HAWKE'S BAY PONTIS.

Northern Advocate, 20 April 1915, Page 5

HAWKE'S BAY PONTIS.

Sir R. Stout and Judge -Edwards, who heard the Hawke's Bay election petition, gave judgment to-day,on the two points reserved in that case. One was whether ballot papers, on which the complete name of one candidate and the Christian name of the other were struck out, were valid. Th e magistrate ,who made the recount had declared these votes informal.

The Court upheld this decision. Their judgment says: "Our Act provides, as has been pointed'out, that any ballot paper that does not clearly indicate the candidate 16r whom the elector desired to vote must be rejected as informal. To our minds there is a doubt as to what 'was meant, and w e do not,therefore see our way to over-rule the decision of the magistrate. If electors are able to read and will disobey the plain instructions of the Act, must it not be assumed that they did not want to vote?"

The second question was whether, if the declaration under Section 18 of the 1914 Act, No. 33, was informal in the schedule of that Act, that declaration was In order.

After reviewing the question from the legal standpoint, the Court expressed the opinion that; as ihe declaration was valid it was sufficient to have entitled persons to get ballot papers, and these votes.could not be rejected on the ground that the declaration was invalid.