LOCAL OPTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 65

LOCAL OPTION.

THE MASTERTOX PETITION. HEA.RIXG COMMENCED. MAJSTERTON, January 11. The heaving of the petition "of the Liquor party to upset the re-cent local ' option poll was comnv.'ac<>d this arteinoon j I before Dr M'ArHiur ami iit.-^.r. \V. P. ' James and A. I). Thom^n, S.M.?. Mr j E. P. Skerrett, K.L\, with him Mr E. | A. Povrnall, appeared in support of the | petition, and Mr P. L. Holhiv*, with . him Ma- H. Ostler, of Wellington, repre- I sented the No-license party. "" j Mr Holliiigs said lie proposed to maW j objections to ceitain jrour.ck in the pet: ! tion. Ho ountciided "thr.t zh* limits -A >, the petitioners were restiicted to an inquiry into the. poll a.s p«rv-d«^ by the Licensing Act. Section 33 of the act set out the inquiries that the court vas restaicted to making, and irie^ulaiitie 1 ? of the pa l ! were set oat in section 55. He ! submitted that no section of the act gay*> j any authority to inquire into any yttion of ths Governor or his Minister.-., and | that i\a3 what the petitioners wanted. | TII3 court was n-o l^ clothed with the ' powers of an electoral court. If the poll wa* void under section 8 foi th>? nongazetting of bound-arks the court va> not calkd on to say it wa, \-oid. All that I could bo do no was the ordenng of a new ! poll. The jurisdiction of the couit was confined .strictly to the conduct of th;> po". i and for that leaton he &jbmittcd that clauses (a) and (d) should be s-tiuJ* out. He also moved that ground (b) — leyaiding all voters except the petitioners not i b2i",i adults — be also eliminated. He submitted thai that v. is too wide an allegation to answer, as it meant that the whole 7000 electors excepting the 60 petitioners were iniant*. He was piepared to answer charges against specified persons not being adults, but it was impossible to answer such a wide charge as thds. Counsel also moved for the elimination of ground 3 of the pstition. which refered to persons from other electorates voting in the electorate, or vice versa. He submitted that that was r.o offence. Mr JSkeirett. in reply, said the argument of previous counsel was wholly unwx&s^ifVY. If bis friend had waited be would have been infoimed on the points raised. He did not propose to deal Tvith ground (b). Counsel said tlat though jurisdiction was not conferred b^ section 33 of the act it was conferred by .sect On 196. subs^vtion (f). of "The Legislature Act, 1903," in winch the language, though making siiiiilar provi^iora. wif put in a different and stronger form. He submitted that no couit had juriidiotion to go behird the roll. By faction 33 of the Licensing Act ie wa? not intended to j confer the jurisdiction ncccssrav to giv-* \ effctt to i3<rouiKl (b), aid sec-tioa 75 of | the Le-gi.'-lature Act wa- a t-i>&ci2c decLua- i tion that j.er&v-'ns v.iio-e names neie o;i j thj comuk-tcd ujVl «j;J no others, w- a ' entitled to Mr H •l^nc:^ h^i .-v.d J that giouud (b) v^ a? no: s-p3— lie en^a^'i, j Lul, coan-el o<ial<i hai^ n \ iii 2a o r u.. ai:;, tliiji^ nioic* spe-jinL. The t'.<.u.t. j lnt ;tt tm tot.tl \ote — that v. a^. the \OLe of e\eiy elector f\ -!>' t'lo-t: o: the pit^u^^iJ.- v. u« <'b yj ' t< d to.

J Herbert W. Pownall, law clerk at Masterbon, said he -vt-ns chief scrutineer at I the poll for the License party, and a'£D , acted at the recount before the magistrate. j He knew of voting papers being allowsd lat the recount bearing the signatures ' of the scrutineers- and leturninig officeia across the face. Tbeit? weie &ome papers initialled only, but these were declared invalid at the* main booth. Witness could swear to cases where two ballot papers were issued to one voter, the one person being Mr Ewen Cameron. Tliedeputy who issued the paper was named Jchneton. who, on being spoken to by witness. said he had instructions from the letuz-n---in? officer to take back spoilt papeis and issue others. The spoilt papers were taken and sealed up "by the returning officer, and were not seen by the scrutineers at the court or at the recount. During the totalling of the resrlts in the booth after the poll Mr Dixon and Mr M'Uregor were in the Di ill Hall, not in the booth proper, bixt near the returning oflioer"s table in the outer enclosure. Mr M'Gregor was president of the No-license I League. .Witness saw a procession of i motor cars leave the V.M.C.A. Rooms at j 8.45 a.m. on election div goirg towards the bridge, via Dixon street. Th^ie were ladies in the cars, but witness could not j say who was driving or whether the curt. ' carried anything. Witness saw the c-u"* j again in Queen <-tieet at 9 o'clock, when j they proceeded down Queen strt^t. coming from round the Hall street comer. Witness wais between the Club Hotel and the Post Office at tins time. There were four cars in the procession, each bearing a poll with a streamer ■with the woi'ds "Xo-licen c" on it. 0. Pra,gntll and P. L. Hollings were two of the driveis, witness undei standing that .Mr Hollingu wa>3 a member of the No-!icen c c League. Witnes.s saw a no-license placaid in Hall street during the hours of polling, this being about 75 3 r ards from the main booth. Witnes.3 dc*-ciibed thie jjlacaid and others posted round the town. By I\!r HoLlings : Witness had no idea when the po^t^rs were put up. It was several weeks before the election. He saw none put up "within three days of the election. He understood that the License paity's placards mre al?o left posted up, one clas» of pc.-t-pr being a mock ballot paper bearing a sample of the continuance vote. Witness would swear that the motor car proeeis--ion left the V.M.C.A. Rooms at 8.45 a.m.. ar.d would refute to believe any person v ho swore that the procession closed at 8.55. Witness was not awaiewhether Messrs Yarr and Porter, members of the License party, were in\ited to be in. the part of the booth where Messrs Dixon and M'Gregor were allowed during the compilation of the detailed results. Fully 20 papers, beaiing either the returning officer's name or his deputies' or fhat* of two scrubineeis were allowed by the magistrate on the recount. Various papers v.ere disallowed by the magistrate where initials only were Miitten thereon, this reducing the no-license majoiity. Witness .saw Ewen Cameron receive hi 3 two ballot paper?, the second one being handed across from the deputy to Cameron by witness. Joseph Arthur, advei Using agent, said he ported up the no-license hoardings on Xovombtv 5. They were of different drsi^os, aiul remained up until after the day after the election, when they were pasted over by other adveiiising matter. They veie ordered to be put up by Mr K. J. Ch'l (.on. a local siayiwriter. who Kturl that Mr W. H. Cruickshank had authorised them. They were to be ported up for 14 days, but nothing aws said as to hou long they were to remain up. By Mr Hollinas: Witmns al=o parted up imitation ballot papers for the License party, showing how to vote for continuance, and these vcre on the boards on the day of the election. John .To -eph Kellih.-r. law clerk, said l>e a.<"ted a^ the License party's K'rutineer at No. 2 compartment of the main booth, and saw two extra billot papers i^rmed wliere the origirrils wcie spoilt. Witn?.« figued several ballot papeis on the invitation of the leturning officer. Wit-Ji{-s saw a pioie.-wion of motor cais jn^L I)efoie 9 o'(!ock — about two minute* before — when the cars, were in Hall stiC't. Witness signed the do< Laation form <■'> a wuhout hctiing any gfction of an act read to him. Mr Janw?-- observed that a^ the declaration form contained a statement that the &:gnatory lw<l heard a section of the act rojid out to him the action of the witn^s-s in signing without heannsr thi< section read wa« improper, and it was further shown, if such were the case, tint theie had hceii grave niiscorduct on the part of the person swearing in. James Bright, farmer, of Rongokokaho, said h» anived at Ronookokalio at about two minuto to 9 o'dork, and found the booth not open, nor hid it opened by i>c-arlv 9 30, k!kh witne ? l°ft. By Mr HolJinuJ: Witt e~s did not have a watch himself, but w;i.« told the time at the chee.se fa'tory. aiH he compute J Uio t,ime by the di-^tiiiie of hw hom.^ from tlie polling booth, and the time it took him to reach it. The court vljourr. m] at this :-tage till 9.30 to mouov. .