Wellington Independent SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1871.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVII, Issue 3121, 11 February 1871, Page 2

Wellington Independent SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1871.

Some people are never satisfied. They clamour for the ballot, and because it does not do whai it never professed to do — secure the return of their favorite, they throw it away like a petted child with a suddenly despised toy. It seems that great exception is taken to the mode of voting by ballot' at the present elections, on the ground that in order to prevent fraud by double voting or any other way, the Returning Officer in certain cases may discover how a person has voted. The numbers, we are gravely told "for which no apparent necessity exists, do all the mischief." Now, let us take the r case of the poll formally declared yesterday. The Returning Officer announced that the correct numbers rather differed from those announced on the polling day, as one man had voted twice. He then read the numbers polled properly by each candidate. Now how could this rectification have been made without these hated numbers? Oh !it is said, very easily by, comparing the Rolls in which, as every voter got a ballot paper, his name was scratched out, and if it bad been scratched out at two polling places, then it was clear the voter had voted twice. True, oh sapient grumbler! such is the very method prescribed by the act for detecting voting twice. " The Returning Officer shall, in the presence and hearing of such scrutineers as shall be present, compare with one another all the certified copies of rolls on which the fact of any person having received a ballot paper has been noted by himself or any deputy, and if on such compari son it shall appear that the same person has received a ballot paper at two or more polling places" — (that is the detection of the fraud ; now for its rectification) — " the Returning Officer shall, in the presence of such scrutineers as choose to be present, open the parcels of ballot papers used at the several polling places at which such person shall appear to have received any ballot paper, and shall select therefrom the ballot papers on which the number corresponding to the name of such person shall appear, and shall disallow every vote appearing to have been given by means of the ballot papers so selected." Such, then, is the mode prescribed by the act for preventing fraudulent voting. Suppose the Returning Officer had discovered that "John Smith" had voted for Mr Travers twice (as some voter must have done), and supposing the ballot papers had no numbers on them, was he to put his hand blindfold into the ballot box and draw out a ba'lot paper by chance ? Because some partisan of Mr Travers acted unfairly, would that bo set right by pulling out a paper containing a plumper for Mr Borlase? If- this wrong could not be rectified but by perpetrating a greater wrong, it must be left alone, and then it would be easy for an elector to vote as many times at every election as there are polling places But, it is said, that the Returning Officer and scrutineers by this way become acquainted with the way in which all the electors vote. Now, if we turn to the Act we shall see that nothing of the kind is possible, and if (as we presume) our Returning Officer and the ' scrutineers have done their duty, they cannot divulge (even if they were disposed to commit what the Act makes a felony) the names of more than one person who voted on Tuesday, because they cannot know hoio any other recorded his vole. The Act is very stringent as to secresy. Every voter knows that no person knew at the time he voted, what names he scratched out, and left in, and that up to the close of the poll no officer, no scrutineer, no mortal man, in fact, could know the contents of one ballot paper. Now, at the close of the poll what takes place? "Immediately upon the close of the poll tho Returning Officer, and every deputy at the polling place, at which each shall preside, shall, in the presence and subject to the inspection of such of the scrutineers as choose to be present and the poll clerks of any but no other persons opeu the ballot box and proceed to ascertain the number of votes for each candidate, and shall upon and after such opening both abstain himself from inspecting ihe writing upon the bach of the ballot papers, and take care that the same is not seen by any person present before the papers are enclosed in a sealed parcel as herein provided. (> Up to thus -point then the most absolute secresy is secured. But, it may be said that in going over the papers to detect and rectify fraudulent voting as we have explained, the Returning Officer and the scrutineers will learn how every one voted. This is specially provided against, for it is enacted that " upon and after the opening of such parcel the Returning Officer shall both abstain himself from inspecting the faces of the ballot papers in the several parcels other than the ballot papers selected therefrom so opened and shall take care that the faces of the same are not seen by any 'person present? It follows, therefore, that outof the eight hundred that voted on Tuesday, no person knows how they voted except the voters themselves, with one exception, viz., the name of the man who voted twice. The most absolute secresy is therefore secured, and at the same time a means of detecting fraud and rectifying its consequences. That there is a good reason for knowing that voter's name will appear from the following extract from the 50th section, which for his comfort we here reprint. "If any person shall vote twice at any election for the same district, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable with fine

or imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for any term not exceeding two years." Every man then who votes fairly, votes in the most absolute certainty that his vote shall never be known. The only risk is that the returning officers, deputy-returning officers, and scrutineers appointed by all the rival candidates shall all lay their hsads together and commit perjury and felony. A man who is afraid of this is not fit to exercise the franchise.