2936

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

[No. 80]

11. The poll shall be taken at the places appointed as aforesaid, and shall commence at 9 o'clock in the fore- noon of the day appointed, and shall close at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, unless otherwise ordered by the Returning Officer.

12. The Returning Officer shall cause to be printed a supply of voting-papers in the form No. 1 in the Schedule hereto, and shall supply to each Deputy Returning Officer a sufficient number of such voting-papers, together with any printed matter, stationery, or writing-materials that he may consider necessary for the efficient conduct of the poll.

13. The Returning Officer may appoint such clerks as are necessary for the effective taking of the poll, and shall arrange that every Deputy Returning Officer shall have associated with him on the day of the poll a Maori or half-caste (hereinafter referred to as an associate), whose duty it shall be to assist the Deputy Returning Officer in the manner hereinafter prescribed, and in any other way if so required by such Deputy.

14. Any ten or more electors who are in favour of the proposal that liquor be supplied to Natives in the district may, by writing under their hands, nominate any two specified persons to appoint one scrutineer to act at each polling-place in the district in the interest of all electors who are in favour of the said proposal.

15. Any ten or more electors who are not in favour of the proposal that liquor be supplied to Natives in the district may, by writing under their hands, nominate any two specified persons to appoint one scrutineer to act at each polling-place in the district in the interest of all electors who are not in favour of the said proposal.

16. The nomination-paper shall be in the form No. 3 in the Schedule hereto, and shall be verified by declaration as therein set forth, made and subscribed before a Justice of the Peace or Postmaster.

17. The nomination-paper shall be lodged with the Returning Officer not later than the seventh day before the day of polling, and shall be open to public inspection.

18. On a day to be publicly notified by the Returning Officer (being not earlier than the fifth nor later than the third day before the day of polling) he shall publicly consider all nomination-papers duly lodged as aforesaid, and, after hearing all objections thereto, select therefrom two fit persons to appoint one scrutineer, and two fit persons to appoint the other scrutineer, to act at each polling-place in the respective interests as aforesaid; and the persons so selected may appoint accordingly.

19. The selection shall be by writing under the hand of the Returning Officer, in the form No. 4 in the Schedule hereto.

20. The appointment shall in each case be by writing under the hands of the persons selected as aforesaid, and shall be in the form No. 5 in the Schedule hereto.

21. Every scrutineer so appointed to act at a polling-place shall be entitled to be present only after the closing of the poll at the counting of the votes given at that polling-place; but, except as provided by these regulations, shall have all the powers of a scrutineer under the Legislature Act, 1908.

22. The remuneration (if any) of the scrutineers shall not be deemed to form part of the cost of the poll.

23. Every associate, clerk, and scrutineer shall make and subscribe before the Deputy Returning Officer, or a Justice, or Postmaster the declaration in the form No. 6 in the Schedule hereto; and every such declaration shall, before any such person commences his duties, be delivered to the Deputy Returning Officer at the polling-place for which that person is appointed.

24. On the day of the poll the electors shall enter the polling-booth one by one; and each elector, when requested to do so by the Deputy Returning Officer or his associate, shall state his full name, tribe, hapu, and abode. The Deputy Returning Officer or his associate shall write such information on the counterfoil of the voting-paper,

after which the elector shall be requested to answer "Yes" or "No" to the question, "Do you vote that liquor be supplied to the Natives of this district?"; and, the elector having so answered, the Deputy Returning Officer shall write the reply upon the voting-paper, and, having affixed his name or initials thereto, shall pass it to his associate, who shall place his name or initials on the voting-paper as witness.

25. On every such voting-paper the Deputy Returning Officer shall enter a number (called a consecutive number), which shall correspond to a like number on the counterfoil, and shall, in the case of the first voting-paper dealt with, begin with the number one, and appear consecutively upon every succeeding voting-paper so that no

two voting-papers dealt with in any booth shall bear the same number.

26. Before recording any such vote as aforesaid, the Deputy Returning Officer or his associate may put to the person proposing to vote any or all of the following questions:-

(i.) Are you a bona fide resident of the Horouta Maori District ?

(ii.) Are you twenty-one years of age, or over that age?

(iii.) Have you already voted at this poll, in your own or any other name?

(iv.) Are you registered on any European roll of electors for the election of a member of the House of Representatives?

(v.) Are you disqualified from voting at any such election by reason of any of the provisions of section 59 of the Legislature Amendment Act, 1910?

27. If the first two questions are not answered absolutely in the affirmative, and the third, fourth, and fifth questions absolutely in the negative, the person to whom those questions are put shall not be permitted to vote.

28. No person not actually engaged in voting shall be allowed to remain in the polling-booth, except the Deputy Returning Officer and his associate and clerks, and as many constables as the Deputy Returning Officer thinks necessary to keep order.

29. No person shall speak to any voter in a polling-booth either before or after such voter has given his vote, except only the Deputy Returning Officer or his associate, who may ask the questions he is authorized to ask, and give such general directions as may assist any voter to give his vote.

30. (1.) Every Deputy Returning Officer, at the polling-place at which he presides, shall, as soon as practicable after the close of the poll, in the presence of such of the scrutineers as choose to be present, and of the associate and clerks (if any), but of no other persons, ascertain the number of votes recorded for and against the proposal respectively, but no such result shall be announced or declared by him until after the poll to be taken under the Licensing Act, 1908, and its amendments, shall have been taken.

(2.) Every Deputy Returning Officer shall, as soon as he has ascertained the result of the voting at the polling-place of which he is in charge, forthwith transmit by telegraph or other expeditious means such information to the Returning Officer.

(3.) The Deputy Returning Officer shall then make up a statement in writing of the total number of votes recorded for and against the proposal respectively, and every such statement shall be verified by the signatures of the Deputy Returning Officer and associate, and also by the signatures of such of the scrutineers as are present and consent to sign the same.

31. The Deputy Returning Officer shall make up into a parcel all the voting-papers (used and unused), stationery, writing-materials, and documents relating to the poll (including the statement referred to in the last preceding regulation), and, having sealed and addressed such parcel, shall thereupon deliver it to the Returning Officer.

32. (1.) The Returning Officer shall, as soon as conveniently may be after the closing of the poll, and in the presence of such scrutineers as choose to be present, ascertain the numbers polled for or against the proposal submitted to the electors, and shall sign a notice and declaration, in the form No. 7 in the Schedule hereto, (i) stating the number of votes polled for and against such proposal respectively, and (ii) declaring that such proposal is or is not carried, as the case may be.

(2.) If the number of votes recorded for the proposal is equal to the number recorded against the proposal, the Returning Officer shall give his casting-vote.

(3.) The Returning Officer shall forward to the Native Minister the notice and declaration aforesaid as to the result of the poll, and shall also publish a copy thereof in the Kahiti and Gazette, but no such result shall be published before the poll to be taken under the Licensing Act, 1908, and its amendments, has been taken.

(4.) Upon receipt of the notification from the Returning Officer the Native Minister shall notify the Licensing Committee of the Bay of Plenty Licensing District of the result of the poll.

33. The Returning Officer or his Deputy shall have power to appoint a sufficient number of officers to keep order, and to make and enforce such rules for ensuring the orderly, effective, and impartial conduct of the election as he thinks fit.

34. (1.) Every officer, clerk, scrutineer, associate, and constable in attendance in a polling-booth shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting in such