NO SATISFACTION.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 March 1919, Page 2

NO SATISFACTION.

TO REQUEST FOR VOTING POWER. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.—coirniGUT.i TV ELLINGTON, March 25. A deputation, consisting of Messrs C. W. Batten, (President;, D. M. Seymour, (General Secretary), and A. Curtayne, (Local Secretary), representing the Returned Soldiers’ Association; Revs. J. Dawson, and IV. Comrie, rethe New Zealand Alliance, and Messrs J. Raw ,and F. Madden, representing the Trade interests, waited upon Sir James Allen, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Sir F. Bell, Attorney General, and made a strong appeal to the Government to take measures to give tho privilege of votes to discharged soldiers who had failed to enrol in time. Mr Batten said the Returned Soldiers Asociation knew of no men who hacl been disfranchised in Wellington, but it was reported that there were a number in Auckland who were concerned, and that there was a possibility of serious trouble if they were not given a vote.

Sir F. Bell expounded tile law to show that it was not possible for the Government to give, by regulation, any right to vote when no such right was conferred by law. He produced the text of a memorandum lie liad written to Sir Janies Allen on the subject. The* memorandum was as follows: I conr ferred with the Solicitor-General this morning, and without comment of my own, submitted to him the question, whether it was possible by any process to take at the special licensing poll the votes of men who have been discharged from the Expeditionary Forces and have failed to register themselves as electors. I asked the Solicitor-General to consider the question and meet you and myself in a second conference at a later hour this morning. I did not inform the Solicitor-General of the advice I have already given on the same subject to yourself, as Minister of Defence, and to the Electoral Department. For your record I state the advice given at second conference. The SolicitorGeneral advised that no regulations can legally be made conferring the right to vote upon persons whose names do not appear on the electoral roll, unless those persons are members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, and that* men who have been discharged from the Expeditionary Forces, and that any attempt by regulation in include them in the poll of members of the Expeditionary Forces to be taken on the 10th of April next, would be illegal.” Sir J. Allen said the Government had done all possible to try to devise some means by which even men who had failed to enrol might be allowed to vote. He regretted exceedingly the misfortune which had occurred. At the same time, he thought it had been magnified t great deal. ,

Mr Batten suggested that the circumstances might justify the holding of a special session of Parliament to deal with the matter. Sir J. Allen said he could conceive of no circumstances arising out of this matter which would justify the holding of a special session of Parliament. Sir F. Bell pointed out that the Government could not legally call Parliament together, because Parliament had already been prorogued until April •24th. He spoke of the necessity, of the Administration not interfering with the operation of the law as affecting elections. One of the suggestions that

had been made was that these men who had omitted to register might bq le-enrolled as members o£ the Expeditionary Force and given the right to vote as soldiers, but if the Government had the right to interfere in this way, it might .enlist the whole, community and stuff the rolls. There was nothing which was more the duty of the Government to prevent by any legal means than roll stuffing.