ELECTORAL DIFFICULTIES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 119, 16 November 1911, Page 8

ELECTORAL DIFFICULTIES.

■'fcCHOOLS AS POLLING PLACES. fBTC MtEGEAPa— -PRESS ASSOCIATION.} FEILDING, This Day. The Wanganui Education Board's objection to using #0 many schools for poll- \ ing booths has reached another stage. ; The Chief Electoral Officer spates that HO schools and 100 teacher.? in the Wajiganui Education district will be required dot the elections. Of these, 4U schools and 25 teachers are required in the j Qronia electorate alone, where there are only five other places engaged as polling booths. Mr. Mansfield insists oil the use of the schools, and the board's chairman k prepared to resist any attempt to nse the schools where other buildings •sMfe available, and specifies fifteen places ia the Oroua electorate where, to his «e^sonal knowledge, such is the, easel He aleb points otlt that no teachers' serrvices are available without the consent •of .the board, which is not likely to be •given where schools can be. kept open, «yen in temporary buildings. The probabilities ■ point to interesting developments unless a compromise can be ar-' pranged. From enquiries in official quarters, it ' i» understood that the practice ot having '•choolteacfaers acting as deputy -returning officers is the one generally followed throughout Australasia. Further, the New Zealand law provides that Bchools -shall be available, free of charge, for booths on election day. The 'Wanganui Education Board appears to ■be the only one in New Zealand that has Taised any obketion to the prac•tice. At the presekt time the responsible electoral officers at headquarters are doing everything in their power to ■facilitate a settlement of the difficulty. ■The practice of appointing schoolteachers as deputy-returning officers is due >to the fact that in the country districts persons suitable for carrying out these duties are extremely limited in number. SEhe Wanganui Board has mado similar Ejections before, but the difficulty has -been successfully overcome in, an amicable way, and it is hoped, it will be on Jthis occasion.