CITY ROLLS

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 102, 30 April 1921, Page 6

CITY ROLLS

OMISSIONS AND INACCURACIES

A REPLY TO COMPLAINTS.

Two years ago the Chief Returning Officer (Mr. James Ames), in a report to th© City Council, following, on the local ©lections, stateid :—"I am inclined to tliink that a great improvement couldi be made in connection with the compiling of the municipal roll. It is, to my mind, a mistake to give out hundreds of rollforms to a number of irresponsible persons. I suggest that the names of voters should be collected' somewhat on the principle of obtaining the census,- by responsible officers, appointed- by th* Town Clerk. It would be a great boon if we could nee the Parliamentary Rodi for; municipal elections. At the presetnt time we use the Government valuation roll to compile our rate books, and there does not seem any valid reason why, with the widened municipal franchise, the electoral roll should not be usefl for municipal elections." Mr. Ames's report on that occasion was probably the result of a general outcry about the condition of the rolls. Although the City Council set up a special ! committee to confer with Mr. Ames and j report to the council, nothing was done in the two years preceding last Wednesday's poll, and the result has been further outcries. The Labour candidate for the Mayoralty (Mr. P. Hickey) condemned the rolls severely when he spoke at the Town Hall immediately after the result of the election was announced. Ho said that the roll was in a deplorable state, and he expressed the opinion that it was the business of "the city authorities to see that every elector who was entitled to a vote was on the roll. There seems to be general agreement with Mr. Hickey when he describes' the present system as haphazard. It would be no exaggeration to say that hundreds i of people were off the roll when they had a perfect right to vote. Scores of arguments raised by disappointed citizens enlivened the otherwise dull proceedings at practically . aE the polling booths. At the Town Hall complaints were numerous, for many people who were not permitted to vote elsewhere, because they were not on the roll, went to the Town Hall seeking redress. Of course, nothing could be done for them. They were told that it was their duty to get on the roll; that the City Council had spent a great deal of money in urging every elector to see that he was.on the roll. Implications occurred in the compilation of the roE, and at least one elector was seen to toss a penny to decide which number he would take. Another elector, seeking his wife's name, pointed to one entry and stated: "I divorced that womaa ten years ago." According to one officer at the Town HaE, at .least 75 per cent, of those people who complained because they were not on. .the roE professed leanings towards the Labour Party. Those who did not vote at the last election were, with.the exception of ratepayers, struck off the new roE, and that course seems to ha.ye aggravated the position. On© man whose ■complaint was intvestigaited said he did not vote two years ago because he was all in. bed. He had voted at every previous election. Why should he lose his privilege because he happened to be El? When the position was explained to him j he asserted indignantly that he would never vote again. THE MAYOR'S VIEW. Speaking to a Post reporter to-day, the retiring Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) 1 admitted that the Special Committee appointed in May, 1919, had. done nothing in connection with the rolls. Mr. Luke expressed resentment at the fact that everybody blamed the City Council for the state of the rolls. Without providing a complex, expensive organisation, the council had done its utmost to make the roEs accurate. Certainly mistakes had been made. For instance, many deceased persons were on the roll at last election. But how was the council to avoid that when deaths were not reported to the ,Town Clerk? An arrangement whereby fhe Registrar of Deaths could communicate all deaths to municipal authorities might be possible, but it would be expensive. A house-to-house collection of names had been advocated, but Mr. Luke said that that would entail the employment of a big staff. The expense would have been tremendous, and the councE would not . have been justified in inaugurating the system at a time when ! money was scarce and , when all the ; money available was needed for urgent works of an important character. He was opposed to the soheme on the score of expense. Those electors who valued their voting privileges were given ample opportunities to get on the roll. They were warned of the closing date of the roll by advertisements in the press and on the tramcars. The roll was open for inspection at places all over the city | and suburbs. It was surely the duty of ! the electors to secure enrolment, and he I was quite satisfied that those who valued j the franchise, as it should be valued, saw to it that their names were' not excluded i from the roll.