Provincial Council of Southland immediately before the coming into operation of the said Act, except the name of William Wood, Esq., and of no other persons, in the form following

Ballot Paper.

A. B.
C. D.
&c.

Directions.

The voter is to strike out the name of every person for whom he does not intend to vote by drawing a line through the name with a pen or pencil. He must be careful not to leave uncancelled the names of more than seven, or the paper will be invalid. The ballot paper must then be folded, so as to conceal all the names of the persons printed on the paper, and the ballot paper must then be put in the ballot box by the voter.

The ballot paper must not be taken out of the room in which the ballot is taken.

The above directions shall be printed on the paper, and shall be complied with and enforced.

4. The ballot shall be taken in the said chamber, and the said chamber shall be so arranged that there shall be in the same an inner compartment, and there shall be provided by the said William Wood therein pens and ink for the use of the voters.

5. The said William Wood shall also provide a ballot box with an opening therein to receive the ballot papers, and with a lock and key.

6. Before proceeding to take the poll the said William Wood shall exhibit, for the inspection of the voters, the ballot box open and empty, and shall forthwith take the same, being still empty, and set the same, empty and unopened, on a table in front of him, and in view of the persons present in the said chamber, and so keep the same till the ballot is concluded.

7. There shall be delivered at the said meeting by the said William Wood, to each person entitled to vote, and who shall desire to vote, a ballot paper, and every person to whom a ballot paper shall be delivered shall forthwith retire alone to the said compartment, and shall there alone, and without delay, strike out from such ballot paper the names of the persons for whom he does not intend to vote, and shall forthwith fold up such ballot paper in such manner as will conceal the names of the persons on the ballot paper, and deposit it in the ballot box, in the presence of the said William Wood.

8. Each voter may give one vote to each of the persons qualified to be selected, not exceeding seven in number, and he may vote for himself, if he thinks fit, as one of the seven, and any ballot paper recording more than seven votes shall be rejected at the close of the poll.

9. At twelve of the clock at noon of the said day the said William Wood shall close the poll, and shall then open the ballot box, and proceed to ascertain the number of votes given for each person, in view of those present in the chamber, and shall both then and after abstain from inspecting the writing upon the back of the ballot papers, and take care that the same is not seen by any person present, and shall then and there announce the number of votes given to each person, and declare those not exceeding seven in number who have received the greatest number of votes to be duly elected Members, and if two or more of such persons shall have received an equal number of votes the said William Wood shall have a casting vote, but he shall not have an original vote, and the names of the persons so declared shall be certified to the Governor by the said William Wood, and be published by the Colonial Secretary in the General Government Gazette.

Given under the hand of His Excellency Sir George Ferguson Bowen, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the said Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same; at the Government House at Wellington; and issued under the seal of the said Colony, this day of in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy.

God Save the Queen.

Printed under the authority of the Provincial Government of Otago, by Mills, Dick and Co., of Stafford street, Printers to the said Provincial Government for the time being.