ELECTORAL COURT

Wanganui Chronicle, 6 May 1947, Page 5

ELECTORAL COURT

EVIDENCE ON RAGLAN PETITION UNFINISHED ADDRESSES TO BE MADE TO-DAT (P.A.) Hamilton, May 5. Contrary to expectations held on Friday, the Electoral Court did not quite complete the hearing of evidence to-day, and some little time will be required to deal with the remaining objections to-morrow before Mr. T. P. Cleary begins his submissions on behalf of the respondent, Baxter. Ho will be followed hy Mr. W. J. Sim, K.C., for the petitioner, HallyburtonJohnstone. Evidence of a formal nature was given this afternoon in support of the respondent's objections to a number ol absentee and postal votes on various grounds of alleged failure to complete correctly the declaration made at the time of voting. The absentee voters’ list included six electors who had not named their electorate or had named a wrong electorate (tlie petitioner’s list had no corresponding objections). There were five voters who had struck out the clause of their declaration. One of the names appears also on the list of the petitioner, who had an equal number of objections in his category. Two voters were challenged for failing to sign their declarations, compared with three on the petitioner's list. Eight votes were challenged because declarations were unsigned by the deputy returning officer. Two of the names so appeared on the petitioner’s list of ten objections in this group, while another two had earlier been challenged by the respondent on residential grounds. One elector was challenged as having made no declaration, as was also the case on the petitioner's list. In the postal voting class one objection heard was that a declaration was not signed by the authorised person. John Leathard, a farmer, who witnessed the voter’s declaration, claimed he had authority to act as witness by virtue of having held a commission in the Home Guard. He had no other qualification to witness the declaration, but he was told at the polling booth it was in order for him to take voting papers to an elector who was ill. He obtained the papers, took them to the elector and returned them to the booth after a woman had signed them. Witness said the deputy returning officer had understood that he (Leathard) would witness the declaration. Before the Court rose Mr. Cleary announced that six objections were being abandoned, four of them to declarations which it had been alleged were signed by a disqualified person, and two to voters whom it had been alleged were disqualified to vote by reason of their employment. When the Court resumed to-day Mr Cleary, for Baxter, said that the witness, Wikitoria Minhinnick, who on Friday was too ill to attend the Court, was still unable to give evidence. Instead, Mr. Cleary called Mrs. Bessie Luke, of Hawera, mother of Mrs. Minhinnick, to give evidence in support of the respondent’s claim '.hat tlie daughter is of predominantly Maori blood. Mrs. Luke said that she was a full Maori. Her husband was a three-quarter Maori. Oritva Haddon, Labour Party organiser, who said that he was related to the previous witness, gave corroborative evidence. James Provo M’.’ler, registrar of electors for Raglan, said that Wikitoria Minhinnick had previously been on the roil for Western Maori. Miller said that when applications for enrolment were received from the three Minhinnicks, whose votes were challenged, a letter was sent to their employer, A. E. Muir, who had witnessed their applications, asking him to verify whether they were entitled to vote as Europeans. Muir replied certifying that the three were half-caste Maoris on the roll for Raglan. EVIDENCE OF MISSIONER. The Rev. Rahi Moke, of New Plymouth, a Methodist home missioner, was called in support of the objection against Ngarehu Barton, whose evidence was heard on Friday. He said that Barton was predominantly Maori. Mr. Cleary announced the abandonment of the objection to the vote of Vernon Richard Tout, who. although an infant, was now found to have qualified as an elector because of military service overseas. Mr. W. J. Sim, K.C., announced that respondent's objection to the vote of Nedilko Mate Devcith as being an alien heard on Friday, was not now opposed by petitioner. It was evident that Dcvcich was an alien and his vote could not stand. “It appears to be a case of an unfortunate omission from on ing statute which leaves Devw® out,” said Mr. Sim. , • Clear indication of the voter’s intention was the paramount consideration in allowing or disallowing a ballot paper marked otherwise than in the normal manner, said Mr Cleary in support of objections by respondent to the disallowance by the magistrate at the recount of several votes which Baxter claims should have been allowed as valid votes in his favour. In one case the voter had scored out both names and then attempted to erase the line through Baxter’s name. In another case the voter drew a line just above but not through Johnstone's name. Mr. Cleary submitted that the voter in each case clearly Intended to vote for Baxter, but Mr. A. 1.. Tompkins, for petitioner, said the Court could only guess as to the voters' intention. "A cardinal principle of our electoral law is that the secret of the ballot must be preserved," said Mr. Tompkins, replying to a submission by Mr. Cleary that the voting paper on which an elector wrote “lor Labour should be allowed. The magistrate at the recount held that the writing had distinctive characteristics from which the elector might be identified. Mr. Tompkins, supporting the magistrate’s finding, said it was cast at Temata, a small booth where only 179 votes were cast and any one of the persons acting in the bc’th as it.-nv.ty returning officer or as an assistant. might have seen the ballot paper when it was opened for counting and slight, from the writing, have identified the elector.