ELECTION COURT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 December 1938, Page 6

ELECTION COURT

MAY 'SIT DURING LEGAL RECESS. BAY OF ISLANDS PETITION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, December 5. No date has yet been fixed for the sitting of the Election Court to review the result of the Bay of Islands election, as a result of a petition presented by of the National Party candidate, Mr H. F. Guy, alleging thal. Maoris were wrongly included on the roll, and that there were cases oi minors voting.

It was announced tonight by the Attorney-General and Minister oi Justice, Mr Mason, that there was little likelihood of the petition being heard, before Christmas. He said there was some possibility of the Court sitting during the legal recess in January.

“Because of the pressure of other judicial proceedings, the holiday period may offer the most convenient opportunity for disposing of the matter,” said the Minister. “Such action may establish something of a legal precedent, but the large volume of legal work at present facing the various Courts suggests that if action is not taken during the holidays a long delaymight be occasioned.”

The Election Court consists of two Supreme Court judges, and the sitting is required to be held in the district where the complaint has arisen. The result of the election declared by the returning officer, Mr E. G. Tyler on October 27, gave Mr C. W. Boswell (Government) a majority of 163 over Mr Guy. The petitioners have stated that they are not seeking to have the election declared void, but they submit that if the challenged votes are disallowed, their number may be sufficient to vary the result.