THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, APRIL 16,1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 3, 16 April 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, APRIL 16, 1877.

A notification j,ust issued by the General Gwerment clearly defines the method of conducting County elections unti), such time as th,e County votes are brought into force. The order alludedjtprans as follows: "Regulations for, filling up extraordinary vacancies in, the County Councils have been issued, by the Governor. 3,. Until, the formation and coming in,tp ; force of the voters' rolls for the election of member^ of Qourity Councils in Counties in which, the whole 'of the Act is in, force, the persons entitled to vote at such electiops in such riding shall be those, mentioned, in the 51st section, of the Act ; and, all such persons qualified or so entitled, as in the said section mentioned shall, be deemed to be deemed to be County electors within e&eh rjding for the purposes of such, elections. 2* If, at the time of coming into operation of these regulations andl; orders, there. shall be an, ex,--taaprsnary vacancy in the CounciJ of any County in which the w,hple of the said Act is in force, the returning officer of the riding in which such vacancy exists shall, subject hereto, do and perform nil. acts, matters, or things prescribed by law in respect of his office in and, about such elections. 3, These regulations and orders shall apply and extend to all extraprdinary vacancies in the office of councillor which have occurred, or which may hereafter. Vcur, in, any County io which the whole of the said Act is in force, and they shall cease to hwrp any

operation upon coming into force of the voters' rolls as provided by the Counties Act, 1876." Accordingly by these provisions County ejections to extraordinary vacancies will he regulated until the Ist day of July next — the day fixed; by section 4$ of " The Counties Act" for the coming into force of the electors' roll for the year. The Act further; provides that copies of the to\\ f#t|ie several ridings shall be kept a^ the office of the pouncil, and afc some place in each riding;, of which public notice is required to be gi^en, for, public inspection at all reasonable hours from the 20th day of April to the 15th dav of May in each year; and any person who, considers himself aggrieved by his own name or that of any other person, being entered on or omitted from the roll, or by the number of votes allotted to him, may on or before the last of May apply to the Resident Magistrate's Court for relief. It W'U thus, be seen that it will be the duty of the ratepayers after th,e 20th instant and before the 15th proximo to inspect tl\e rolls in the different ridings and ascertain that tbeiy names are rightly inserted. While averting to "■ The Counties ! Act '■' we may take the opportunity of i pointing out that before the Pouncil I can. proceed, to strike the proposed general rate, compliance must be made with the lQ7fib clause of the A,ct, which say 9 :— •' Before making any such rate $>c Council, shall cau^e an estimate to be prepared of the proposed expenditure of the Council during the period far which the rate is to be made, showing any sums, already avail* able for such purpose, the additional sum required, the totaj rateable value of rateable property on the valuation roll, and t,l?e, rat;e thereon necessary to raise the money required y and such estimate being approved by the Council shall be publicly notified in the County fourteen days before making the proposed rate." In yiew, of this it can hardly b# more than a waste of time for the Council to merely proceed to affirm the desirability of striking a rate, and consequently the notice of motion on the subject given at the last meeting would appear be premature.