The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 43, 20 February 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1871.

It seems somewhat inconsistent thaf, with the very liberal franchise which prevails in New Zealand, the registration of claims to be placed on the electoral roll should he fenced round with so great, aud apparently unnecessary formalities, as are insisted upou by the existing law. To begin with, it is provided that no person's claim shall be allowed which is not sent in during a specified period, namely, the mouths of January, February, and March, but why the. time for receiving such applications should be restricted to a, small fraction of the year it is difficult to say. Of course there must ha some particular date at which the books should be closed, in order to allow the roll for the ensuing year to be compiled, but there surely can be no objection to claimants sending in their papers at auy time, it being understood that if their claims are not received by a specified date they will forfeit their right to record their votes for the current year. This, however, is ;i trifling objection when compared with the other difficulties that are placed in the way of performing an operation which should manifestly be rendered as simple, and as free from all possibility of mistake as it is possible to moke it. A lew days ago we published certain directions with regard to the forms to be observed, which, however absurd they may be, are rendered abso- I lutely necessary by the existiug regula- i tions. First of all, the name of the applicant must be given in full, and should he happen to substitute ihe initial letter for one of his Christian ijjHpfes, he is disqualified from voting for that year ; then again, his siguature, if witnessed by an elector, must be made in the presence of au elector of that particular district for which he claims to have a vote, and, should he make the very natural mistake of supposing that it would be sufficient if the name of the witness appeared on the roll for any other district;, he must pay the penalty of his very pardonable blunder by being deprived of his vote for the ensuing year. These are some of the errors that are likely to occur in filling up the blank forms, but in the more distant country districts there is another very serious drawback to the would-be elector placing his name on the roll, namely, the difficulty of obtaining the necessary papers, as no provisiou whatever is made for supplying the out-settlers with them. On tfrtJaead the following sensible suggestion S%iade by the Lyttelton Times : — " In order to facilitate the process, 'and save unnecessary trouble, every postmaster in the country districts should be furnished with the proper printed forms, and with iustructioos to receive applications on payment of a small nominal fee, and forward them to head-quarters." We should very much like to see every encouragement afforded to those who, possessing the necessary qualifications, are anxious to place their names on the roll, instead of obstacles being placed in the way by the complicated forms at present in vogue, which act in numerous instances as traps into which the unwary applicants fall, and are there detained until the three months allowed by law have elapsed, when for the first time they learn, on the publication of the roll, that, owing to some trifling informality, they have been debarred from exercising their electoral privilege for v whole year. In the meantime, however, we must make the best use of the means placed at our disposal, and as little more that n month now remains in which applications can be received, we would recommend all those who have not yet done so to send in their claims, aud, in order to prevent any mistakes, f,o sign them in the presence of a Justice of the Peiace who, no doubt, will see that the form is properly filled^p. .* Cricket. — A match between the Wtßce- ; field and Motueka clubs is to be played at Wakefield on Friday next, the day after the steeplechase. ?

Stoke Library. — Our friends at Stoke are reminded that a public meeting will be held at the schoolroom on Wednesday evening next for the purpose of electing a Library Committee. Wai-iti Bridge. — The tender of Freeman and others for the erection of the Wai-iti Bridge for £615 19s. 4d. has been accepted, the work to be completed within five months from the time of the contract being signed. There were six tenders altogether. District Phizes.— The firing for these prizes was brought to a termination ou Saturday last when the Wairaea Rifles iired. The following is the result of the competition : — J. T. Catley 40 (medal and £10), A. Barnett 40 (£8), W. Kent 36 (£6), J. Tomlinson 35 (£5), J. Black 35 (£4), J. Moore 34 (£3). Meteor. — The meteor which was seen here on the afternoon of Sunday the 12th instant was also observed at Pictou, as will be seen by the following extract from the Press of Wednesday last:— Meteor. — Ob Sunday last, about 4 p.m., 'a meteor of large dimensions was observed to pass over Picton. Its direction was from N.W. by W. to S.E. by E. From the description given us it was of a similar shape to the one which was seen on the Ist of January, but of a bluish color, which may be accounted for by its appearance in the daytime. Acclimatisation. — The Lyttelton Times says: — A valuable consignment of thelndian manias, received by Mr. Banks, of the firm of Miles & Co., through the Melbourne Acclimatisation Society, has also been presented to the Society. The mama is an iusectivorous bird, possessing qualities in that capacity superior eveu to the sparrow, and it is not half so destructive as that bird amongst fruit or grain. There are 18 birds altogether, and they are the first of the kind ever imported into New Zealand." The Times is in error here. The "mama" or ''miuah" bird was introduced into Nelson nearly twelve months ago, and numbers of them truiy be seen in the various shrubberies in and near the town. A Man Missing.— Some commotion was created at the Port this morning ou its becoming known that James Hughes, who had been engaged as night-watchman on board tha Wild Duck, was missing. The circumstances connected with his disappearance, so far a3 we have been able to gather, arc as follows. The Captain went on board at 10 o'clock last night, at which time it was high water, and finding the ship a considerable height above the wharf, and the gangway correspondingly steep, he ordered Hughes to remove it, as it might lead to som9 accident. Ho then went to his cabin, from which he did not come out again during the night. On one of the officers turning out this morning he found the gangway hanging from the ship's side, and the watchman missing; and it is supposed that, in obedience to the captaiirs orders, he had attempted to shift the gangway, and in doing so had fallen off the wharf into the water — a supposition which is corroborated by his cap being found washed on shore between the two wharves this morning. Every effort has been made to recover his body, but hitherto without success. Narrow Escape from Fire. — On Thursday afternoon about 3 o'clock, an alarm of fire was given at Mr. Hathaway's flax mill, at the Wairau Ferry. It was discovered to be in the scutcher, but as the engine was at work, all hands set to work with a large number of buckets provided for such an emergency, and with a plentiful supply of water running through the mill, succeeded in quenching the fire immediately. No damage was done beyond severely charring the boards of the scutcher, and the lining of the room. It is believed to have been caused by a spark from the engine falling among the debris at the door of the room, although the top of the chimney is caged. — Marl. Express.