PROHIBITION UPSET.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 828, 28 February 1903, Page 2

PROHIBITION UPSET.

NEWTOWN POLL DECLARED VOID. Per Press Association;

Wellington, last night. The Newton prohibition poll has been declared void.

Later. —Dr McArthur, S.M., delivered judgment this afternoon on the remaining "rounds of the petition to declare void the licensing poll taken at Newtown, where no-license was declared to have been carried by a majority of 17 votes. The petition against this declaration had been lodged on December 9th. The grounds of that petition were : 1. That The actual and true result of the poll was that three-tifths majority did not vote for no-license, and that the total number of voters whose votes were recorded was misstated by reason of omission to include the votes recorded, but which could not be counted because of the non-complianeo with Section 128 of the Electoral Act, 1902; 2. That a number of persons voted who were not entitled to vote, and that their votes should be struck off and the result amended, or in alternative, the poll must be declared void ; o. That gross irregularities occurred in taking the poll, which tended tc defeat the fairness of the election. The second ground of the petition was dismissed from tho judgment, as the question of the conclusiveness roil had to be decided by Court of Appeal. This left tiie first and third grounds to be decided, and on these His Worship reviewed the law on the subject and decisions bearing upon them at considerable length, Ho was of opinion that the strict unambiguous meaning of expressive voters whoso votes were recorded, used in the Alcoholic Liquor Sale Control Act, 1895, was ‘‘persons who applied for and received their voting papers, who filled them in correctly and placed them in the ballot box.” Any misfeasance or nonfeasance of the returning officer could not affect the recording of a vote which was | | solely tho act of the voter. On the important question of, Are those voters who have correctly filled in their papers, but whoso votes have been declared informal I through default of the returning officer, to bo deemed to have recorded votes? Dr McArthur came to the conclusion that these votes should be deemed to havo been recorded. As this had not been done, the total number of voters whose votes were recorded had been mistaken in the declaration of poll. On tho third ground of objection His Worship held that he had no discretionary power. It was shown that irregularities had occurred which tendered to defeat the fairness of the election. Tho statuto did not require irregularity to defeat the election. The chief irregularities complained of by the petitioners were that at one polling booth the voting papers for the electoral and for the licensing purposes were not given out simultaneously for a period of three hours ; that at this booth on different occasions there were moro than six voters at one time ; that a representative of the nolicense league was allowed to go into several booths on different occasions ; that at one booth voting papers wore not made up and sent to the returning officer till the following day ; that an elector’s name was wrongfully struck off the roll. His Worship concluded : Looking at the law of the elections and tho particular circumstances of this election, moro particularly tho closoness of the result, in my opinion it is open to reasonable doubt whether these irregularities may not have affected the result, and it is uncertain whether nolicenso has been carried by tho required

majority. That being my opinion, lam bound to declare the election void. I do so on two grounds. First, that the total number oi voters whose votes were recorded was misstated by reason of the omission to include the votes recorded, but which could not be counted becauso of the non-couipliauce with section 128 of tho Electoral Act,' 1902 ; sooond, that irregularities occurred in taking the poll which tended to defeat the fairness of the election.