LOCAL ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1505, 30 July 1912, Page 6

LOCAL ELECTIONS.

SOME SUGGESTED REFORMS. CANVASSING DISCUSSEDETHICS QV ELECTIONEERING. A number of remits purporting to deal with reforms in the Local Elections Act ivcro considered by the Municipal Association Conference yesterday. Most interesting of all was a proposal to make canvassing or touting illegal. Mr. W. J. G.irlnm! (Grey Lynn) moved: "That the Government be asked to ; amend the statutes governing local elections and polls, so as to make the provisions of Parliamentary elections applicable to local elections'and polls, and also to amend the Local Elections Act so that canvassing, tontine for votes, etc., shall bo abolished, ami the voter allowed to exercise his vote unmolested." , The mover took exception to all devices used to influence the votes of electors. Especially he objected to the tactics employed by "touts," and to the issuin" of "tickets." . Mr. ,T. C. Gleeson. (Auckland) seconded the motion. In these days any man stand- ' ing for an election was at once surrounded by people who seemed to make a ; living out of elections, and it would bo 1 extremely desirable if "tontins" and canvassing could be made • illegal. • Electors were in this country educated sufficiently to. be quite able to record their voto intelligently without direction. Mr. John Wilson (Dunedin) moved as an amendment to strike out all the words after the second word "polls." He thought some such motion was eminently desirable, but he thought the latter pof- ; tion of the remit was too vague. Mr. W. B. Scandrett (InvercargiLl) seconded the amendment. ! Some Criticism. The only delegates who did not think that some such measure as that proposed was .necessary was Mr. F. J. Foots, of ivairoa. Ho assured the conference that nothing corrupt ever occurred in his dis- . trict, aud that so far as his district was concerned there was no need for new legislation. : Mr. John. Fuller (Wellington) ■ thought [ that no exception should Iμ taken to convassers unless they were . paid. It was wrong to snneest . that people who were patriotic, andiri- ; terested in the affairs of their town ; should not bo allowed to work to secure those they thought the best representnThe Hon. T. W. Hislop (Wanganui) characterised as "humbug" the talk ot greater purity in elections. ! v »? ~'t right that private individuals should be prohibited from giving expression to their opinions to . convert others to their way of thinking? It this were made the law, elections would . bo carried through without that greater . understanding of the questions at issue winch could be derived from continual coherence among private individuals. He was prepared to vote to make illegal the employment of paid canvassers, bo many defects in the drafting of the „ motion had been, pointed out that the mover asked leave to withdraw it, and to submit it again to the conference, lhere were some objections to this, and the motion went to the vote. i The amendment was lost. Mr. John Fuller (Wellington) moved a further amendment to insert the word 'paid' before "canvassing." The amendment was duly seconded, but was lost on the voices. The original motion was lost bv 23 votes to 20. ■ t TO PEE VENT "PLUMPING." The following remit from Grey Lynn • to prevent "plumping" was rejected al- ■ most unanimously:— : "That in nil municipal elections the electors must record a vote for each [ of the required number of candidates, failing which, the voting paper b% dei dared void." The main objection to the motion was > that it would compel electors to vote for . candidates of whom they did not at all -. approve. , ' Uniformity Desirable. , Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) , moved: "That in order to facilitate the con- • duct of local elections arid prevent i error, The Local Elections Act be i altered in the direction of providing > for voting at local elections in cxactly > the same manner as at general eleci tions for the House of Representatives, and that the voting paper be printed i in tho same form." The motion found general support, ilelc- : gates being of opinion that the present : different methods of voting for Parlia- . mentary and local elections led to con- ; fusion and to informal voting. The only sneaker who had any doubt about tho question was the Mayor of "Wellington, who pointed out that in Wellington there wero often upwards of 30' candidates for the council. With so many candidates, there was at least equal possibility of confusion uiider the Parliamentary as under the present municipal method. The motion was carried. To Save Needless Expense. Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) moved: ! That The Licensing Act be amended in the direction of allowing the Licensing election being taken under the Local Elections Act, with a. view of enabling a candidate to withdraw his nomination to save the cost of an election. In support of the motion, he cited the caso of a last Licensing election at Palmerston. One more than the required can- . didates were nominated, but two were i ready to withdraw to save an election. They could not legally do so, and the borough had to spend .£7O on an election for nothing. Tho motion was carried.