DISFRANCHISED.

Patea Mail, 3 January 1882, Page 3

DISFRANCHISED.

The following letter has been sent to the Member for Egmont:— To ike Hon. Major Atkinson. Dear Sir,—A large number of voters in Egmont district having been disfranchised at the late; election, apparently by their electoral claims being ineglected: by the officialregistrar fof‘ the district* permit me, as one of the disfranchised, to invoke your aid in obtaining redress of our grievance., It would be some satisfaction if you, ■sir, bn behalf of numerous disfranchised constituents, would demand an explanation in the proper quarter. We ask that the inquiry may be put in an imjperative form, in order, that , such grie[tous bungling may be«made impossible ;of repetition. We Ueel that it is no light matter for scores of qualified voters —some ,of us long resident in the dis- j trict—to have our political birthright taken away, merely because some wellpaid officer chooses to chuck bur, claims into a waste-basket, and leave them there. : It will probably be found that when a new registrar was appointed and removed! to Hawera, the written claims, which had been accumulating in the New Plymouth office were not sent to Hawera to be entered on the roll. Supposing that to be so, it does not meet our grievance; for when official negligence is proved, and grievous results; have ensued, the public-,,are-entitled ■ to know how the matter is finally dealt with by Government. Another grievance is that several old settlers, whose qualification remains the same as in previous years, have been struck off the roll without notice, and for no apparent reason. Proof , can be .given that numerous claims were posted in batches under one cover (some being posted from the Mail office to oblige voters), and that not one name in the lot has been entered on the roll. I cannot trace any party favor in this bungling; and I do not suggest intentional tampering with lhe roll. As yon represent the enfranchised voters* we appeal to you to represent also; the disfranchised voters in your district, and to press pur complaint to a proper issue. I ask this on behalf of many constituents.—Believe me your servant, Edward Houghton. ,