COMPILING THE ROLLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15729, 2 October 1914, Page 7

COMPILING THE ROLLS.

WORK OF REGISTRARS. MERITS OF NEW SYSTEM. The main electoral roll?, it- is expected, will dose on October 7, but the date is not yet absolutely fixed, and the various registrars are awaiting final instructions from Wellington before proceeding with the printing of the lists. During the past few months an enormous amount of work has been done by the registrars, and by the postal and police officials, who were responsible for the actual work of collecting the names. | The system that is being followed is a new one, and has already been described. The registrars of the various districts prepared cards, each containing the name and address of an elector on the 1911 roll, and these cards were, in the cities, handed over to the postmen. The latter made inquiries and returned the cards to the registrars, indicating whether or not the persons referred to were still at the address given; and, if not, whether their address was known or unknown. If they had moved to other electorates enrolment forms were sent trim, and they were instructed to apply to the registrar of their district for enrolment. If " address unknown" -were reported, a registered letter was sent to the elector's last known address, in which he was informed that it was proposed to strike him off the roll. If the letter came back through the dead letter office the name of the person concerned was added to the list of persons to be struck off the roll. This system provided for the purging and checking of the existing roll. The enrolment of newcomers or of young people coming of age was provided for by giving the postmen, and, in places where there are no postmen, the police, power to attend to enrolments. Postmen going their rounds were provided with ] enrolment forms, and were expected to make an inquiry at every house in their districts. In the country this work was done by the postmasters or by the police. j The more isolated the district, or more scattered the population, the more difficult it became to obtain a complete roll. The magnitude of the task that confronted the electoral officers may be indicated "by the fact that in each district from 10,000 to 30,000 letters had to be delivered by the post office, or, as the' result of inquiries, returned to the sender. For extra work in connection with the electoral rolls the postmen are each to i receive £2.

There is a consensus of opinion among the registrars that, while in some instances their work has been done admirably by post office employees, in other cases the districts have not been thoroughly covered. This impression has been created in their minds by many individual cases brought under their notice of men being reported as " address unknown" while they are still residing at addresses which have been I theirs for many years of persons coming in seeking enrolment who have resided for a considerable period at places regularly visited by postmen; and of failure to secure the names of any electors at places where, to their own knowledge, electors are now residing. Some of the electoral officers say that while the new system, in theory, is an efficient and economical one, in practice it shows defects which are due to too much dependence being placed on officials who aro already fully occupied with their ordinary duties. A postman, they point out. is not an underworked official under ordinary circumstances, and cannot be expected to display an excess of zeal in checking electoral addresses, and surveying his district for new electors, when his reward for the extra work is only small, and is the same whether his work is done satisfactorily or indifferently. The test of the new system will com© when the mam rolls are issued shortly and are scrutinised by the various organisations interested in the political and licensing issues. The registrars have compiled their rolls in the usual way— by the card system— as soon as they receive the instructions they are now awaiting they will strike out the names of those who are dead, who have left the district, or who failed to vote at the last election, and will then place their lists m the hands of the printers