TOO LATE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19317, 23 May 1928, Page 11

TOO LATE.

DAIRY BOARD ELECTIONS. PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATE'S ENTRY REJECTED. [THE PRESS Special Service*] WELLINGTON, May 22. An extraordinary position, and one involving an interesting technical point, has arisen in connexion with a nomination for one of the seats on the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board. Up to a few days ago it was not expected that there would be any opposition to Mr W. Grounds (chairman of the Board), representative, of the producers in No. 1 Ward, who is again a candidate for the seat and whose nomination was received some time ago. Notification of the election for the three seats which became vacant 011 June 30th was publicly advertised by the Returning Officer, Mr William C. Robinson, 0 f the Department of Agriculture, on Ajirii 16th, who announced that nominations would be received up to noon on May 20th. That date being a Sunday, the time was extended till noon on Monday last, May 21st. The fact that up till Saturday no *>ther c nomination had been received, indicated that Mr Grounds would be unopposed, but in the meantime Mr Bertram Thomas Booker, was duly nominated for the seat, and there was apparently an eleventh-hour rush in forwarding the nomination paper to Wellington; Although the returning officer advertised his address as "Department of Agriculture, per Private Box, Wellington," Mr Booker's nomination paper was addressed to the Returning Officer, New-Zealand Dairy Produce Export Control Board, Election, Wellington, and was forwarded by registered post from Auckland on May 18th. The envelope bore the date stamp of the Auckland Post Office, May 18th, 4 p.m. It reached Wellington on' Saturday, May 19th, and the Post Office officials on its receipt placed in the private box of the Dairy Produce Board the usual printed notification intimating, the arrival of a registered package. Owing to inadvertence, the letter was not applied for by the Dairy Board, and the Post Office issued a further, notice on Monday. It was then discovered that the notification bad been wrongly- made by the Post Office to the Dairy Board, £ind the letter and nomination finally reached the Returning Officer at the Department of Agriculture at 2.45 p.m. on Monday, two and three-quarter hours after the time officially fixed for the closing of nominations. _ The Returning Officer has decided that the nomination of Mr Booker cannot be accepted by him, and it is understood that he is fortified in this decision by a legal opinion. As matters stand, therefore, in regard to the vacancy for Ward 1, it appears that Mr Grounds will have to be declared elected unopposed, but it is understood that the supporters of Mr Booker are not satisfied with the position and may take steps to test the matter further. On the other hand, it is held that the position of the Returning Officer is clearly defined by the regulations under the Dairy Produce Export Control Act, 1923, which provide that nominations shall be delivered to the Returning Officer not later than noon on May 20th. It is understood that a hitch occurred in regard to the nomination of Mr Dynes Fnlton (sitting member) for the vacancy in Ward 2, and. that to clear the matter up and make certain that he was duly nominated Mr H. H. Sterling, of the New Zeland Co-opera-tive Dairv Company, made a special journey by motor-car from Hamilton to Wellington to attend to the matter personally.