to give by regulation any right to voto when no such right was conferred by tho law. Ho produced to thu deputation file text of a memorandum which he had written to Sir James Allen on the subject. Tho memorandum was as follows:— "I conferred with the Solicitor-General this morning, and, without comment of my own, submitted to him tho question whether it was possible by any process to take at the special licensing poll tho votes of men who have been discharged, from the Expeditionary Forces and have failed to register themselves as electors. "I asked tho Solicitor-General to consider the question and meet you and myself at a later hour this morning. I. did'not inform the Solicitor-General of the advico I have already given on tho same subject to yourself as Minister of Defence and to the Electoral Department.

"For your record I state the advice given at the second conference. Tho So-licitor-General advised, as I had previously advised, that no regulations can legally bo made conferring a right to voto apon persons whose names do not appear upon an electoral roll, unless those persons are members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, and that men who have been discharged from the Expeditionary Forces hiivc ceased to be mciubere of- the Expeditionary Forces, and that any attempt by regulation to include thorn in the poll of members of the Expeditionary Forces to bo taken on April 10 next would be illegal. "(Signed) F. H. D. BELL." (

Soldiers were Warned. Sir James Allen said that the position was as Sir Francin Bell had stated it. The Defence Department had issued a circular some timo in February in which it was set out clearly that soldiers who received their discharge before March G, the date for the.closing of the roll, would not be entitled to voto unless they enrolled as electors in the usual way. It was now said that numbers of the men had Jailed to enrol, lie had no specific information as to the number of men there were in Auckland in this position, but he doubted whether there were very many of them. He wished to tell the deputation that Sir Francis Bell and himself and the Government generally, with tho Solicitor-General, had done all that was possible to try to devise somo means by which even the men who had failed to enrol might be allowed to vote. Sir Francis 801 l had told of the conference of that morning, and of the result of it. In view of' the memorandum which had been presented to them, there was nothing more to bo said. Every provision had been made that was foreseen to enable the soldiers to vote. He regretted exceedingly the misfortune which had occurred. At the same time he thought it had been magnified a great deal. Perhaps there might be some men who had negelected to enrol. Ho was sorry if that was so, but Ministers could do nothing if the law was against them. A Special Session? Mr. Batten suggested that the circumstances might be such as to justify the holding of a special session of Parliament to deal with the matter.

Sir James Allen said that ho could conceive of no circiimstnacen arising out cf this matter which would justify the holding of a special session of Parliament. Mr. Batten said that ho knew thn Government had made every effort to havo the thing put right, but, their anxiety did not extend to the calling of Parliament together. ] Sir Francis Belt pointed out that tho : Government could not legally call Par- j liameut together, because Parliament had already been prorogued until April 2i, fourteen days after the holding of the poll. A Grave Danger. He spoke again of a subject with which he. had dealt somewhat more fully in his first speech—the necessity for the Administration not to interfere with the operation of the law as affecting elections. One of the suggestions that had been made was that these men who had emitted to register might, bo re-enrolled in menibers of the Expeditionary Force, and Riven the right to vote as soldiers. But if the Government; had the right to interfere in this way, it might onlist the whole community, and stuff the rolls. There wns nothing which it was more the dutv of the Government to prevent, by nny legal means than roll-stuffing. Parliament proscribed the- conditions under which an election was to be carried out, and it was the duty of tho Government, t) observe those conditions AVhatover hardship might be caused in particular instances, it was the duty of tho Government not to interfere with the operation of tlie law. especially in electoral mntIprfi. If the members of the demiialion vuuld put out of niiiul-lho special case in which they were interested, and think of the principle only, they would agree with him that it was of supreme importance that tho Administration should not interfere with tho taking of the voto of the electors after the manner prescribed by Parliament.

"Tremendously Urgent." Mr. Batten said that, he agreed with all that Sir Fmncis Bell bail Enid, but ho was advised that tho position was very serious in Auckland—assuming that his information was correct,

Sir James Allen: What is making it serious? Is it ihe srldicr himself?

Mr. Batten: "J. n.n't Icll you." He said that he accepted die principle of the sanctity of the voting privilege. It was important that a voter should be free io exercise his vote, but it was also a luattur (if impm-Unco to a citizen Hint he should not be deprived of his right to vote. They wished to nvoid any unfortunate disturbance, and he was informed from this point of view the mutlor was "tremendously urgent" in Auckland. They had come prepared to ask for. the holding of a special session of Parliament. Now they must go back and reconsider the position, in view of (lie fact that the Government was not prepared to go as far as this.

Sir Kmucis Bell: "Notbecause we will not, but because we cannot." He explained again that tho conference of that morning had been called for the purpose of discovering a way out if pop-sible, but the memorandum which ho luul presented was the outcome of tho conference.