ELECTION PETITIONS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2789, 2 March 1882, Page 2

ELECTION PETITIONS.

(Per Press Association.) WALLACE. Invercargill, March 1, A sitting of the Election Petition Court was opened at Riverton to-day for the purpose of adjudicating upon the petition of Henry Hirrst against the return of Theophilus Daniel, who was declared elected by a majority of one. The petitioner set forth that after the poll be compared with one another all the cerfiticated copies on the roll, on which the fact of any person having received a voting paper had been noted by himself or any deputy, and that on such comparison it appeared that in two instances the same person had received a voting paper at two or more polling places, but instead of opening the parcels of voting papers used at the several polling places at which such persons appeared to have received voting papers, and selecting therefrom the voting papers on which the numbers corresponding to the names of such persons appeared, and disallowing the votes appearing to have been given by means of such voting papers, the Returning Officer allowed the votes to be counted. The names of the persons who appeared to have vote at two or more polling places were Thomas Ford and John Flynn,and the votes of J. Elliot, J. B. Hunter, J. Webb and S. Mickelvee were also held to have been illegally accepted by the Returning,Officer,thus giving Mr Daniel only an apparent and colorable majority. Mr Hirst therefore asked to be declared duly elected as member for Wallace. The petition was heard before Judges Johnston and Williams. Mr McDemiot, and with him Mr T. McDonald, appeared for the petitioner, and Mr Stout, and with him Mr Finn, for the respondent. Mr Wade appeared for the Registrar of Electors and Mr Harvey watched the proceedings on behalf one of the other candidates in the election. Evidence was heard at great

length in support of the petition, and afterwards rebutting evidence was tendered. At six o’clock the Court adjourned till next day, when further witnesses are to be produced.

FRANKLYN NORTH. Auckland, March 1. At the,sitting of the Supreme Court in chambers to-day, an application was made to Justice Gillies in the matter of the petition of Mr Buckland, a candidate for Franklyn North, to authorise certain amendments to be made in the petition presented, also to strike out other clauses. The Court declined to strike out any clauses in the petition, on the ground that it would be interfering with the jurisdiction of the tribunal empowered to try such cases, but consented to allow the amendment of a clause by inserting the words “on the grounds that the name was placed in writing on the face of the voting paper.”