THE LIQUOR REFERENDUM.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 65, 17 March 1919, Page 2

THE LIQUOR REFERENDUM.

SOLDIERS AND THE VOTE

KEYS TO FIT THE LOCKED DOOR.

THE POLLING RETURNS EDICT.

The various electoral registrars are Sltll engaged on the task of preparing the new rolls for the special licensing poll next month, and it will still be some days before the work will be completed. The extraordinarily h ea .vy supplementary rolls on the present occasion are causing more delay than usual, together with the particular care being exercised to ensure that the roll shall be as clean and perfect as is possible. As the lists progress the completed sections are being handed to the printers. The Auckland Returned Soldiers' Association is determined to leave no stone unturned m order to reinstate those soldiers discharged between February st and the closing of the rolls on March Oth, who have lost their voting rights at the coming liquor referendum. A meeting of the executive i_ to be held this cveninß to decide upon the next step, now that the Acting-Premier has reiterdted the statement that there i s no power to reinstate the men to their voting right for the occasion. Several ways out have been urged as simple methods of solving the present diflieulty, the two most ,„ favour being the rescinding of the hebruarv Order-in-Council. and the cancellation by the Defence Department \L, '»•_.. "'? disihar S es . giving them lo«fi without pay to a date which would the Kxpedit.onary Forces. This l atte r simple solut.on of the situation does not, iZl77' _ PPrar t0 haVe >' ct I'rescnte. itself to the authorities.

A STRANGE DEPARTURE.

PUBLIC DISSATISFACTION. FARCICAL POSSIBILITIES. A matter which is beginning to exercise the public mind in respect of the forthcoming poll is the announcement that the Minister for Justice will withhold the polling returns until all the votes have been received and the details of the poll are complete. In view of the tact that it may be several weeks after the polling day before nil the soldiers' votes are in the hands of the Electoral Department, this means that it may be getting on towards June before the country knows oflicially what it lias done, und if prohibition is carried it is to come into force on July 1. In the case of all other national \-ting occasions, both respecting parliamentary elections and licensing polls the results nt the diirerent polling booths have always been announced by the deputy re- • turning oflicers as soon as the first count has been made, while the returns for tho different electoral districts have been published as soon as they were available, even when such votes as those of seamen and absentee voters were yet to come in. The issues involved in the forthcoming referendum are of such deep interest to the whole community that there seems to be no logical ground for the departing from the usual custom, and it is pointed out that the withholding of official information is in any event likely to be farcical, as each of the two big interested parties will have scrutineers at the polling booths', and with so much at stake it is highly improbable that absolute secrecy will be practicable, once the count has been made. From the murmurs whicli are already heard it is evident that a great deal of dissatisfaction will be caused if the authorities persist in their intention to withhold all returns from the public until the poll is complete for the whole Dominion. Although the Act of last session provides for the gazetting of the final returns by the Minister for Justice, it contains nothing which prohibits the announcement or publication of progress returns such as are issued in connection with a general election and local option poll.