The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, JULY 31, 1884. ELECTORAL ROLLS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1749, 31 July 1884, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, JULY 31, 1884. ELECTORAL ROLLS.

During the late election in the Wairararapa both political parties coinplained of the imperfections observable in the Electoral Kolls. The present state of the law as regards the making up of rolls is admittedly unsatisfactory, and had it not been for the sudden dissolution a Bill would probably by this time have passed both Houses to remedy the anomalies complained of, It was intended under the Registration of Electors Act that there should be a periodical revision of the rolls, but the measure was so framed that the checks intended to be provided are found to be practically worthless, The spirit of the Act is that the Clerk who makes up the rolls shall investigate every claim and only allow a name to be registered when satisfied that it is valid, but we believe we are right in stating that the clerk cannot legally refuse to register a hundred or even five hundred names an hour before the roll is closed, a time when the most superficial and trivial examination is an utter impossibility. . Again, the responsibility of purging the roll is thrown on the clerk, who exercises a •discretionary power in removing ..the names of persons who may appear to him to be disqualified. It. is no secret that there were many names removed prior to the late election which, under a proper Registration Act, would have been retained.' The necessity of amending the Registration Act is imperative and urgent, We hear that the direction in which alterations are proposed to be effected is the constitution of formal Courts of Revision, which would sit twice a year for registration purposes,' Such a remedy would, we feel' assured, prove efficacious. In the late contest Mr.BEETHiM r s! majority was seriously diminished by the activity his opponents displayed m taking advantage of the existing loose act to flood the roll with names at a time when they could not be challenged, We do not complain of this I It was a fair shot at election time, but we do object to an Act which permits almost unlimited roll stuffing. M ii i 11 ——