ONEHUNGA.

"On Toesdajr, at noon, the Principal Returning Officer proceeded to declare the state of the Poll, in the eleclion, ior the Southern Division t

Mr. Bracey, on behalf of Mr. Graham, announced his intention to protest against the feception of a certo in vote. The Returning Officer suggested that the protest should be delayed until the declaration should have been made { but Mr. Bracey felt it his duty to protest at once, and did so. The Returning; Officer stated that he was glad that Mr. Bracey had given him public opportunity of making an explanation relative to some report which had been circulated concerning a vote given at Papakura, through which Captain faaultain had a majority of one. After the poll was taken, the Deputy Returning Officer, Mr. Cherry, delivered the voting papers to Mr. Saunders, one of the clerks of the office, numbering altogether 58 voting papers which he had recorded, [for both patties] at the same time producing another paper bearing the signature of Wm. McGough, stating that ! i he could not record that vote, because he could not find j the name on the Roll. The cierk believing the state- j raent of the Deputy Returning Officer to be correct, i wrote across the back of the voting paper, " not on the I Roll," The whole of the papers were then put by, until the returns from the outstations were received. The papers were then counted over, of course excluding McGough's name, in the belief that the Deputy Returning Officer's statement was correct. The papers, in order to secure accurracy, were counted more than once ; and until within a very few minutes of foor, it was believed that the election was a tie. At the last moment, when the papers were being counted a third time, the clerk was directed to see whether the man's name was on the Roll. It was then discovered that the name was upon the Roll ; and he (Mr. Beckham) then felt that he had no alternative j but to place the vote to the credit of Captain Haultain, : which gave a majority. For under the 45th clause of the Proclamation it was sufficient that a vote should be de- ' livered to the Returning Officer ; it was not necessary that it should be recorded. The Returning Officer proceeded to say that it was also right that the electors should bear the other side of the question. Upon discovery that McGough's name was on the Roll, Mr. Cherry was sent for, and asked how it was that he had failed to record that vote as the ethers, McGough's name being on the Roll. On the name being pointed out to him on the Roll, he then stated that it was his mistake ; that McGough had tendered his vote in the morning for Mr. Graham , and that he had refused to receive it because he could not find the name Upon the Roll ; and that in the afternoon, when the vote was tendered for Captain Haultain, he refused to receive it from a similar cause; but that he subsequently did receive it, as the man insisted upon his taking it. Tne Returning Officer concluded by stating that he had no power to make a scrutiny of the voting papers ; if be had, this vote would possibly hare been struck off, as well as some few others. O' Ws postpone our report of Mr. Richmond's admirable speech on the Native question until our next issue. It is of so much importance in the present juncture, that althongh our own notes would have exhibited littb variation from the ipsissima verba (two persons were ea" gaged upon the report at once) we thought it our duty to submit them for revisal. This has only been done as yet in regard to the first portion of the speech, the proof slips of which we have iorwarded to the "New-Zea-lander," for their next issue ; preferring ourselves to wait until we can publish the speech in its entirety.