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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1447, 21 March 1873, Page 2

Often as the duty of registration urged upon persons qualified to become electors, and often as the conditions which constitute the right to register have been repeated, there still appears to be a considerable amount of apathy in the one particular, and not a little ignorance as to the other. Both are in a great degree atlxibutable to the Govei-nment, who, adopting the ancient and now abandoned English syslem of registration, afford no facilities to the public in providing them with forms or otherwise, but leave them to tbe tender mercies of the enthusiastic politician, the poor printer, or the Returning Officer. To supplement the work of the politicians who are at present pursuing a laudable course, con amove, by increasing the electoral roll a3 largely as they legitimately can, and in view of the short space of time which they now have at command for a consummation of their 1 tbora, it is advisable to limit the ignorance which pie vails as to the conditions upon which registration can be effected. One of the common questions by those who take any interest in the matter, and are still iguorant, is " What are the qualifications necwßsary to entitle one to vote?" In reply it may first b* aaiil, that -he possession of a miner's right does not entitle the holder to vote in the election, of a Superintendent. Tiie simplest and commonest qualification consists in occupying a house liio rent of which muat be or more per annum, if in town, and £5 or more if in the country. Upon that basis alone there should be a large addition made to the present el'-cloral roll, for, apart from Mie number of good houses occupied in f l«e frrey Valley by settlers, storekeepers, liotel-koepeiß, and other*, a largo proper*

tion of the houses or so-called huts which form the habitations of miners are surely worth each a rent of £5 a year. Generally speaking, therefore, the simple fact of being a householder entitles one to vote. It is necessary, however, that one should have been a householder in the same district for six months previous to the date of registration ; that is, in the present instance, since September last. Without being a householder, however, one niiy still be entitled to a vote, by the fact of possessing, and havino possessed for six months past, freehold property within the district for which the vote is to be given, of the value of ,£SO ; or b~jfthe fact of holding a lease of any property iii such district of an annual vnlue of £.10. In this latter case the condition is affitsd Miat the lease must ei<her hove been held for three years past, or must have three years to run. All voters must be over 21 years of a^e. It is also well to observe that the holding of a share in property of any description is equivalent to being sole possessor of the property, provided it is of the required value. F<>r instance, if two persons in partnership possess a free hold property worth £100, they will each be entitled to votes in respect of it, precisely as if they each possessed separate properties worth £50. Another question sometimes put by people uninformed as to the mysteries of registration — mysteries, mayhap, as magnificent as others which received attention from Bishon Mfcran — is in reference to the supposed nwfessity for being registered on two rolls — General and Provincial. The simple answer is that there is necessity only for being included in one roll, the roll of electors competent to vote at a General Assembly election applying equally to the election of a Superintendent, and vice versa. Clauses 2 and 3 of the " Provincial Elections Act, 1858," are to the following effect : — The electoral rolls for the House of Representatives shall be conclusive evidence of the right of the persons whose names shall be thereon as electors to vote at elections of Superintendents of Provinces and members of the Provincial Councils, as hereinbefore provided. A registration officer, to be appointed by the Governor for every Province in New Zealand, shall, as soon as the electoral rolls fur the House of Representatives shall have been completed, form therefrom elftctoral rolls for the elt-ction of the Superintendent of such Province, and of the members of the Provincial Council thereof. In making out the forms, it is only necessary to state the electoral district, <uch as the Grey Valley District, in which the application is made, or the properly situate, the applicant signing his own name in full, and having it attested by a Returning Officer, a Justice of the Peace, or an elector. There are other items of detail which might be better of explanation, but they will at once occur to anyone w.io takes the first step towards registering himself, and so will the explanation.