THE NELSON EVENING MAIL. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 137, 9 June 1873, Page 2

THE NELSON EVENING MAIL. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1873.

In another cplumn will bo found a 'copy of a petition that has been. framed and is now being signed in Wellington,.', praying that the right of voting at.^elections may rbe extended to a class of men which is very I numerous in the colony, namely j : those who live in lodgings, and we would recommend 'it; : to the notice of "those iri 1 Nelson who.-nre thus situated. Some good reasons may possibly exist for refusing to ; those who prefer to live in lodgings a : right that i&conceded to theman who has run 'up a slab shanty, the ownership of which entitles him to call himself; a bouses holder, or to him who rents half-an-acre !of land for the very laudable purpose of : turniugifc into a cabbage garden, but we are unable to see wherein lies the superiority of those of the latter class over tbe dwellers in lodging . houses.Of course it must be - understood tEiat certain conditions should be complied with by those to whom we wish to see the franchise extended, so that^it shall not 1 be possible for anyone who may s happen to be itemporarily occupying lodgings, in any » part of the colony- at the time appointed for sending in claims to be placed on the roll, but in cases where people are bona fide residents in the district, we cannot understand on what grounds they are to be refused a privilege . that is accorded without question to many of the most ignorant and illiterate of men simply because they happen to rent a house or lease a plot of land. Neither intelligence nor industry is wanting among the lodger class, which comprises Government officials, bank > clerks, mechanics, arid numerous, others : whose .interest ; in ithe welfare and good; government of the country 4s. quite equal .toj if riot greater than ., th f at of many whose names are now on the roll i '*'. Should, any of these men" prefer to rent .a two-rroomed cottage, at a few shillings a week instead of paying . his twenty-five or thirty shillings to a lodging - housed keeper, '-the;.; registration officer ; would be ;/ bound to accept, ,, apd. 7 the ... revising , officer -to pass, .his cjaim . to be registered, but because he chooses to live in a manner more: conducive to; his comfort, ;snd better suited to his tastes, he is not allowed tobave any voice in the election of a representative. We sincerely hope that the lodger franchise will be allowed by the General Assembly) in its next session, convinced as we are that it will lead to a large number of; Jnames of those who are well fitted by their education and general intelligence to exercise some control over the destinies of the colony, being placed on the electoral roll. In Nelson the "lodgers" are but few compared with ..the. numbers that are to be found in the more populous towns, but we should be glad \tb find even those few endorsing the very reasonable request to be preferred by t , those, who are similarly ißituated to themselves in Wellington. Should any desire be evinced here to claim what appears to us to be an un questionable right, we shall have much pleasure in set-" ting on foot a- petition^ and doing all in our power to ensure its being signed as numerously and influentially as possible.