The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, TUESDAY, JULY 15.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 183, 15 July 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, TUESDAY, JULY 15.

At a time like the present, when the air is so thickly laden with rumors of corruption and bribery, perhaps it would prove interesting to many of our readers, who either have ,not access to or do not care about pondering over acts of Parliament, to give a digest of the Corrupt Practices Prevention (Elections) Act. “ Corrupt practices ” are defined as treating, bribery, undue influence, or personation as follows : —The giving, promising, lending, or procuring, either personally or otherwise, of any valuable consideration, office, place, or employment to any elector with a view of influencing or inducing him to vote for or against or to refrain from voting for or against the return of any person to serve in the General Assembly. This applies to any period before, during, or after any election. Treating embraces providing wholly or in part any meat, drink, entertainment, or provision whatsoever; whilst undue influence consists of any act of restraint, intimidation, device, contrivance, or impediment. Illegal practices are defined as payment or promise of payment to any person to act as agent, clerk, messenger, commit-tee-man, canvasser, watcher, guard, detective, torch-bearer, for the conveyance of any elector to or from the poll, or for any bands, torches, cockades, flags, or any other marks of distinction; for exhibiting bills, addresses, or notices, or for the use of any house, building, erection, place, or board ; and the inducing any disqualified person to vote. All parties concerned either directly or indirectly are alike liable, whether giver or receiver, whether agent or otherwise, and subject to the same penalties. Any person convicted of illegal or corrupt practices shall be declared incapable of being elected to or sitting in the House of Representatives for the said district for three years, and his election, if he has been elected, shall be null and void. He shall also be incapable of voting or filling any public or judicial office or position during a like period, or if he holds any I such office, the same shall be vacated. The mode of procedure on indictment for corruption and bribery is similar to other indictable offences of a grave nature. A preliminary investigation takes place in the Resident Magistrates Court, when according to the evidence adduced, and at the discretion of the Bench, the case is either dismissed or sent for trial before the Supreme Court. In the event of the case being sent for trial, it has to be tried by two Judges of the Supreme Court, and in all cases of precedent it has been the custom to al once proceed with the trial. We mention this with a view of correcting an erroneous opinion which has gained ground, that the trial of an election indictment would have to stand over until the next sittings of the Supreme Court, and that the defendant member would thus be enabled to take his seat, and retain it, possibly, for a session.

1 All precedent is adverse to such a probability. If a prosecutor intends to apply for costs, in the event of a conviction he must either deposit or find sureties, to be approved by the Registrar of the Supreme Court, in the sum of Z'ioo. The prosecutor has to proceed with the indictment within six months of the alleged committal of the offence. The only persons who may be legally employed for payment, but who are not entitled to vote, are one scrutineer for each ballot box in each polling place, and one clerk and one messenger for each polling place. Legal expenses are the personal expenses of the candidate, printing and advertising, postage, stationery and telegrams, the expenses of holding public meetings, one committee room for each polling place, and miscellaneous expenses not exceeding £2s. One of the most important and reaching provisions of the Act is that which provides that “ any holder of a license who knowingly supplies any meat, drink, entertainment, or provision to any person, whether elector or not, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at an election, and supplies the same without receiving payment for the same at the time when the same is so supplied, shall be guilty of treating.”