TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1877.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 781, 19 June 1877, Page 2

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1877.

The Regulation of Local Elections Act was passed in the last Session of Parliament for. the better and more' orderly conduct' of elections than is tobe found under the present system in , vogue by Highway Boards, School districts, <fcc., but it "is to be regretted" that the Act. was made permissive, and needs to be introduced at the express wish of the ratepayers of a district. This was a, mistake, inasmuch as it will always be found that in such cases considerable time is lost from ignorance and apathy before a useful measure of any kind is brought into active operation, and this seems to be the case in the insbance of the Regulation of Local Elections Act. It was the duty of every local board to have called a meeting before this, of the ratepayers of their respective districts, for the purpose of testing the will of the inhabitants, whether the Act .should be brought into, operation or not, and in sufficient time to have enabled the coming annual 'meeting of ratepayers to have been held under the Act of 1876, should the public have so wished. We have heard of no instance where this Has been done, but though late, it is not too late yet to move in the matter. The third clause of the Act provides that " This Act shall come into force in respect to all elective offices to which it may be applied by any Act of the General Assemby " ■ (it was done so in the case of county eleotions) "or on the written request of at least two-thirds of the members of the local body of any district, by proclamation of the Governor j provided always that ho such written request shall be made until the question shall have been considered and agreed to at a public meeting of the ratepayers of the district duly convened for that purpose."

In a short time the/ notifications of the holding of the annual meetings of ratepayers for the election of trustees for the ensuing year will be published, and it is exceedingly desirable that the ratepayers should have the opportunity of declaring Wether such coming elections shall or ehall not be held under the regulations of the Act of 1876. In some cases we have heard it is the intention of existing highway boards to take the opportunity of the ratepayers being present at such annual meeting to take their opinion then as to the desirability of the Regular tion of Local Elections Act being 1 brought into force in their district. Virtually this means the shelving of the operation of the Act for another twelve months, for after the meeting shall have agreed to its being brought into force, the> Governor's proclamation is still necessary, and the .annual election will meantime have taken place. What is wanted is, that the meeting shall have been called, the request made, and the proclamation issued, so that' the highway board e^tions^no.w < Jbefoi;e usj^cnajjr Be field, under the Act above-mentioned. Ratepayers will still- have their annual meetings, at which the conduct of the outgoing board may be discussed, and either censured or approved— at which accounts and balance-sheets will be audited and passed ; , but there' will be eliminated from them that most objectionable feature, the proposing and open voting for candidates in the midst of noisy excitement, embittered feelings, and -open-eyed supervision by interested parties who are in a position to dictate the direction of this or that man's vote, which characterises proceedings nnder. the,, present system. No one will 'then be able to take his stan'd at the voting table, and see with his own eyes whether Smith or Brown has responded to the first half turn of the screw, and yatied as he was ordered to do for •-"Mr So-and-so. Nor, as we have seen. in Waikato, will candidates themselves be able to stand at the table and thus silently extort unwilling votes, given rather than make an enemy of a neighbour, and perhaps an influential one. All this, and much more that is objectionable would be done away with if the elections were conducted under The Regulation of Local Elections Act, 1876. A returning officer, neither a member of ihe present board nor a possible candidate for the coming one, would be appointed, and the nominations ,of candidates would be publicly made, and the votes be recorded by ballot on a certain day, just as was done, in the late county eouncil elections, and 'the

choice of high way representatives woifld be made deUberatively, and independently of all outside: interference with, or pressure' oh^a voter, As it is," a list of names is proposed, and. there is' little or no time to calmly consider? the merits of each, or a ticket is-rtuade up and unwillingly subscribed to by many for want of time for . more mature consideration. Between the two systems there can be no comparison. None could •wisli to perpetuate the present one but those who wish to work an election unfairly, and therfore we say a great- mistake will be made and a great injustice inflicted on the ratepayers unless steps* are at once ibakenxto.ibring the Act into operation so that the .coming elections may. be conducted, under . it. Thjft enemies of. -order, and .independent rvoting will say there is not time to do this so as to hold the coming elections uuder the new sysfera. There is plenty of time. A weeks' notice of meeting would be amply sufficient to enable the -ratepayers 'to consider the question and, the Result might .be telegraphed to the Government at Wellington next day > and the proclamation; of the Governor . -issued in. the ,' '"■ next 'Gazette*' The excuse of lack of time is a mere pretext of those who ; .wish it to keep for o e year, more the, for them, very cohrenieut system of- election which has heretofore existed.