POLLING-DAY HOLIDAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20537, 11 April 1930, Page 12

POLLING-DAY HOLIDAY.

QUAINT POSITION CREATED.

HALF BROADWAY AFFECTED.

SOME SHOPS OPEN. OTHERS CLOSE

The holding of the by-election in the Parnell electorate on May 7 will affect the Newmarket, shopping area in a strange way, as virtually half the business premises will have to observe a halfholiday- Manukau Road, from St. Stephen's Avenue to Green Lane, including Broadway, forms a boundary line, so that shops and offices on the east side of that thoroughfare, which usually observe Saturday as tlio half-day, will bo ohliged to observo polling-day, a Wednesday, instead One effect of the statutory provision will he that, of Newmarket's three hotels, two on the west side of Broadway will be open all day, while the third, on the east side of the street, will be obliged to close its doors at noon on polling-day.

Tho portion of Manukau Road which forms an electoral boundary, while mainly a residential thoroughfare, has numerous shops on both sides, and tho experience of Newmarket will be repeated at numerous points along Manukau Road. Shopkeepers on one side may continue tu attend to the wants of patrons; rivals opposite will have to observe a half-holiday, with tho solace that premises may be opened all day on the following Saturday.

On the occasion of a by-election in Auckland East in 1921 a similar situation on a larger scale was experienced by shopkeepers and publicans. The electoral boundary was Queen Street, the city's busiest commercial thoroughfare.

" Such happenings as this show that the law really is an ass." said a Newmarket shopkeeper or) the "holiday" side of Broadway. "It is time such absurdities in the legislation were removed. The fact that shops can be opened for the whole of Saturday is poor compensation, as people are so used to regarding that day as a half-holiday that it is questionable whether it will be worth our while to remain open." It is not necessary for factories in the electorate to observe a half-day on pollingday, but employees must be allowed a reasonable opportunity to record their votes.

FIRING FIRST SHOTS.

TWO SPEECHES ON TUESDAY.

VISITS OF MINISTERS. Now that the three official candidates have been chosen, events in connection with the Parnell by-election wear an interesting complexion. The Labour candidate, Mr. T. Bloodworth, has already announced that he will open his campaign with a meeting of electors at the Remuera Library Hall next Tuesday evening. The United Party headquarters intimated yesterday that in all probability its candidate, Mr. W. A. Donald, would commence his active campaign on the same evening with an address at the Moulin Bouge Theatre, Remuera. There will be no dearth of seasoned campaigners to sponsor the cause of the various candidates. The advance guard of the Cabinet Ministers expected to participate in the contest will arrive from Wellington this morning in the person of the Hon. W. A. Veitch, Minister of Labour. It is stated that Mr. Veitch has a large amount of official business to attend to and will probably remain in Auckland until Monday. Local members of the United Party, however, hope to persuade the Minister to remain a liftle longer in order to speak at Mr. Donald's opening meeting on Tuesday evening. Five other Ministers are expected to bo in Auckland at various stages during the campaign, but no dates for their visits have been arranged yet. Mr. Bloodworth is not to be left to wage a lone-handed fight in Labour's cause. Mr. M. J. Savage, M.P., who is organising the Labour campaign, said yesterday that it was expected that Mr. H. E. Holland, M.P., Leader of the Labour Party, Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., and Mr. W. Nash, M.P., would all visit Auckland during the last week of the campaign.

ROLLS CLOSE TO-DAY.

ABSENT VOTERS' FACILITIES.

PAST ABUSE OF PRIVILEGE

As the writ for the Parnell by-election will be issued to-day, the. rolls will close at six o'clock this evening and no claims lodged after that hour will he considered. The post office box of the registrar of electors will bo cleared promptly at that hour for claims forwarded by letter.

Parnell electors should make themselves conversant with the postal voting facilities. This system is available to those who will be absent from New Zealand on polling day, those who will not he within five, miles of a polling booth on that day, those whom travel will preclude from visiting a booth, and those ill and infirm. Postal vote certificates and ballot papers may be obtained after the issue of the writ until the time prescribed for the close of the poll. The ballot-paper and certificate must be delivered to the returning officer before, the, time of closing the poll. Electors may also vote at any post office outside.the electorate on the day of the poll. The hope was expressed by the registrar of electors, Mr. F- Evans, yesterday that that facility would not be abused. It had been found in the past, that many electors were too lazy to vote in own electorate, even when the nearest polling booth in the electorate was only a stone's throw away, 'the recording of voles at pcjst offices was intended to meet only bona fide, cases where it was impossible to vote, in the electorate. Voting papers have to be sent, to all post offices in the Dominion in order that all absent voters should have the, opportunity to vote, but Mr. Evans said it was never intended that the facilities should be utilised by those who could reasonably vote in the electorate.