MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2954, 13 September 1882, Page 2

MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.

fTO the editor.]

Sib, — I am informed that the Borough Council has sent to Mr Sutter, in Wellington, for information in, reference to a written protest I lodged at the Council office before the„nominutions for Councillors were sent in, and that Mr Sutter has obtained the opinion of the Solicitor-General on the subject ; also, that the Borough. Council were in possession of a telegram from the Mayor* with the necessary information, at their last meeting. I am led to suppose that there must be some mistake about the matter, as there is not a word about it in your report of the meeting, and further there was nothing said about it in my presence, while I was at the meeting. May I ask you to say in this evening's issue if such information was read at the meeting, and what it was, as your reporter was there. May I also ask you kindly to print herewith Section 50 of ‘‘The Municipal • Corporations iiot,” as the burgess rolls, in my opinion, are ail

illegal as.at present mads up, the names of many persons who are liable to bo rated not being .‘on those rolls.—l am, &C., Rout, Harvey. [Section 50 of the “ Municipal Corporations Act,” referred to by our correspondent, is as follows : 50When a borough is first divided or redivided into wards under the provisions of the twenty-first, twenty-second, and-twenty-thiH - sections, the, Town jQlesk;; shall forthwith make up from the burgess roll or rolls in force new burgess rolls for each such new ward, and shall place on the roll of each such ward the name of each burgess who appears from the valuation roll to be liable to bo rated in respect of property in such ward, and shall assign to each the number of votes to which he is hereby entitled in respect of such property. And such rolls, when corrected by the Council and signed by the Mayor and any two Councillors, shall he the burgess rolls for such new wards until new rolls are made up in the May following. Our correspondent will observe that we gave publicity, in our report, to his interview with the Council. Regarding the- telegram from His Worship the Mayor, wo certainly should not think of giving publicity to such a communication, except at the request of the Returning Officer. The election was not dealt with in any way by the Council ; it lay entirely in the hands of the Returning Officer.—Ed. “S. O. T.”]