PUBLIC MEETING AT SHEFFIELD.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2221, 8 April 1881, Page 3

PUBLIC MEETING AT SHEFFIELD.

Tho meeting of electors, adjourned from the 18th March, was held in the Road Board office, Sheffield, on Thursday, 31st ult. ; Mr McMillan in the chair. Mr McMillan read the resolutions passed at the former meeting, and requested Mr D. Jebson, secretary to the committee, which was appointed at that meeting, to give an account of what had been done by the committee. Mr Jebson read the following correspondence :

Sheffield, March 21st, 1881.

C. Percy Cox, Esq.—Sir,—At a public meeting held in tho East Malvem Road Board office on Friday evening last,. 18th inst., the following resolution was unanimously passed :—" That a communication be addressed to the Registration Officer, requesting him to give his reasons for leaving off the electoral roll the names of nearly all the residents and owners of freehold property in that portion of the Coleridge Electoral District situate between the Waimakariri_ and Bakaia Rivera." I may say that the feeling is very strong in this part of the district, as electors who have been on the roll for periods varying from ten to twenty years are struck off, their qualification being indisputable. Will you be good enough, therefore, to comply with the request of tho meeting, and send your reasons to me, in time to lay tbem before the adjourned meeting on the 31st inat. I am also requested to ask you to supply five (5) copies of electoral roll and supplementary roll, and one (1) copy of old roll. If you will kindly forward them to me at Sheffield I will send P.O. by return for the amount. I am, &c, D. Jebson, Secretary to Committee.

Ashburton, March 22,1881.

Sir, —As requested in your letter of yesterday, I send yon five copies of the electoral roll for Coleridge and one of the old roll, 1879-80. The former are Is each and the latter Is 6d —6s 6d in all. The supplementary roll is not yet printed, and I am therefore unable to supply you with that at present. In reply to your question in re the omission of certain names from the new roll, which were in the old one, on referring to the rolls you will see that the new roll has five columns instead of four, as in the old roll, and requires information which the latter does not supply, viz., occupation, and as my printed instructions were moat precise, viz., to assure myself of the right of every man to have his name retained upon the roll, where unable to obtain that information, I considered I had no option in the matter, but as I was also authorised from time to timo to place thereon, or add thereto, the name of " every person, of whose qualification as an elector " I was satisfied, I nave continued to do bo to the present time, as I have succeeded in gaining the necessary information, and inasmuch as the Act has given me the above power, as well as made registration bo easy to everyone at any time, I venture to think less evil has been done by the omission of some names temporarily, until I was assured of their (till possessing the qualification they were registered for, and the further information required as above, than would have been done by copying from the old roll without sufficient enquiry, burdened as it was with names of those who had long ceaaod to hold the property by which they were qualified, and numbers of whom were also described as "Leaseholds and Householders," neither of which are now qualification, though they may both be merged in the residential qualification. In conclusion, I beg to say, my only object has been to make the roll as accurate and reliable as possible, as well as full as possible, and to carry out the latter I shall be at all times only too glad to receive reliable information to enable me to include on the roll every one entitled to be there, as well as to exclude all who are not so entitled, both of which instructions are equally forcibly enjoined on me. Trusting the above explanation will be satisfactory to your meeting. —I am, &0., O. Pbkcy Cox, Registrar of Electors, Coleridge. To Mr D. Jebson, Secretary, Committee, Sheffield. Letters wero received from the Coleridge, Bakaia, and South Malvern Boad Boards, stating that they were taking steps to enroll all persons who had been omitted, and to forward the names of all who claimed under the residential qualification. Mr John Jebson, senr., proposed, and Mr MeNae seconded—" That the reply of the Begistration Officer having been read, this meeting considers the same most unsatisfactory, and that the omission of so many eligible electors from the roll is a dereliction of his duty, and contrary to the provisions of the Begistration of Electors Act, 1879." Mr Jebson stated that the Begistration Officer never saw the roll until it was presented to him for his signature, and that the person who had drawn up the roll boasted that he had made it " all right for Ashburton and E. G-. Wright." He would also like to know why it was demanded of them that they should go to Ashburton to register their votes, when it might as well be done at the Boad Board offices by some responsible person. He considered the Registrar's conduct in the present case a gross dereliction of duty, as the electors to the north of the Bakaia had been reduced to thirty, whereas on the south side of the same river the number on the roll had been nearly doubled. He said that the registration officer had been supplied with information by persons specially appointed for the purpose, and had failed to avail himself of the information. Mr Jebson then read Clause 6 of the Act, and moved the resolution, whioh was carried unanimously. Mr Bossiter said that the best thing to do would be to thwart their efforts to disfranchise the northern half of the district, by

seeing that every man who was entitled to a vote was placed on the roll. Messrs Davies and Redfern, of Springfield, stated that they had come as members of the East Malvern Rou-l Board, to see what had been done by this district. They wished to work in harmony with the district, but preferred to strike out a line for themselves.

Mr Rossiter, after a short speech, proposed, and Mr Flanagan seconded—" That the members of the Road Board be requested to form themselves into a committee, with power to add to their number—lst. For the purpose of ensuring that every eligible elector in the district was placed on the Roll. 2nd. To watoh the progress of the Distribution of Seats Bill through the House of Representatives, and to call public meetings when required. 3rd. To communioate with other publio bodies in the district and endeavor to get the same policy carried throughout, the said committeo to be permanent." Mr Jebaon proposed, and Mr Austin seconded, as an amendment—" That this meeting stand adjourned until this day month, and that the present committee be instructed to carry out the resolutions of the mooting, and to prepare a draft for adoption at next meeting, to be forwarded to the General Assembly relative to this matter, and that the said committee have power to add to their number."

On being put to the meeting the amendment was carried almost unanimously, only the proposer and seconder of the proposition

being contrary. It was proposed by Mr Oolthart, and »e----conded by Mr Pease —" That the best thanks of this meeting be tendered to the committee for their services in carrying out the resolutions of the public meeting held on the 18th inst." The customary vote of thanks to tb.» ' chairman terminated the meeting.