CHRISTCHURCH NORTH ELECTION.

<». MR E. W. HUMPHREYS RETURNED. The polling for the election of a representative for Christchurch North, to take the place of Sir Julius Yogel during the remainder of the present Parliament, took plaoe yesterday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., in the Provincial Council Chambers. Mr G. Leslie Lee was the Returning Officer, and Mr F. C. Murray was appointed his deputy, thereby necessitating a double set of poll clerks, &c, and two ballot boxes had to be called into requisition. As there were three candidates it also necessitated the appointment of one fiocutamr lot. eaxsli baliob-boaL per caudi-

. date, or six in all. These gentlemen took their places at an early hour in the morning, but it was not long before they discovered that their services were of no avail, save to -watch the course of events and to wait the counting up of the ballot papers. This blissful state of affaire has been brought about by the introduction daring a recent session of Parliament of an amended Act, which : entitles all and sundry to vote in the one district, provided they are not registered electors for any other district. The result of such arrangement was to make the scrutineers at the election yesterday useless. The Eeturning Officer refused, except in one case which he himself challenged, to hear any objection to any voler who presented himself as such. Several persons, it is stated, presented themselves, claiming to have a right to i vote, but found that they had been disfranchised. The proceedings during the day were marked with the greatest order and decorum, and no one passing by the Provincial Chambers in the evening could have imagined that there was anything in particular stirring. Shortly before 8 p.m. Mr Lee announced that the following was the result of the polling :— E. W. Humphreys 403 J. Ollivier 378 E. George 184 Tho official declaration wilTtake place at the Provincial Council Chambers at noon, to-day.