Feb. 13.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 529

district shall prepare a roll of all persons qualified as aforesaid to vote at the election of an elective member of the Land Board of such district.

4. Every such person shall have one vote, save that if two or more persons are the owners jointly or in common of any lease or license as aforesaid they shall have one vote between them; but no owner shall have more than one vote, whether he holds more than one lease or license or not.

Returning Officer.

5. For the purposes of every election the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the land district in which such election is to take place, or some officer of the Lands Department acting for him, shall be the Returning Officer.

Nominations.

6. As soon as practicable after the occurrence of an extraordinary vacancy in the office of an elective member, and not earlier than three months nor later than two months before the date of a vacancy by effluxion of time, the Returning Officer shall publish, in one or more newspapers circulating in the land district, a notice requesting nominations to fill such vacancy, and setting forth—

(a.) The name of the member vacating his seat on the Board;

(b.) The time up to which nominations may be received (being five o’clock in the afternoon of a day not earlier than twenty-one days nor later than thirty days after the notice);

(c.) The manner in which nominations must be made (as prescribed by Regulation 7 hereof); and

(d.) The form of nomination-paper as set forth in the First Schedule hereto.

7. No person shall be eligible as a candidate for election unless he is nominated in writing by at least two owners entitled to vote in terms of these regulations, and the nomination-paper, bearing the candidate’s consent, is received by the Returning Officer before the nominations are closed.

8. Should only one nomination be received as aforesaid, the Returning Officer shall declare the candidate so nominated to be duly elected, provided he is otherwise eligible for election.

Eligible Candidates.

9. No member of the General Assembly, and no person who is for the time being carrying on business as a land agent, either by himself or jointly with any other person, shall be eligible for election.

Notification as to Election.

10. As soon as possible after nominations are closed as aforesaid the Returning Officer shall publish, in one or more newspapers circulating in the land district, a notice specifying—

(a.) The full name of every duly nominated candidate;

(b.) The day on which the poll will be held, being not less than twenty-one days after notification thereof;

(c.) The hour at which the poll will be closed;

(d.) The address to which voting-papers must be sent.

Voting-papers.

11. Voting-papers in the form set forth in the Second Schedule hereto shall be posted by the Returning Officer to each elector within the land district immediately after the publication of the notice prescribed in the preceding regulation.

12. Each voter shall indicate his vote by drawing a line through the names of all the candidates for whom he does not desire to vote, and shall then sign the voting-paper, and post and deliver the same to the Returning Officer in a closed and stamped envelope bearing on the outside the word “Voting-paper.”

13. The voting-paper, if delivered to the Returning Officer, shall be delivered at the office of the Board, or other address fixed by the Returning Officer and notified by him as aforesaid, before or not later than 4 o’clock in the afternoon of the day of the poll, and, if posted to him, must be received by him not later than such time.

14. A voting-paper shall be informal in any of the following cases:—

(a.) If it is not duly signed by the voter;

(b.) If more than one candidate’s name is left uncancelled;

(c.) If the voter votes more than once at the same election;

(d.) If it does not reach the Returning Officer before the close of the poll.

Scrutineers.

15. Each candidate may, by writing under his hand, appoint one scrutineer, who may be present at the examination of the voting-papers as hereinafter mentioned.

Declaration.

16. Each Returning Officer, his assistants, poll-clerks, and scrutineers shall, before entering upon their duties as such, make and sign the declaration set forth in the Third Schedule hereto.

Ascertaining Successful Candidate.

17. On the day after the day of the poll the Returning Officer, at a time previously notified to all candidates, shall cause to be opened and examined all the voting-papers duly delivered to him, or received by him through the post as aforesaid, and, after rejecting all informal voting-papers, shall ascertain the candidate who has received the greatest number of votes, and shall by notice exhibited in the office of the Board declare such candidate to be elected.

Disposal of Voting-papers.

18. The Returning Officer shall, immediately after counting the votes, seal up all voting-papers and transmit the same to the Clerk of the nearest Magistrate’s Court, who shall keep the same for six months thereafter, and shall not open or permit to be opened such packet, except on the order of some Court of competent jurisdiction, and shall at the end six months effectually destroy the same; and no person shall, save on the order of any such Court, open any such packet or destroy any of the contents thereof.

Equality of Votes.

19. If by reason of an equality of votes given for two or more candidates the election is not complete, the Returning Officer shall complete the election by lot in such manner as he thinks fit.

Result of Poll to be advertised.

20. Forthwith after the completion of the election the Returning Officer shall notify in the Gazette, and also by advertisement in a newspaper published in the district, the name of the person elected, the number of valid votes recorded for each candidate, the total number of valid votes recorded, and the total number of votes rejected as informal.

Disputes.

21. Any dispute as to the validity of the election of a member of a Land Board as aforesaid shall be determined by the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the land district, whose decision shall be final and conclusive.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

NOMINATION-PAPER OF MEMBER OF LAND BOARD.

WE, [A. B., C. D., &c.], being lessees [or licensees] of Crown lands in the Land District of , and qualified as electors of the elective member of the Land Board of the same district, hereby nominate [Set out full Christian name and surname and address of the candidate the electors wish to nominate] as a candidate for election to the above-named Board at the election to be held on .

Dated at this day of , 19 .

A. B.
C. D.

I hereby consent to be nominated as above, and hereby declare that I am not disqualified from holding office as a member of the said Land Board.

[Signature of nominated candidate.]

SECOND SCHEDULE.

VOTING-PAPER.

Voting-paper for Use at Election to be held on the day of , 19 , of Member of the Land Board of the Land District of .

CANDIDATES.

[Set out in alphabetical order of surnames the full name and address of every duly nominated candidate.]

DIRECTIONS.

The number of candidates to be elected is ONE.

The voter must draw a line through the name of every candidate except the one for whom he desires to vote, and only one name must be left uncancelled.

This voting-paper must be signed by the elector and delivered to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, , in a closed envelope before 4 o’clock in the afternoon of the day of , 19 , or, if posted to him, must