141

A.—3a

districts in the Province of Nelson, viz., (1) The Town of Nelson shall be at some convenient place in the Town of Nelson to be specified by the Returning Officer; (2) the Waimea Districts, or (2) the Suburban Districts, or (3) the Wai mea East District, or (4) the Waimea West District, or (5) the Waimea South District, shall, for the election of the members of the House of Eepresentatives, be at some convenient place or places in the Waimea District, or, for the election of the Superintendent or members of the Provincial Council, at some convenient place or places in the Suburban Districts, the Waimea East District, the Waimea West District, the Waimea South District respectively, as the case may be, to be specified by the Eeturning Officer; (6) The Motueka and Massacre Bay Districts shall be at some convenient place or places in the Motueka District to specified by the Eeturning Officer; (7) the Wairau District shall be at some convenient place or places to be specified by the Eeturning Officer. Province of Canterbury : The polling-places for the following districts in the Province of Canterbury, viz., (1) the Town of Christchurch, (2) the Christchurch Country District shall be at some convenient place in the Town of Christchurch to be specified by the Eeturning Officer ; (3) the Town of Lyttelton shall be at some convenient place in the Town of Lyttelton to be specified by the Returning Officer ; (4) The Akaroa District shall be at some convenient place at Akaroa to be specified by the Returning Officer. Province of Otago : The polling-places for the following districts in the Province of Otago, viz., (1) The Town of Dunedin, (2) the Dunedin Country District, shall be at some convenient place or places in the Town of Dunedin, or in the Dunedin Country District, to be specified by the Returning Officer. Additional polling-places. 36. If additional polling-places are found necessary for any of the districts in the above-mentioned provinces, they shall be at such places as the Governor, or the Superintendent of the province, may from time to time by public notice appoint. Principal Returning Officers of capital towns. 37. The Principal Returning Officer of the capital town of each province shall be the Resident Magistrate of the district in which such capital town is situated, or such other person as the Governor may from time to time appoint. Returning Officers. 37a. The Returning Officers for the above-mentioned electoral districts in the Islands of New 7 Zealand, and situated respectively in the provinces above named, shall be the Resident Magistrate residing in the district, or such other person as the Governor, or the person deputed by him in that behalf, may from time to time appoint. Writs for elections. 38. The writs for the election of the Superintendents of provinces, of the members of the House of Representatives, and of the members of the Provincial Councils, shall be issued by the Governor under his hand, and shall be directed to the Returning Officer for the district, and shall state the number of days within which such writs shall be made returnable to the said Governor. Issue of writs for supplying vacancies in Provincial Councils. 39. Whenever it shall be established to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of any one of the provinces aforesaid that the seat of any member of the Provincial Council of such province has become vacant, the Superintendent shall forthwith issue a writ for the election of a new member to serve in the place so vacated during the remainder of the term of the continuance of such Council, and no longer. Days for nomination and election, how fixed. 40. The Returning Officer shall indorse on the writ the day on which he may have received it, and shall fix the day of nomination, and also the day on which the voting, if necessary, shall take place, and shall give not less than fourteen days' public notice thereof respectively. Returning Officer to preside at nomination. 41. On the day of nomination, so to be fixed as aforesaid, the Returning Officer shall preside at a meeting to be hoiden at noon, at the chief polling-place for the district, and shall declare the purpose for which such meeting is held ; and, if at such meeting there be no more candidates proposed than the number of members to be returned, the Returning Officer shall declare such candidate or candidates to be duly elected, and shall make his return accordingly. In case of a contest. 42. In the event of there being more candidates than the number to be elected, the Eeturning Officer shall call for a show of hands separately in favour of each candidate, and, after such show of hands, shall declare the person or persons on whom the election has fallen, and shall return the same accordingly, unless a poll be demanded by some one of the candidates, or by not less than six electors on his behalf. In case a poll be demanded. 43. On such demand as aforesaid being made for a poll, the polling shall be taken on the day so to be fixed as aforesaid, the voting to commence at any time after 9 o'clock of the said day, and to close at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day. The polling. 44. The polling shall take place before the Eeturning Officer or his deputy, and the voting shall be conducted in the manner following, that is to say, —■ Mode of voting. 45. Every elector for the district may vote for any number of persons not exceeding the number of persons then to be chosen, by delivering to the Eeturning Officer or his deputy a voting paper containing the Christian names and surnames of the persons for whom he votes, together with their place of abode and description, and signed with the name of the elector so voting, and setting forth his own place of abode and description.