BREACHES OF THE CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT.

♦ At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Papakura, on Monday, before Mr. T. Jackson, R.M., two somewhat singular charges of breaches of the Corrupt Practices Act were tried. The information as;ain3t John Gordon for a breach of the 26th section of the Corrupt Practices Act was dismissed on technical grounds, and also on the ground that a blank list was not contemplated by the Act. The Court considered that while it would have been an act of courtesy for the candidate to have sent the information to the Returning Officer, that he had no person employed to act in his behalf, the omission "of this act of courtesy was not one for which .the Court could convict. ,; '' F. J. Box was charged with having wilfully made a false claim and declaration for the purpose of being enrolled as an elector of Franklin North. The facts in thia case ar'e peculiar, and are as follows : —Box was living at Whangapoua, his father, Josiah Box, also living at Whangapoua. About the end of October last the Boxes, father and son, returned to Auckland, and in the beginning of November were living in a house, the property of Box, sen., in Altenroad, Auckland. Joeiah Box, having acquired some property at Otahuhu, in the district of Franklin North, was induced by Mr. W. J. Speight to make a claim for enrolment as an elector of Franklin North, and Mr. Speight having another form, and defendant being in the house with hie father, was called into the room and got to sign a claim for enrolment as an elector of Franklin North. These claims were sent to the Registrar of Electors, who referred them J to the police for inquiry, and, on the police [ reports being unfavourable, gave notice to ' both father and son.jrequiring them either to withdraw the claim or furnish proof. Josiah Box withdrew his claim, but the defendant, acting on the advice of the schoolmaster at Pokeno, wrote, at the dictation of the said schoolmaster, a letter to the Registrar, stating that he had never sent in a claim for enrolment as an elector of Franklin North ; had never signed a claim for enrolment as an elector, nor had he authorised any other persou to do so for him; and that the Registrar's letter objecting to his claim was the first intimation he had received of such a claim having been made for him. The papers were therefore forwarded again to the police, the result being that than defendant admitted having signed the printed paper at Mr. Speight's suggestion, and in his presence, but said that he had forgotten all about it when he sent the letter at the schoolmaster's suggestion to the Registrar, and only remembered it when his father brought the matter to his mind. That he had no idea when he signed the piper it was a claim to vote ; he knew that it was something to do with the elections, but had no Other idea about it; never read the paper, and could not say whether there was any writing on the paper when he signed it. Mr. Speight did ask him his occupation, and he gave it, but as he left the room immediately on signing the paper he could not say what Mr. Speignt wanted the information for. Defendant thought he was not doing wrong in signing the paper, because his father was there, and had signed a similar paper. The Court, while strongly condemning the defendant's conduct throughout the whole matter, and as he appeared to bo incapable of acting for himself, but had been used by others, and as he had been punished to some extent by these proceedings, gave him the benefit of a doubt which it had whether defendant had wilfully made a false claim,and dismissed the information.