The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1880.

Kumara Times, Issue 1074, 10 March 1880, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1880.

When, a few days ago, we pointed out by a local paragraph that under clause 6 of the " Registration of Electors Act, 1879," it was not compulsory for every person to send in a claim to the Registrar appointed under this Act to entitle him to have his name placed on the Roll, we did not for one moment overlook the subjection of this clause, as Mr Seddon in his communication which appeared in our last issue at once assumes. The fact that the Registrar is " to assure himself of the right of every man to have his name retained upon the Roll," taken in connection with the context in clause 6 that he " shall form a new Roll for such district, by placing thereon the uames of all persons who are qualified in such district to vote for members of the House of Representatives, and who are on the Roll of any electoral district in force at the time of the commencement of this Act" appears to our mind to prove conclusively that the duties of the officer in question are, as far as possible, to retain every name on the Roll at present in existence and not to take every available measure for obliterating the names of those electors who are not to be found at a moment's notice by the agents he employs to ascertain this fact. Mr Seddon instances tho case of a great many miners who are working over at Westbrook being absent from their huts here during the day may be reported against as having left the district. Here, again, if the Act is carried out in its entirety by the Registrars appointed, no evil can ensue, as the Registrar is required " to make the the Roll as complete as possible, and with that object from time to time to place thereon, or add thereto, the name of every person of whose qualification as an elector he is satisfied; conse-

quently, we take it, if it is the duty of the Registrar's agents to discover that the persons referred to by Mr Seddon are by their absence to be disfranchised on this side of the river, how much more is it the duty of the Registrar in the adjoining electoral district to discover that a. number of persons have been added to the population of his district who are entitled to the privileges of the franchise* To put the; matter in plainer terms, we fail to see why the agents employed by the Registrars appointed to carry out this Act cannot be provided with a supply of the " claims for enrolment)" and, on finding a person whose name does not at present appear on the Electoral Roll) | but who is duly qualified under this | Act to have it inserted, then and there j allow the person in question to make! the necessary declaration before any elector of the district, and thereby not only save a large amount of valuable time, but also materially assist the Registrar in carrying out the provisions of the Act. Special provision is also made for persons removing to another district as Clanse 21 enacts that a person whose name is on. any ,roll for a residence qualification, on removing to another district may, after the expiration of one month, have his name transferred to the roll of that district. He has to make a written application to the Registrar of the district in which he has ceased to reside for a certificate that his name is on the roll* On presenting this document to the officer of the district to which he has gone, his name will be added to the roll of the new district. It will thus be seen that every facility is given' to electors to have their names on the rolls. In the first place it is the duty of the Registrars themselves to keep the rolls as correct as possible; and in the second, any person possessing the qualification can put in a claim at any time of the" year, and if it is correct he will be em titled to vote in fifteen days after the application has been made. The rolls so formed, added to and altered from time to time, are to be the legal rolls of the districts. At the expiration of four months after the first roll of any district is formed it is.to be printed, and as soon as one hundred new names are added, it may be reprinted if twelve months have elapsed since the last printing, But, instead of printing the whole roll, a supplementary one merely may be issued. The rolls are to be open for inspection on and at least two days in every week, and copies and extracts from them obtained at a fixed price. Such are the provisions of one of the most liberal measures ever placed among the statutes of the colony, and which, if properly carried into effect, will extend to every male adult the privilege of the franchise.