SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1878.

Evening Post, Volume XVI, Issue 79, 16 March 1878, Page 2

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1878.

Once more we desire to direct the attention of every person in Wellington possessing the necessary qualification, but who are not already npon the Electoral Roll, to the necessity of having their names at once placed thereon. There is just fifteen days more left during which this can be done, and therefore the matter should be attended to at once. It may be well to explain here what is the nature of the qualification which entitles people to be placed on the Electoral Roll. The Constitution Act provides that every man of the age of twenty-one years possessing a freehold or leasehold up to a certain value (£SO in one case and £10 annually in the other), in the district in which the vote is to be given, is entitled to be placed on the roll. In the case of cities like Wellington, any householder occupying a tenement of the clear annual value of £10 is entitled to be placed on the electoral roll. In the cases of houses outside the limits of a town, the annual value which confers the franchise is only £5. Practically, this means that every householder in the colony is entitled to be registered, and to vote in the election of members of the General Assembly. How people can get placed on the roll is provided for in the Registration Acts of 1866 and 1875. The former act provides that the applicant should fill up a certain printed form, describing the nature of his qualification, and have his signature attested by an elector. That is the best and surest plan of getting upon the Electoral Roll. These forms are to be obtained at the office of this journal, gratis, and anybody who desires to be placed on the Electoral Roll had better call and get one. The forms when filled up are to be sent in to Mr. Baker, the Registration Officer. The Registration Act of 1575 provides a means of getting on to the Electoral Roll, which saves the applicant trouble. That Act provides that on the 31st of March in each year — or the 30th when the 31st happens, as in the present year, to be on a Sunday — the clerk to each local body shall compile an alphabetical list of all the male ratepayers of the age of 21 years and upwards, the list to be signed by the clerk, countersigned by the chairman or Mayor, as the case may be, and forwarded to the Registration Officer of the district on or before the 7th of April. The penalties are — For negligence or wilful failure to draw up and forward the list, a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds ; and for falsification, imprisonment with or without hard labor, for a period extending to twelve months. There is, however, some uncertainty about this plan. The clerks of the local bodies are not paid for doing this heavy work, and 'consequently in some cases it has been performed negligently. We therefore ! counsel every man who wants to make sure work, to fall back upon the act of 1866, and register in the manner already described. Ab we have stated on a previous occasion, lodgers who have for 12 months occupied lodgings of the annual value of not less than £10 are entitled to be placed on the Electoral RolL They should apply to Mr. Bakes, who will supply them" with the necessary forms. We specially urge the nepessity of every qualified person securing the right to vote, because it is highly probable that a dissolution of Parliament will take place after the close of next session, and that, of course, will be followed by a general election. It therefore behoves every man who desires to give ft vpte in that election, and thereby t» eprcjse a legitimate influence in determining what Shall be the policy of the country, that hp Bhould — if not already on the Electoral Roll— take the necessary steps to have his

name placed, thereon. A neglect to do so is a failure of an obvious duty. Every man should take an intelligent interest in the public questions of the day, and every man entitled to a vote should make sure that he gets it. Thirdly, we once more echo the cry of the late Sir Robert Peel — IIEGrsTER, Register, Register. The battle for the rights of the people will be fought at the polling booths, and by means of the ballot, wherefore it behoves the people, while there is yet time, to arm themselves with power to take part in it. In our telegraphic columns will be found a special cable message from our London correspondent, announciug the dreadful news of an appalling and fatal conflagration iv Bolton, Lancashire, one of the large English manufacturing 1 towns. No fewer than thirty-five persons are stated to have lost their lfves in this terrible disaster, all being believed to have perished in the flames.