REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4131, 18 October 1884, Page 3

REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.

[To the Editor of the Daily Telegram.] y lEi _The action of the Colonial Secretary in the above matter is a step in the right direction and deserves the highest commendation from every honest man. Our local registrar referred registration claims to the police before enrolling them and he certainly had no instructions whatever to do so. The fundamental object of holding a poll is to get the voice of the majority of tho people upon certain qusstions of public importance. Yet in this district five hundred men have been disfranchised simply because of official red-tape and obstruction. It is admitted that every opportunity should be given for tho purpose of registration, but instead of that, advantage has been taken of the law to politically extinguish 500 duly qualified voters. This fact speaks for itself. It is simply disgraceful. I have been lately informed by an elector at Olive that he sent in his claim *'ceks before the election. I think ho said five weeks—and was not enrolled. He also told me of a conservative friend of his who was put on the roll at once although the claim was sent in much later. The conservative was allowed to vote, the Liberal was disfranchised. These kind of anomalies require looking after, and therefore the Liberal member for Waipawa Mr Smith deserves the greatest praise for his action in the matter. It is to be hoped that the Registrar will take steps to purge the rolls before tho next election. There are men enrolled for the property qualification who havo no property. "There are also dead men's names placed there. Why arc the names of these animated emblems of mortality not removed ? In concluding I would suggest that no obstruction to registration, however trifling, should be tolerated, and I think it is our duty to see that every opportunity is freely offered to give all a chance to record their vote. We should encourage, rather than discourage, tho " freeman casting with unpurchased hand, the vote that shakes the turrets of tho land."—l am, kc, Abthur Dessiond.