DISFRANCHISEMENT OF MR. BARRY

Dunstan Times, Issue 467, 31 March 1871, Page 3

DISFRANCHISEMENT OF MR. BARRY

[We do not identify ourselves with the opinions that may he expressed by our correspondents.]

(TO TIIK EDITOF OF THE DUN - STAN’ TIMES.) Sir,—l wish to draw the attention through you, of the public to the circumstances which precluded Vr, W. J. Barry from contesting the Kawarau election. Mr. Barry was the first local candidate in the field, and he was asked to come forward by a large [and influential number of the electors of the district. He held me •'tings, which were numerously attended, at the Gorge, Cromwell, and Bannockburn, at which unanimous votes of •confidence were passed in him as a fit and proper person to representthis important mining constituency in the Provincial Council. The manner in which he exp'ained his views] was highly satisfactory to all, .'anthAiuch regret is now expres ed that he shoukrbe disqualified at this time, when his labors in Dunedin would have been of great services to this longneglected district. At one of his public meetings it appears that he expressed a doubt as to the sufliciency of his qualification ; hut his statement, I am sorry to say, did not produce the f'esired effect. The miners liked Mr. Barry’s straightforwardness, but, on examination, it was found he did not possess the requisite qualification. His m ner’s right ,had lapsed only a few days, and his name was struck off the roll. Bad this not been the case, he would probably have carried the day, even at the Bannockburn. His return won d have been a moral certainly. Fur many years his name has been on the roll of electors, and he has been well.known as a public man in the colonies, especially in New Zealand. About the middle of last year, having disposed of certain property k by right of which hia_name had been on the roll, lie applied ’to be registered afresh, and : sent npplieatimte .twice ; but was greatly surprised to WiK his name absent, as he he holds considerable property and pays £SO a year to Government for his auc.ioneer’s license. He lias since been informed that a business license must he one granted under the Goldfields Act, and that a miner’s right, to be valid, must be six months old : his was a few days short of that. He believed also that a gentleman in Clyde had taken out a miner’s right, which should have heel lying there. It seems very unjust that a man who pays £SO a year lor his license is disqualified, while men who only pay to the Government £5 a year are entitled to vote. So, although Mr. Barry has been many years in the district, and always qualified, by a “fluke,” he is unable to perform pubic duties which he was both ready and willing to undertake. It is to be hoped that those gentlemen who are elected will be at the pains to see* such an anomaly in the laws rectified, so that such a thing cannot occur again, and make it more consistent with justice. I 3111, &C., OBSERVER. Cromwell, Maaoh 27, 1871.