West Coast Times. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 324, 6 October 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1866.

Although it was understood on Thursday that some error had been discovered by the Assessors in the numbers annouueed by .them on Wednesday, of votes polled^ for the several candidates for Municipal _ office, the statement jnacjc yesterday afternoon by Mr Sale took the electors by surprise. Th.c Chairman and Assessors were tKanked by the meeting at the Court House for the eudeavors they had hiade to give effect to an Ordinance confessedly most difficult of interpretation ; aud we dare say they deserve the compliment; although, we arc altogether unable to concur with them in their reading of the law. It strikes us also 'as a most singular circumstance, that whilst the provisions of / the Municipal Ordinance, with respect to the qualification of voters, have been so rigidly .enforced in all their technical exactitude, all the ojihor proceedings of the' Chairman and Assessors have been so lax. We confess we can find nothing 'whatever in the Ordinance that provides- for the case tliat has now arisen.* Whafc Mr Sile appears to have requested by telegiaph from the Provincial Solicitor, was not an interpretation bf the law, but simply directions " how to act"' under the unexpected circumstances that had" arisen ; and we cannot coniecture to what extent — or indeed/ iii what sense at all — those instructions can' be considered to have legal force. The Ordinanqe does not confer upon the Chairman and Assessors the right of giving a casting vote in v cases where there is an equality of suffrages polled; but neither does it provide for taking a second poll in such , cases. 'In what light js the proceeding of Tuesday next !o be regarded ? Is it an election to - fill a vacant seat ? If so, why should' not the full liberty of nominat-, ing candidates for the seat be enjoyed by the electors ? Is it a continuation by . adjournment of the" previous election 1 ? .If so, are all tho votes that were recorded on "Wednesday for Messrs Clarke and Lynch' to stand .to their credit, and additional votes from persons who did not then poll, only to be taken ' J There is another question. Aro the claimants to vote who were refused- tho right on Wednesday on the ground that their business license*; were not of- (sufficient" standing, but who "have since becomo' qualified, to be admitted to vote on this occasion? If so, why should not th,e rejected, candidates of Wednesday last have an equal right to benefit from this enlargement of the electoral class r It is v fact that about this time last ye^f a large number of business licenses were taken out, and that' during the interval elapsing between the two polling, days, many persons will become entitled to vote on Tuesday next who were 'not en-" titled on Wednesday last. It is quite within possibility, therefore, that either. Mr Clarke or Mr Lynch will receive so man\- more votes than ho did on the former occasion, as .to be placed at the head," instead of the tail of the poll. Why should the eight candidates, who at present, stand above Messrs Clarke and Lyneln be. subject to the possibility of being thus > placed lower down on the list, because, votes are available now which were not available last week? Hut have the Chairman and Assessors any right under the ordinance to reject 'the claims to"" vote; of persons whose licenses date from the 9th October, 1865? , 'loanable himself 'to answer all these questions, and a hundred others of the same kind that might be suggested, Mr Sale, we fear, will have f.O, make pretty free use of the t^egraph wires to-day (Uicl on Monday ; smd'even if h£ inono-

politic them throughout the two days, it is hard to sec how he can instructions that will square with the law. A brilliant specimen of legislation the Municipal Ordinance undoubtedly is !

After the committal of Thomas Audley yeslerdny, the Resident Magistrate . intimated that ho would take bail for tho accused in himself L2OO, and two suretios of LIOO each. We believe the bail wa9 not tendered up to a Into hour hist evening. By the arrival of tho Alhambra and tho Bruce yesterday, we havo fjlea of Melbourne papers to tho 29th ult., and of Duhodin papers to the / same date. We furnish as much of tho 'news they contain as our spaco will permit. Several letters^ from correspondents aro unavoidaTily held over. We quoted recently a telegram from Dun- i odhi, which appeared in the " Lyttelton j Times," stating that in tho trial, " Barton v. j Russell," for malicious prosecution, a vordict j was returned for tho plaintiff, with LSOO damages. The telegraphic correspondent of j the " Times'' appears to havo committed the tho very serious, error of transposing the names { of the suitors.' The plaintiff in whoao favor r tho verdict was given was Russell, not Barton. As might have been anticipated, such au extraordinary finding, under all tho circum- j stances, has been followed ' by an application for a rule nisi for a new trial. Tho application was to be made at a sitting in banco on Monday lash Last night a rumor "was current in town that the murderer Sullivan was to anivo by the Claud Hamilton to-day. Wo understand that it originated in a quarter which stamps it- with a certain amount of reliability, but wo were unable to obtain an absoluto confirmation of.tlie reporfc We.trust he will arrive so that tho examination of those unfortunate men, who have already Buffered so many roma'nds pending his evidonce, may be proceeded with. • * i

From the Wellington papers wo- learn that in cominittco, on the New Postal Act, in the House of Reprcsentatives.^ho clause imposing stamps on newspapers was carried by a majority of four, tho numbers being — -for 24, against 20. Wo also learn that an amendment on the Stamp Duties Bill, negativing the clause for imposing a duty on bank notes', was lost by a majority of 33 against 13. ■

By tho Omco and Otago steamers 18,000 ounces of gold were exported from Iho district, vhieh would have bCeiv augmented by •1000 -more, if the latter vessel could hare waited twelve hours longer iv tho Groy roadstead. W« ™ay therefore assume that 22,000 passed through the Custom House, and if to this amount is added the 5000 ounces sent away in tho Albion on the 'Ist instaut, wo shall have tho very respeetablo total of 27,000 ounces upon wliich duty has been paid during the present month. Besides this amount, tho Banks of New Zealand and New South Wales have Tory heavy parcels in hand awaiting 'shipment to Melbourne and Sydnoy.

The Melbourne." Age '\says :— -".There can be no doubt thatithe Exhibition, which, is to be inaugurated on- tho ll'th October, will be a magnificent success, as indicating the progress of industrial enterprise,., not, only here but throughout tlie Australian group. Victoria, as the originator of the enterprise, will necessarily show to the greatest advantage, but we believe there is the most generous desire to ! see the^sister colonies also represented at their very best. Local or political jealousies should be absolutely set at naught upon such an occasion ; aud, in fuct, nothing but iuveterate prejudice or partizanship would p6rm.it such feeliugs to intervene. A notable exception to this, however, is the conduct of a free trade oracle, x who chuckles over the fact that the Exhibition will present " various \ specimens of manufacturing industry,"' the establishment of wliich uc protectionist can trace to the new tariff. Such silly rubbish as ( this is equally amusing and 'contemptible. The " new tariff" is. not the object of the protectionists, but the establishment of " new industries." If mnimf.icturing^proecsses have commenced indepcudent/j of this particular tariU", well aud good ; but ! surely it will be btill bettor if it encourago Industrial ventures which would never have been possible otherwise. So long ti3- native industry 'decs flourish, so long ns our own people are employed instead/ of foreigners, it matters little whether the cause began to operate, before the tariff or before tho deluge."

On Hie 2nd instant "the- dead body of a man was found upon thl South 'Spit of the Gh-ey River, and recognised as oneo belonging to a saijgr named Henry Owens, a native of Virginia, U.S. Au inquest was held upon it dhe same day, "when from tho evidence adduced it appears that on the 14th of September he was at the wreck of the bdiooiier Excelsior," ou. the South Beach, and was labt seen alive at 3 a.m. tho noxt morniug.nnaking bis way towards Blake Ton-n! Being somewhat intoxicated at tho time, il was supposed that ho must haru fallen into the lagoon, and met his death by drowning, aud tho body afterwards swept out to sea by the current. A verdict of " found drowned" was returned.

A sad accident happeiiod at Maori G-ully, in the Arnold river distriot, by which a minor nainod Larry Moran lost his life. The doceased was at tho time employed in clearing a claim <of timber, and whilst chopping down a tree close to an old shaft, somo fifteen foot deep, missed his footing, and fell into it. His mates heard him fall, and in a few minutes recovered the body, but only to find that life had departed, the poor fellow having brokeu his neck, There was also a deep cut, upon tho forehead. At au official enquiry held by 4he police the above facts were elicited, aud a, verdict of accidental death returned. , Deceased was about fifty-one years of age, and a native of Kildare, in Ireland. He left no property behind him.

A Danger to Iron-plated Vessels. — A Toulon letter says:— " The steam ram Tureau has just entered the port to be placed in dry-dock and have her bottom cleaned. That operation has been commenced none too soon ; after being eight months in commission, this vessel had an immense mass of vegetation adhering to her plates ; even coral had already acquired there a certain dimension. What, is more serious is the holes, of from a' third to half an iuchin^epth, which have been bored by worms just along the^vater line, the most vulnerable part of the ship, and which menace to become a serious^ danger to irou-caeed ships if means aro not adopted to protect them-." ' '