HARBOR ELECTIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16122, 10 May 1923, Page 4

HARBOR ELECTIONS.

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE'S DE CTSION.

The adjourned meeting of the, Vigilance Committee's Harbor party, which was to bo dependent on the results of the County elections, has now been definitely abandoned. The decision of the last meeting was that if the Counties did not support the Vigilance party's platform, then no further steps were to be taken in the matter of upsetting the election in the town. Mr. David Wbyte to-day explained the reasons for having held these meetings. Ho states the committee held the opinion that, in the absence of an official declaration of the Harbor election by the returning officer, the eleclion would become automatically void by virtue of the fact that the name of a duly-nominated candidate, "Thomas Augustus Franks," was not on the ballot paper, in which case it would fall to the lot of the Borough Council to 'ill the vacancies, and so the new members would not have been elected by the direct vote of the people. Further. hundreds of electors were deprived of their votes through no faidt of their own. The old Borough Council should hare seen that the electors on the Parliamentary roll were transferred to the Borough roll,'but this was not done. That the Borough Council recognises its responsibility, he said, is illustrated by the fact that the new Council at its first meeting instructed that in future the Parliamentary roll be associated with the Borough roll. If so happened that the Returning Officer oflieiallly announced the results of the Borough election on the Ist of May, but no notice appeared about the Harbor election. In the absence of an official declaration the commit tee were only allowed 14 days from the- dale- of the eleclion to lodge a oetilion with the Magistrate, the last day, therefore being Ihe Dili May. Meanwhile the Returning Officer declared on the 7th. The committee then took legal advice, and were advised they had still a forlnighl- in which to lodge i. petition.; consequently they decided to hold the mailer over (ill'after Iho County elections were held. The results now show, he said, thai neither in the town nor country did the people uphold the Vigilance Committee's policy. In both cases the votinc was two to one against (he policy, althoutrh two of their Candidates. Messrs J. Tombleson and Claude Williams, were returned, apparently, however, on an independent basis. ' The County voted on the contract issue basis, and as a result there nee- at least eight members now on the Board pledjred to the contract system. This may alter the whole aspect of the Board's policy, and interesting development may result. "The Vigilance Committee." he says, "has grounds for holding that ils work has not been in vain. The people have been stirred up as never before, and the Harbor Board is a more consolidated bodv than formerly, and wo can look forward to the business being conducted on a. sound basis in future rather than the haphazard fashion of the past. Nothing can be done with the diversion scheme for two years vet. as the Lvsnar litigation has s;ot that lied up till the Privy Council gives its final decision. By (hat time another election will be'held, and the people will have time meanwhile to pause and conRider, and see how the Board carries out its promise for immediate relief."