LOCAL OPTION POLL. THE HUTT CASE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 13, 16 January 1909, Page 9

LOCAL OPTION POLL. THE HUTT CASE.

YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FOR THE PETITIONERS. The enquiry into the Hutt local option poll was continued' at Petone after the Post went to press yesterday. Dr. A. M 'Arthur and Messrs. James and Riddell, stipendiary magistrates, were on the bench. Tho petitioners, the No-license party, were represented by Messrs. A. R. Atkm son and H. H. Ostler, and tho respondents by Mr. C. P. Skerrett, K.C., and with him Messrs. Blair and Cracroft Wilson. John James Cameron, of Ngahaura.ii.Ta, said he had voted on the licensing oiuestion at Petone. He had not received notice from the Registrar of Electors that he was improperly on the roll, and had been an elector of the district for cix years. Henry Nicholson, residing at Di.conetreet, Wellington, for the last twelve months, said ho had voted on the licensing question' at Petone. Formerly he resided at Petone. To Mr. Skerrett : The Hutt roll was the only one on which his name Wua entered. John William M'Ewan, Mayi.v, gave evidence of Mr. Mothes' refusal to allow scrutineers with full powers to be pro sent at the recount. On the morning after the poll he went to the Petone School (which was a polling booth) and saw there six empty beer bottles and one whisky flask. To Mr. Skerrett : Mr. Mothes explained to him that he had been advised that ho could not legally allow scrutineers to be present at the recount. They had always been the best of friends. Reginald K. Piper, scrutineer at Muritai, also gave evidence. BAD ACCOMMODATION. R. De Riddler, civil engineer, residing at Lower Hutt, said that he had noticed the absence of proper accommodation for voters *t the Epuni schoolroom. Ho thought it would have been possible for any one looking to have observed how a voter was voting. The size of' tho entrance to the compartment was an open way four feet wide. H. J. Oakley, caretaker of the school at Petone, deposed to having cleaned out the school on the morning after the election, when he found several beer bottles. in a hamper in one of the voting compartments. Later on in the day a man named K. Webb called for the bottles and at the same time remarked that the hamper belonged to Mr. Palmer. Mr. Palmer, however, had not yet called for his property. On the day of tho poll he had seen a placard on a tank driven in a dray of a man holding a pot of beer in his hand, with the word' "Liberty" underneath. Rev. Mr Wilson, of the Wesleyan Church, an elector of the district, said he went to tho Registrar's office inspect the roll the week before the writs were issued. Mr. Mothes k «aid the roll was in use and would be in use for the remaining part of the day. Mr. Skerrett : Did you make the visit on account of anything Mr. Travers eaid to you? Witness : I had a mind to go and sco it myself. Is it not a fact that you and your party almost pestered the life out of Mr. Mothes?— No; I think Mr. Carey Fitzgerald almost slept in the office. THE RECOUNT. Rev. Thos. Arthur Williams', Baptist Minister, stated that Mr. Purser, deputy at Lower Hutt, had left the booth during tho day and asked Mr. Gardner to act for him. Witness acted as a poll clerk at the recount and waa given the right to challenge any paper, except in two single instances. Witness gave details of how the recount was conducted. When the count had progressed to 2000 it was found that there were two papers missing The search for them occupied four hours. He explained the circumstances of Mi. Mothes' going to the door and ballot-papers being blown about by the wind. Witness afterwards discovered one paper that was stamped twice — (1670 and 1671). That accounted for one paper, but paper 1541 was never found. In one case a packet tha£ at one time contained 100 papers iJiad a slip with "99" on top of it. Witness made enquiries aiid was> informed by Mr. Mothes that the paper was informal. The Returning Officer showed witness a papei, taken, from a bundle of informals, which had the two top lines thoroughly and heavily, stroked out and a faint lino through the third. Witness protested that that original packet of 100 had been checked about four times and an informal vote had not been noticed. Ho did not see the alteration in the bundles made and considered that as a scrutineer he was entitled to be informed. Mr. Mothes was absent s«vera' times during the day. At tunes witness had challenged certain papers but Mr. Mothes refused to listen to his argument. Witness took particular notice of the informal papers. He did not see any informal paper with the "I" or th« "v" of -the words, ''I vote," struck out. CROSS EXAMINATION. Witness was cross-examined at length dj Mr. Skerrett. He affirmed that only one chart for the Durposes of the recount was used. Mr. Skerrett : Well, I'm afraid your powers of observation are not very keen or that you have a very bad memory. Continuing, counsel examined witness with a view to showing that a machine used in counting might be pressed and not make an impression ou a paper and yet lecord a numeral on the machineregistered total. He admitted that there were 1998 ballot papers before the wind blow and that 1998 were put oack in the boxes after the gust. He did not see anyone actually drinking in the hall during the recount, but he saw several journeys made to the rear of the halK He denied that Mr. Blair had called his attention to the informal paper he had first mentioned. Mr. Skerrett: Well, Mr. Blair says positively that he did. Witness : He did not. He added that the recount was conducted very loosely. Tne papers could easily have been tampered with. At this stage the court adjourned until 9.45 to-day. "Longbvsh is looking extra well this season," writes a correspondent of the Wairarapa Daily News, "and we do not go in for very much cropping yet, so the wet weather just suits us. One or two of the settlers who are saving grass seed would like to see the weather a bit more settled. Mr. Cadwaiiader has just finished his metalling contract, which he started last autumn and had to knock oh" when the weather broke. The Government leaseholders ought to bo very well satisfied with their roads. Two years ago there- was not a formed road on the settlement, -fd now nearly all, or the greater majority anyway, have a metalled road to their doors. This district has a big future before it; it will become one of the best dairying districts in the Wairarapa. Ont settler will send more fat lambs this season than used to go off Longbush altogether when it wao one station. "