Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1881. REGULATION OF ELECTIONS BILL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 155, 1 July 1881, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1881. REGULATION OF ELECTIONS BILL

We have received a copy of ;this Bill, which was introduced by the Hon W. Johnston, and, from the various alterations it makes in the existing mode of election is of considerable public interest. Tha following are its principal features*— ln regard to general elections it provides that the Governor 6ball direct the Clerk of the Writs to proceed with the elections a d, that officer is,forthwith to cause writs to be forwarded to the Returning Officers, these writs, contrary to the practice hitherto in vogue, appointing tbe day of polling, which is to be the same in every district. The Returning Officer ia to give at least fifteen days' notice of the day of nomination, which must le not more than ten nor less than five days before that appointed for the poll. With reference to nominations it is provided that every elector desiring to be a candidate for the district shall-, on or before tbe day of nomination, give notice thereof to the Returning Officer by nomination paper, the form of which is given ia the schedule. Any duly registered elector for any pirfc of the colony who has given his consent in writiDg or by telegraph (in the manner provided by section 52) may be nominated as a candidate for any district by not leas tban 'en electors, and no objection to a nomination paper on the ground of tbe description of the candidate bekg insufficient shall be deemed valid unless made at least three days before the poll* Every person nominating himself, and every body of ten electors nominating a candidate, shall, accompanying the nomination, deposit with the Returning Officer a sum of £10 to be forfeited ia the event of such candidate not polling one fifth of the number of votes polled by the winning candidate. On receipt of the nomination papers and the £10 in each case the Returning Offiosr U to publish the namea of the candidates in the newspapers circulating within the district. The poll ia to commence at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. With a view to providing against double voting, the Returning Officer is to writs on the bottom of the left hand corner of the ballot paper his initials and the number appearing on the roll against the name of the voter, but in order to guard against this being accidentally seen in making up the totals at the close of the poll he ia to secure the said corner by gum, after which he is to stamp thereon an official mark. The ballot papers are aa soon as possible after the close of the poll to be forwarded to the Clerk of the Writs in sealed packages, which are oniy to be opened by roTdeifo'f "a '"competent Court or of the Hous« of Representatives, and at the end of a year are to be burnt. Provision is made a* followb for the casa of a double return : — " If at a general election any msmber shall be re* turned for two or m»ra districts, he shall make hii election for whi«h he shall serve within seven days after it shall appear that there ia no queslioa upon his return for the district for which ha elect! to serve, If a petition is presented against his return for either distiict, he shall, if bi» return for both districts is valid, make hii election within seven days after the petition is disposed of." Provision is made at considerable length for the transmission of certain documents by telegraph, and for making them, under certain conditions, valid to all intents and purposes. Thiß is a decided step in the right direction, and will add greatly to the public convenience in such matters. In order to guard against the telegraph being used for fraudulent purposes, it is, of course, necessary to provide heavy penalties for such offences at wilfully delivering a message to the wrong person, signing another's name to a message to be sent, making false declarations, &c, and these penalties vary from a fine of £100 to penal servitude for any time not less than three nor more than fourteen years. No j member for one district can be elected for another, and in the event of his being returned with his consent for one district whilst he represents another, both districts are to bacome vacant. The Bill contains, in all, 76 clauses, but many of them are similar | to those already in operation, and the foregoing will b 9 found to embody all the proposed alterations of importance.