REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.— PUBLIC MEETING.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 649, 3 July 1852, Page 2

REGISTRATION OF VOTERS. — PUBLIC MEETING.

i The Public Meeting convened by the Mayor, in compliance with a Requisition which has already appeared in our columns, for the purpose of taking steps to secure a full and fair registration of all persons qualified to vote at the election for members of the Provincial Council of New Ulster, was held on Wednesday last in the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute, and was very respectably attended. On being called to the Chair, His Worship the Mayor having read the .Requisition, and made a few appropriate remarks on the object of the Meeting, called on Mr. Whitaker to move the first Resolution. Mr. Wbitaker said, that as the meeting was called for na party purpose, or to favour the views of any particular set of persons, he should strictly confine himself to the precise object in view, and use no expression which could fairly be considered as of a party character, and he trusted that those who followed him would 'do the same. From the introduction of the Representative principle into this province new duties had now to be pej formed by the inhabitants, and it was with a view to the fulfilment of them, so far as all parlies could concur, without the chance of a difference of opinion on parly grounds, that the originators of the present meeting had come prepared to propose a plan for th^ purpose. The fourth clnuso of the_ Provincial Councils Ordinance declared the qualification to be possessed by electors ;— there were three classes .-—Those entitled to a freehold estate of a certain value ; Householders, occupying a tenement of a certain value ; and those possessing a leasehold of a certain description ; aad the 2nd clause of the same Ordinance declares a registration to be necessary. The proc'amation of the 21st May, 1852, published in the Gazette of the Ist of June, prescribed the mode by which this regulation was to be effected. The mode, tbough simple, still required the possession of certain information necessary ior the purpose— either the Government Gazette, or some other document. The Government Gazette was not of extensive circulation, and probably that of the Ist of June had not been seen by one-tenth of the electors, and not one in fifty were now in possession of a copy of it. The newspapers had published the proclamation, but the chances were that few of those papers were available now, and the handbills printed by the Government were mostly torn down, and probably had not been circulated beyoud Auckland itself and the neighbouring villages. The want of necessary information alone, therefore would prevent great cumbers from registering ; and other causes would occur to render the electoral roll incomplete. No doubt many would be apathetic to register, who, when the time for voting came, would regret the loss of the opportunity. Others, having the necessary information within their reach, would be at a loss how to use it, and the shortness of the tira'e would prevent many of the distant settlers from getting their names on the roll, unless steps were at once taken for that purpose. It appeared therefore quite clear that without some steps were taken, the registration would be incomplete. Now, he (Mr. Whitaker), thought it desirable that tho Electoral Roll should be as full and complete as possible. Representative institutions had . been long loudly" called for, and no one would deny that if it was desirable to confer the franchise, it was certainly desirable that the electors should not be disfranchised for want of registration. Moreover, small constituencies were admittedly an evil, and if (hey became smaller from such a cause as imperfect registration, the evil was the more to be regretted. There were other considerations which should not be overlooked. A complete Electoral Roll might be used by our friends to show the interest we feel in Representative Government. A deficient registration would be a handle to our enemies for the opposite purpose. Comparisons would be made between this and the electoral districts within the Province of New Munster, and if we suffered by the comparison it would be our own ' fault — we had the elements for a good electoral roll, and if we did not use them we bad only ourselrea to blame. A comparison of the register with the population returns would slso show the proportion those having a property or fixed habitation bore to the floating: population of the province. Other reasons in favour oi a complete registration, might he readily added, but he (Mr. Whitaker) apprehended that it was unnecessary to accumulate reasons without which it was so apparent. To the extent of completing the registration, all parties could work together without a compromise of opinion, though if more were attempted each most probably would not be the case. The next step, perhaps, was the selection of candidates', in which all could not be expected so readily to agree. But as far as the present movement went, it was no party matter; all ought to assist, for no one he (Mr. Whitaker) was sure would controvert, that if the electors were left without assistance, the registrations would be incomplete ; and, on the other hand, that it was most desirable that the register of electors should contain as many of the names as possible of those who possessed qualifications. Mr. Whitaker then moved the following resolution :—: — 1. That with a view to obtain a fair expression of public opinion at the approaching election of members of the Provincial Council of New Ulster, it is desirable that steps should be taken to ensure as nearly as practicable the due registration, in their respective electoral districts, of all those who are entitled to qualify as voters. Seconded hy Captain Salmon, and carried unanimously. Dr. Bennett, in a short speech, which was 'chiefly explanatory of the principles bywhich the PreliminaryMeeting, in which the arrangements had been made, were guided in preparing the list qF names, to be submitted for the approbation of the Meeting, as forming a Committee, moved, 2. That the following gentlemen do form a Committee to carry out ihe objt-ct set forth in the first Resolution : — His Worship the Mayor, Mr. Whitaker, Mr. A. Kennedy, Dr. Campbell, Mr. W. S. Grahame, Mr. Win. Brown, Captain Salmon, Mr. Thos. Henry, Mr. David Nathan, Captain Porter, Dr. Bennett, Mr.

David Burn, Mr. Ridings, Mr. T. S. Forsanh, Mr. Hush Coolahan. . , Seconded by Mr. Hargreaves, and earned uuaniTfnForsaith, in moving tbe thiid resolution said, Tt lias been said by the wisest of men, that in aM labour there is profit, and the principle is undeniably true, bin it is also equally certain that the profit does not always accrue to the labourer. Your committee are ev.denlly men wise in their genera-ion. They know that the benefit will be yours, while thpy shrewdly suspect that the loss will be theirs. The benefits which will be conferred upon the electors who, through the agency of tbe committee, may be ass-isted to register their votra are so obvious/and bare been so lucidly explained by (he mover of the' first resolution, that it is unnpeessavy to putsue the subject further. But it must be equally obvious to the meeting, that an undertaking like that which will devolve upon the committee cannot be commenced and carried on efficiently without expense; a;id it would be an insult to the good sense and good feeling of the community to suppose that electors n ho may he assisted by the committee, and benefited by their labours would tolerate such a catastrophe as the infliction ot loss upon the laboureis for their public aud patriotic services. Hence tbe resolution which he would presently read. His friend, Dr. BennGtt, the preceding speaker, bad given ihera something like a secret history of his resolution. Tbe same perhaps might be expected from him. The passion of the present day was for secret histories and, he could assure them that the proposition Jie had to make bad not assumed its present shape until after it bad been made the subjpet of much animated discussion and argument. Originally it had borne a more marked and specific character, as it w&t, proposed to fix a charge of one shilling each upon these forms for the use of electors, which tbe committee, at the outset of their career, would find it necessary to print and circulate. But it was argued in opposition to this, that such a charge would have an ignoble sound. Tl would detract from, the dignity of the proceedings of the august Central Registration Committee of the ProTinceofNew Ulster— the grand recruiting society for tbe enlistment of voters, should so far demean themselves as to demand from every recruit the paltry sum of one shilling for their services ! It was considered more dignified to trust to the honour and liberality of electors, and depend upon the good sense and gratitude of tbe community for the necessary funds to meet tbe expenditure. And surely it could not be necessary to urge such a paltry consideration upon the meeting, when the extent of the advantages to be derived trom tbe labours of the committee were borne in mind. They bad been reminded already that it is of the utmost importance to the present and prospective interest of the settlement that the registration of votes should be complete, and it had also been clearly shown that without tbe aid of a Registration Committee this would not, in all probability, be accomplished ; and as it must readily occur to every one present that the committee's labours would inevitably entail some outlay, he felt assured that the electors would cheerfully respond to the appeal when called upon to do so. The preliminary meeting had proposed to fix tbe maximum charge at one shilling, but when the value and import ance of the benefits that would accrue to the electors, through the labour* of the committee, were realised and understood, he felt assured that the electors would fully justify the confidence reposed in their liberality, and subscribe, if necessary, even double that amount, in order to shield the committee from loss. He therefore begged 'o move : — 3. That in order to meet the expenses necessary to be incurred, every voter registered through the instrumentality of the committee be invited to contribute a small sum towaids a fund for the purpose, and if the amount thus received be found insufficient, a subscription be raised to make up the deficiency. Seconded by Dr. Campbell, and carried unanimously. It was then proposed by Mr. Kennedy, and seconded by Mr. Brown, that the Mayor do leave the chair, and that Mr. Grahame do take the same. A vote of thanks to the Mayor for his able conduct in the chair having been passed, the meeting separated.

Newspaper at New Plymouth. — We have pleasure in stating that an addition to the periodical press of our Province is about to be made by the publication of a journal to be called the Taranahi Herald, which, we anticipate, will shortly appear, as a press, type, and printing materials have just been sent from Auckland for the purpose, on board the Jb'clair,

Presentation. — We record with gratification that yesterday morning a silver medal, as the reward of long service and good conduct, was pre - sented to Color-Sergeant John Freeman, of the defcaehment of Royal Artillery stationed in Auckland. The presentation of this honourable reward of inevit was accompanied with a feeling and appropriate speech by the Commanding Officer, Captain Travers, R.A. We have to congratulate Lieutenant M'Donald, R.N., of Hokianga, on his promotion to the rank of Commander, information of which has been received by the CressweU.