EDEM TERRACE POLL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 125, 27 May 1914, Page 7

EDEM TERRACE POLL.

! ELECTION DECUUtED VOID. ' INQUIRY BY MAGISTRATE. \ Thp petition of livi- electors, asking ■that the election of the Rden Terrace jKoad Hoard should bo declared invalid. ; fn the L'ro-.lrnl thai the name of I'hillip I I'homa* liirch. one of those elpcted, did jiiot appear on tin- valuation roll, and «»•»< h<. »■«, not h nualilied 01,,.,,r. was the subject of inquiry al the Magistrate's Court this morning hv .Mr. <'. l . Kettle. KM. Mr. Schnauer appeared for the petitioners, an.l Mr. Il.rman. .if .laeUson ■'nil Hhmjpll. i,,r Mr. Minn. Mr. T. 11. Miiwsoii wafhed proceedings for th- reiurning ollieer i Walter Richardson I. 11. A. Mcl.'-owan. for tiic Valuation Department, said that tlio valuation roll ■is supplied by hi* Department to thp ! Kilen Terrace Itnsiil Hoard prior to the I poll being taken v ,i, a correct one. Mr. I BirehYi n.ime was not on tiie roll. Waller liiehardson. ,-lerk for the Kden Terrare R, Ml | Hoard, and returning oflieer. m< i<l 1,,, had rereivcd verbal notification from the linn of Birch and Hradsluw. in tlie first week of April, that I they had purchased a property ill Kden Terra, c from \V. 11. Ilasictt." Witne-3 thereupon mlistitutcd liireh anil Brad- | -haw's nnm<- on the el.vtor.-' roll for that of Mr. llasli'tl. Such a proceediru' was not customary. As a rule lie would require proper notification rrom both parties. His ariion was a result of a I desire to have Ihe lirst electors - roll I i-i-iied an absolutely corp-Pt one. Prior to thp dosing of "tlie ratepayer-' roll, 'on April ilsi. he asked Mr. liirch if the. |tran-fer would be oompli-tn before the 'roil closed. Mr. I'.ireh said that he expected that it would, lie did not know | that the purchase was nni completed on the date of the transfer. | William llaslctt. chomi-t. said that ho ■"■as approached liy JacUn and Unwell, isolator* for Ilireh and J'.radshaw, on I April Ist, asking lor an option over the (properly in New North Road till the following day. Negotiations were openeil. land (in the Sth April lie received a letter ironi Messrs. .lackson and Russell stating ilh.it his (witmv.-) terms Had Wen m-;'iplt-i. The price to b.' pm.l was U-loi). I less commission. Fifty pounds was to l>e 'paid within a month and -.-. sTmp to be •■reeled on ths property within three ! months. Birch and Bradshaw took possession on April 2Sth. That wa-i alter the elector-' roll had been closed. He did not know that application for a permit to build had been made. He pave m> authority for the removal of his name from the roll, and was surprised when he went to the poll to find that his name had lieen struck off. He knew that Birch And llradshaw were in possession on the i*th, four days before the election, but the electors' roll had closed on the 25th Apri!. .Mr. Herman raised various legal point* from iAcis directing thy local authority as to the compilation of rolls and qiialifirsitinns of :l lectors. He r-iljTSivliil thai I In- irregularity was due In an vrror of the clerk in pi-acing Mr. Itinhs name on l!i« vleeiorti" roll.' Thu it'll Mr. Kirch lr> l»-lii*vp that everything wa« in order, ille nubmilted for the ion of iiie Court the tiiijrfreslions: First. That procmhire slionld i/)i have been by pet it ion: second, that the irregularity was of mich a minor charj art it Ih.ti' it did no-, aflpct the result: [and third, that liirvh was in fact J nu-alilic.l. ha\ing taken poe*i--(sinn four day t> before the poll. ii'liillip Tho.-.. Biroh staled he .believed liim.--.df :.. be fully qunlilied in ihe time of the elec'.ioii. He did not know that .mv iiTPffiil.irity u-.i« riiif:<resf«l [ill some .iays afler tile" poll hid been taken. Sir. Kettle, in Erivinj: his decision. said Ui;U, as tn Mr. llvrman'rt r>bje.'tions. he was cafit-lied that the petition waft in nnler. It wan allejnvl that Mr. Birrh was riol qualiflp.l. The t-lerk hail n<i authority to insert a name in the ! «-ler-'.ors' roll ivhen ft dkl not appoar in j the valiution roll. Tie »"at> eojninoed. however. th:it. the clerk's mntives ivere I guile hunPxt. In his opinion the flee- I tion was void, ftincp Mr. Birch -nas not qualified, and a fret-h election miirt be held. Mr. Schnatlpr p n i,] (h.%1 the petrtioners would not. ask for <\*;:s atrainst either party. .Mr. Iv.'tlle dirrK-'ted that the deposit made wiih the petition should lie returned to flip prthioncrp.