The Oamaru Mail. FRIDAY, SEPT. 24, 1880

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 24 September 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. FRIDAY, SEPT. 24, 1880

The case f Combe v. fchij Returning Officer for Thames Ward was brought to & sudden and unexpected termination yesterday —unexpected, not as regards the result, but {is regards the manner in which that result wss arrived at. Ko one who was acquainted with li»3 fepis the case could have felt any doubt as io »ts issue, We are surprised that the case ever'arose. It was not Mr. M'Combe's fault that his not appear upon the " Citizens' Roll" as qualified tp the amount necessary to render his nomination ar;4,clection Xf anybody wa3 atiaultit was the compile** cf the "roll, but even he could urge fair r.c&6.ir).s for his apparent remissness. ?>'e understand that tf»a '' Assessment Roll" givgs Mr. M'Combe credit for the payment of rates iu regard to a property of whiph no mention is made on the " Citizens' Roll. Had the Council remained under the Otago Ordinance the omission of mention pf this property in the Citizens' Roll would have been immaterial, for he would have been qualified wijh.ontit. Accordingtothat Ordinance, the only peceggary was that oi a ratepayer purp and simple. This being the case, the compilers of the " Citizens' Roll " have mertly mads, vre snppose, haphazard mention of any properties that occurred to them, so lonir as sufficient aiiioußis 7,"erp P a^c \.'^ s rates on account <>f them to the ratepayers. This was quite a a leirftimate method of dealing with the '•'Citizens' Roll" under the old regime, "But for several months prior to the compilation of the last Roll, the Council had been endeavoring to bring the Municipality under the Municipal Corporations Act," 1576, and ic was known that the desire of the Council would be camod out on or about a certain date. When compiling the gojl under which it was supposed the election jjpder the nev arrangement was to take places, the compiler should have been acquainted with the fact that the of a3 it appeared on the - !f £jti;cens' Roll," would be of vital importance in case of a candidate for Municipal honors and have acted accordingly. The Municipal Corporations Act superseded the Otago Ordinance on the pth of AuOTst, "and as the Roll had b«en previonslv compiled in tho usual ijiantier- — without any regard whatever to a correct statement of the qualification, Mr. M'Cojnbe was ineligible for the seat to vhich he aspired. Then, on thelstinst., to make confusion worse, confounded," an Act intitaled the Municipal Corporations Act 3 Amendment Aot, 1830, came into force. The 2fith clause of this Act says :—" The 00th section of the said Act [that of the Municipal Corporations Act referring to the qualification] is hereby repealed, and henceforth every burgess enrolled in respect of rateable property in one or taaro wards shall be qualified to be a Councillor at the borough or any ward thereof." It will therefore be seen that by virtue of the qualifications set down in the " Citizens' Roll" opposite 3lr. M'Combe's name he wa3 eligible at one moment and ineligible at another. The changes were made with such rapidity that nobody acepied to realise either them or their effects. The nomination f6r the Thames Ward occurred on ijip day on which the Act came into operation amending the Municipal Corporations Acts .and rendering Mr. M'Combe'B candidature and election valid. But it aeoras that nobody was aware of the change. As ii3ual,"the Government did not vouchsafe the information to those peculiarly interested that it was contemplated to make such a change, and the result is that Mr. Balmer did pot discover that Mr. M'Combe was right and the Council wrong until the eleventh hour. He then rectified the matter to the best of his ability, But _he could not recall the past, and, notwithstanding that the Returning Officer lost > the day, Mr. M'Combe did not altogether win it.* As the matter now stands, if Mr. M'Conibo desires to obtain a seat in the Coutieil, bo will have to commence [dc noco.