A MAORI ELECTION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 505, 12 May 1909, Page 5

A MAORI ELECTION.

■ HEARINC OF A PETITION. . HOW THE POLL WAS TAKEN, tor rKLKGEiPH-r-pttr.s3 issocuTiouj Hamilton, May 11. . _ At tho hearing of tho Western Maori elecMr.'Earl, for petitioner, continued, his address on the Court resuming this morning. Counsel said that tho returning officer, was not called upon to publish any notices ■ regarding who wero electors, . and that he published such notices only goes to' show that he had more intelligence.than. the legal draughtsman of that section of the Act. Wm./ Henry Grace, returning officer, said he attended the nomination of candidates at Taumarunui, and called for a show of hands. A_ poll being demanded, every nominator was given a certificate that ho was. entitled to vote; and witness declared that the election should take place on December 2; Ho was promised ■ 8000 voting papers from Wellington, but ultimately obtained n>ooo. From about November 17 to 21, ho started, sending out voting, papers, doing so up to tho very day of the election. •" He. appointed ■ deputyofficers, copies of instructions to officers wero gazetted, and paragraph 4 of tho Act was .sent to. every officer. Ho followed instructions .as nearly .as he could, thongh not/ exaotly. :; •Hβ opened a booth, announcing that tho electors must como in one by one, and_ put up a placard outsido•". on his ■ own initiative Ho did not send copies of tho writ to the'deputies. .The. election was conducted as open voting; There was no secret ballot or a box , for votes. He-admitted the Act was not strictly carried out. One deputy signed a tremendous lot of papers, but nover put the name of the candidate in. Witness rejected the .whole'lot. ,, ■ A voter could vote at: one place/and then another without detection. No roll existed. • Several deputies and Maori associates gave evidence detailing the methods of • voting, which, , with' the exception of- one booth, was that a Native, after answering the ÜBual questions, said. whom. he -wished to vote for. The deputy wrote, the name, then:signed the paper, and an associate controlled-it; No Maori asked- for voting papers, and never handled them. At Waitetotuna the voting was conducted on the open road, as the deputy could not find a booth. Other instances wero given of a poll taken in places other than those notified. . Eketono's evidonce went to show that'a laTge number of'Natives,-especially in tho 'Taranaki district,. never, knew an ©lection was.to be held,' When he stumped tho country for tho purpose of. addressing them the Natives didn't know what ho came,for. At one polling booth several Maoris went in, together with twenty hanging round the door. Ho considered tho voting papers should havo been, given to the Natives prior to the election, , as that, would havo acted as a check, and prevented double voting. ■ .....'■',. No evidence-was -called ou behalf of the respondent.-:.,: './ . ~, ..■■;■■ ; . . Jcj : Mr. Earl, addressing the/Court, 'laid on- -the'' notice not being posted up i> Ah returning officer; also, that as the v'l'fitors voted .before was signed l)y" tho returning officer, excepting at, one booth, whore the officer sighed first, tho election was invalid. He .also contended that as the voting-paper was the qualification, and ae the same was not signed first, the -elector voted before he was qualified to do so, thus invalidating the vote/, ■ '-' ( ' '■•'.■ ; '• ■'- Mr. Justice Cooper said the. qualification was not the Native's voting paper, but the fact that.he was a Maori.. ■•'.,,-■ - ; The case was adjourned till the morning." .