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■ Finance On the transport, to enable the printing of forms en route, it was necessary to cable for authority to expend money up to £50. It was actually necessary to expend only €13 16s. 6d. All expenditure was accounted for by voucher. On arrival I made early contact and discussed finance with Lieutenant-Colonel J. Martin, who was acting as Paymaster, 2 N.Z.E.F., in the absence of Colonel F. Prideaux, 0.8. E. Before leaving the Middle East, vouchers were prepared in respect to all accounts. In consideration of the fact that all requirements of the 2 N.Z.E.F. are supplied by Great Britain and the election was not strictly a normal military requirement, Brigadier N. McD. Weir, after discussion with General Headquarters, Middle East, decided that services supplied for electoral should be a charge on the Electoral Department, and accordingly it was decided to assess the value of all stationery used, and to charge the standard rate of 7d. per mile for any vehicle used solely for electoral requirements, the resultant sums to be paid to British authorities. This step was thought necessary in order not to mar the excellent relationship at present existing on the matter of stores and equipment, and I consider the attitude very reasonable. In view of the small stationery requirements and the large quantities of stationery which were distributed throughout the 2 N.Z.E.F. in the course of the election, the claim for stationery was waived. At no time was any charge made for any service supplied by the 2 N.Z.E.F., and no assessment was made for rations and quarters of Captain Bolland and myself. An account of £47 7s. 7d. was incurred for transport used, and in view of the services made available to me, this payment is, in effect, only a token payment. The cables despatched on electoral business were, of course, a charge on the New Zealand Government, and a large account was incurred in this connection, as the results cables were very lengthy. Expenditure was held rigidly to the minimum at all times. Transport On arrival I requested that a car and a light truck be made available to the electoral staff, but it was pointed out that transport was exceedingly scarce and it was therefore impossible to allocate vehicles solely for my use. Arrangements were, however, made for me to draw on the pool of transport vehicles operated by the 11. Q., 2 N.Z.E.F. This arrangement was satisfactory in all ways, and at all times a vehicle was made available as required. My requirements in transport were kept to a minimum, and full use was made of vehicles engaged in Army duties which were going in directions required by mo, For personal transport I used at all times civilian services. It is pointed out here that it was necessary to make many trips in person to ascertain information, as Egypt is recognized as a centre for espionage and no telephone is considered " safe." It is impossible, therefore, to ascertain strengths or locations over a telephone, and even for personal visits credentials are very carefully checked. Statements os Party Policy and Nominated Candidates This was a matter of considerable interest to New-Zealanders in the Middle East, and such material was eagerly awaited there. Lieutenant-General Freyberg asked if I had brought anything of such nature from New Zealand, and as I had not he immediately cabled asking for this material to be supplied by the 9th September at the latest. This was the latest date to allow .printing and distribution of 2 N.Z.E.F. Times before voting commenced, The New Zealand Government Advertising Office supplied to me all clippings relating to candidates and the elections generally which had appeared in New Zealand papers until the time of my departure. This material was offered to N.Z.E.F. Times, but it was considered inadvisable to use it as it was complete only to about 20th July and on examination proved to be not representative of all parties and very incomplete. Shortly after my arrival it became necessary for the Division to undertake training in preparation for the move to Italy, and extensive planning took place. The Division was to undertake unit and brigade manoeuvres and then move to a new training area —the move involving a week s march lor all units ; the complete transfer of the Division was to take two weeks. One day, the Pith September, was left free so that all units could vote on that day. Supplies were distributed, and the list of nominated candidates was published with the utmost despatch to facilitate this object and to save dislocation of unit functions. Unfortunately the cabled statement did not arrive and the Division had to move. On 11th September General Freyberg held a conference with his administrative officers and myself and the position was discussed. I assured him that a delay in voting, although inconvenient, could be successfully handled by me, and it was decided to stop voting until 19th September with the exception of permanent booths, the postal voting,., mobile booths, and units a great distance away. A cable was despatched to New Zealand by General Freyberg asking whether the publicity was coming, for at this late date we were in a quandary, Unfortunately 6,000 votes were cast before the signal stopping voting was received by units. Units were, of course, keyed up to complete voting as soon as possible. The N.Z.E.F. Times withheld issue, although a complete paper was set up in case of non-arrival of the party statements. The cable containing the statements was received on 13th September and the paper rushed into publication and was distributed on 15th September. For copies of the printed statements see Appendix F [not printed]. The difficulties arising out of the delay have been reported on further under " Voting Arrangements " and " Preliminary Count." The advertisement desired by the National Council of the Licensed Trade and the New Zealand Alliance arrived by cable on 13tli September, and by this time the paper was half run. Paper and printing facilities are in short supply in the Middle East, and it was impossible to include these advertisements in this issue. The Chief Electoral Officer was advised by cable and the advertisements placed in the next issue of the paper five days later. Accounts for these advertisements were submitted by 2 N.Z.E.F. Times to the parties concerned.

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