THE BAY OF ISLANDS ROLL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XV, Issue 5302, 13 November 1878, Page 2

THE BAY OF ISLANDS ROLL.

The JVew Zcalamltr, referring to an article in the Ntw Zealand Times on the Bay of Islands roll case, says:—" The freedom of the people is not what our contemporary wants, but the freedom of the Revising Officer to strike off the roll any person who may not be willing to reinstate some form of the continuous Miuistry in power. We can appeal with confidence to the colony at large as to whose word would most readily gain credence, that of Mr. J. A. Tole or that of the editor of the Neui Zealand Times. The member for £den is a young man of unblemished character, unstained by political intrigue or corruption ; one who has everything to gain by honest action, and his hopes of a lifetime to lose by a manifestation of a lack of principle, or conniving at political dishonesty. The member for Eden stated in the House, and no man bad the hardihood to stand up and contradict his statement, that the Revising Officer had allowed some co-grantees in many instances in the same block of land io exercise their vote 3, and had struck off the roll co-grantees in the same block, becanse their political opinions coincided not with those of the dominant faction. A father' gave a block of land to his children by deed, individualising their title in order to qualify them to vote, and yet for the same reason we are told that they were not allowed to exercise their rights of the franchise. The member for Newton, Mr. Swanson, added his portion of information to the count. On one man being disqualified because his property was not worth fifty pounds, ' I,' said the honorable gentleman to the officer, ' will give him at once a marked cheque for fifty pounds, or fifty sovereigns for it, and that would Boon settle the question what his property is worth.' Analagous instances can be cited ad nauseam."

We have been informed that the royal commission spoken of, when appointed, will learn the very disagreeable fact that there are persons in Auckland who year after year forwarded their claims to be registered as voters, and were as regularly objected to, although haying absolute qualifications, and it would be unreasonable to suppose that they could proceed to appear before the Revision Court at Russell in support of their applications to be registered as electors of Mangonui and Bay of Islands district.