H.—No 14.

40

BEPORT OE THE MOTUEKA ELECTION COMMITTEE.

Mr. J. Magan.

11th Sept., 1871,

Mr. Travers: He was objected to, and the objection was allowed. Mr. Bunny : It would be better for the Committee to consult among themselves. Mr. Fitzherbert: I think so. Mr. Allan : We are not discussing whether the man has actually been on the roll, and whether there was any defect in his qualification, which the Revising Officer ought to answer. The question is whether it will lead up to the point I want to prove, that this witness is not the person whose name was on the roll. The Chairman : There is a person of the name of James Hagan; if he has the qualification upon the roll, and that qualification is sufficient to entitle him to be there, how can you raise the objection ? Mr. Allan : He has not got the qualification ; the question is, whether he ever put in any claim to vote. The Committee consulted among themselves upon the objection raised. The Chairman .- Will you give the exact question, Mr. Allan ? Mr. Allan: Did he ever make any claim to be registered before 1870 —before the 31st March, 1870 ? The Chairman : The Committee have determined to allow the question to be put. Examination continued. By Mr. Allan : Had you ever made any claim to have your name put on the list ? —I sent down my brother-in-law ; I asked him to register my name ; I did'nt say Waimea West or South ; I simply asked him to do it. When did you send him down ?—I don't remember the month. By Mr. Bunny: Can you recollect the season of the year?— No. By Mr. Allan: Was it in January, February, or March ?—I cannot remember. By the Chair-man : Can you remember whether it was in summer or winter ? —I do not remember. By Mr. Allan: Did you sign any paper or anything before your brother-in-law went? —No; I merely sent him down to try and get my name on the registry. He was going down, and I asked him to do it. Did your brother-in-law come back and tell you whether he could get you registered or not ?—He told me that night that he could not do it unless I was there myself. Did you ever yourself make any application or send in any signed paper or anything to be registered ? —No, not before then. By the Chairman : Have you since ? —I have since, for Waimea South. Is Waimea South included in Motueka District ? Mr. Travers : No, it is not; it is a different electoral district. Mr. Fitzherbert: We are enquiring about Waimea West. Mr. Gillies : Waimea West is part of Motueka. Mr. Allan : But Waimea South is not. Mr. Fitzherbert : He made this application for Waimea West in 1870. I want to know if he ever made a subsequent application for Waimea West after the first failure. By Mr. Allan: Did you ever make a subsequent application to be registered for Waimea West after .1870?— No. Did you never make any application to be registered for Waimea West, except when you told your brother-in-law to get you registered, if he could ?—No. I understand your evidence to be this, that you wanted your brother-in-law to try and get you put on the list of electors for Motueka ?—-I didn't say anything but ask him to register me as an elector. By Mr. Bunny : For what district ?—I think it was for Waimea South. By Mr. Fitzherbert: Did you ever make application to be registered for Waimea West ? —No. Did you through your brother-in-law ? —No. By Mr. Allan: And you never applied yourself? —No. At that time, in 1870-71, were you an elector for the district of Waimea South or Waimea West? s!he Chairman : Ido not think that is a proper question ; you ask him whether he is an elector. Is he on the roll or not ? Mr. Allan: No, he is not on the roll; he does not own the property. (To witness) Before you voted, or were asked to vote, in 1870, did you consider that you were on the roll ?—Yes, I considered my name was on the roll. Did you know that that name on the roll did not apply to you ? —(No answer). By the Chairman: Why did you consider your name was on the roll ?—Well, I knew the name was on the roll ; I had been told that my name was on the roll, and that I had a right to vote. Now, when was it that you were told that ? —Before the election. By Mr. Allan: Who was it told you ?—lt was James Arnold told me. Where was it he told you that ? —At Waimea South. You remember exactly what he said to you when he told you that your name was on the roll; did he say anything more ? —He said he wanted me to go down and vote. Did he say anything as to your name being the same as your father's ? —He said my name was on the roll, and they could not stop me from voting ; that I had a perfect right to vote. Did he say anything about your father ?—I think, if I remember right, I said it was not my name. He said my name was on the roll, and I had a right to vote, and they could not stop me. When you said it was not your name, although it was the same name as yours, did you know whose name it was ? —I knew it was my father's name. Did you suppose or not that that name on the roll applied to your father or to yourself ? I thought I could vote. Because it was your father's name? ■■■