RETURN to an Address of the Honourable The House of Commons, A "COPY of the ELECTORAL BILL passed by the LEGISLATURE of Colonial Office, 31 March 1859.J CARNARVON. A COPY of the ELECTORAL ACT passed by the LEGISLATURE of I CERTIFY that this Public Bill, which originated in the Legislative Assembly, has finally passed the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. AN ACT TO AMEND THE ELECTORAL LAW. [Assented to, 24 November 1858.] WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Electoral Law of New South Wales Preamble. Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows: 1. In the interpretation of this Act the following words in inverted commas Interpretation. shall have the meanings set against them respectively unless inconsistent with or repugnant to the context: "Assembly "The Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. "Speaker "-The Speaker of the Assembly for the time being. "Election "-The election of any Member of the Assembly. "Roll "-The revised electoral roll of electors entitled to vote at the election of any Member of the Assembly. "List "-Any unrevised electoral list of electors. “Natural born subject "-Every person born in Her Majesty's dominions or either of whose parents was so born. "Naturalized subject "-Every person who in England is or shall be naturalized and every person made a denizen or having received a certificate under the eleventh Victoria number thirty-nine and having taken the oath required in that behalf. Repeal of Electoral 2. The Electoral Act of 1851-the Act of Council eighteenth Victoria number five--the tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth fourteenth sixteenth twentieth and twenty-seventh sections of the Constitution Act assented to by Her 20th and 27th sections Majesty under the authority of the Imperial Act of Parliament eighteenth and nineteenth Victoria chapter fifty-four-shall be repealed. 12th 13th 14th 16th of Constitution Act. Number of Members. Division of colony into electoral dis tricts. Gold fields electoral districts. Boundaries of districts. Apportionment of 3. The Assembly shall consist of eighty Members or so soon as the University of Sydney shall be entitled to return a Member to the Assembly of eighty-one Members. 4. The colony shall be divided into the following electoral districts: 5. The gold fields shall also be divided into and shall constitute three several electoral districts under the following names and shall severally comprise all the gold fields already or hereafter proclaimed within the other electoral districts next hereinafter set against such names respectively Gold Fields South Gold Fields West - Gold Fields North Argyle-Balranald-Braidwood-Camden-Eden-Illa warra-Kiama-The Lachlan-Monaro-The Hume --The Murray-The Murrumbidgee-NarellanQueanbeyan-Shoalhaven -The Tumut and Yass Plains. The Bogan-Carcoar-Hartley-The Hawkesbury- The Burnett-The Clarence - Darling Downs--The Provided that the constituting of such gold fields electoral districts shall in 6. The boundaries of the said several electoral districts shall be deemed to be the boundaries set forth in the Schedule hereto marked (A.) 7. The electoral district of West Sydney shall return four Members and of East Sydney four Members The electoral districts of Camden-CanterburyCentral Cumberland-Darling Downs - The Hawkesbury-East Macquarie— and Parramatta shall respectively return two Members And all the other electoral electoral districts shall respectively return one Member to serve in the Assembly. 8. Every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of twenty-one years and Qualification of absolutely free being natural born or who being a naturalized subject shall Members. have resided in this colony for five years shall be qualified to be elected a Member of the Assembly for any electoral district unless disqualified by section seventeen or eighteen of the Constitution Act or unless under section eleven or twelve of this Act he would be disqualified or incapacitated as an elector. 9. Every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of twenty-one years Qualification of being natural born or who being a naturalized subject shall have resided in electors. this colony for three years shall if qualified as in this section is provided and entered on the roll of electors and not disqualified or incapacitated for some cause hereinafter specified be entitled to vote at any election for the electoral district in respect of which he shall be so qualified that is to say— Firstly--Every such subject who at the time of making out the electoral Resident electors. list in any such district shall reside and during the six months then next preceding shall have resided in that district. Secondly-Every such subject whether or not so resident as aforesaid Non-resident Provided that no elector possessing more than one qualification within the same Proviso. 10. When any premises are jointly owned or occupied or held on lease with in the meaning of the last preceding section by more persons than one each of such joint owners occupiers or leaseholders shall be entitled to vote in respect of such premises in case the value of his individual interest therein separately taken would under the provisions of the said section entitle him to vote if solely interested. As to joint owners occupiers or lease holders. 11. Every person nevertheless shall be disqualified who at the time either Disqualifications. of making out the said list or of the election for his district shall be of unsound mind or in the receipt of aid from any charitable institution or who has been attainted or convicted of treason felony or other infamous offence in any part of Her Majesty's dominions unless he have received a free or conditional pardon for such offence or have undergone the sentence passed on him. 12. Every person shall be incapable of voting who at the time either of Persons in the making out such list or of such election shall be in the naval or military service military service or on full pay not being in any militia or volunteer corps only And no Inspector- in the police. general or Metropolitan superintendent of police or paid police magistrate or superintendent of police nor any clerk of petty sessions nor any clerk chief or other constable or person belonging to the constabulary force shall during the time he shall continue in any such office be capable of giving his vote for the election of a Member to serve in the Assembly nor shall by word message writing or in any other manner endeavour to persuade any elector to give or dissuade any elector from giving his vote for any candidate and every person incapacitated as last aforesaid who shall offend herein shall forfeit the sum of fields members. one hundred pounds to be recovered by any person who shall sue for the same by action of debt to be commenced within six months after the commission of the offence. Miner's right or 13. Unless affected by some disqualification or incapacity hereinbefore license a qualifica- mentioned every such subject of Her Majesty who shall at the time of any tion to vote for gold election for any gold fields electoral district be residing on any proclaimed gold field within the same and shall have held for the period of six months any miner's right or business-license or mining lease then unexpired or a like instrument of which the existing one is a renewal shall be thereby qualified to vote at such election provided that if he so vote he shall although upon the electoral roll of any other electoral district within the boundaries of which there shall be a proclaimed gold field not be entitled to vote at the same election for any Member of such other electoral district And every last named person who shall so vote contrary to this proviso shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Miner's right to be produced on voting. Schedule (B.) Sydney University when containing 100 superior graduates to return one Member. Election writs. Qualification of electors. Returning officer and poll clerk. Electoral roll. ELECTORAL LISTS. Courts of petty sessions to appoint collectors. Schedule (L.) Duties of collectors and clerks of petty sessions in respect to electoral lists. Schedule (D.) 14. Every person claiming to be entitled to vote for any Member at any election for any gold fields electoral district shall before he be permitted so to vote produce to the presiding officer his miner's right or license or lease constituting his authority to vote And such presiding officer shall sign on the back thereof a memorandum in the form of the Schedule hereto marked (B) And such memorandum so signed shall be conclusive evidence that the person named in such right or license or lease has voted at such election for such gold fields electoral district And the said form shall be printed on the back of every miner's right license or lease hereafter granted or issued. 15. So soon as there shall be in the University of Sydney not fewer than one hundred graduates who shall have taken therein any or either of the degrees of master of arts doctor of laws or doctor of medicine the said University shall return one Member to serve in the Assembly in addition to the number of members hereinbefore mentioned And the first writ for the election of such member shall thereupon be issued by the Governor and all subsequent writs in the manner hereinafter provided for election writs And the following persons shall be entitled to vote at the election of such member the said persons being of the full age of twenty-one years and natural born or naturalized subjects of Her Majesty and not being disqualified or incapacitated by this Act : The fellows of the Senate for the time being. The professors and all other public teachers and examiners in the University schools and the principals of incorporated colleges within the University for the time being. Masters of arts doctors of laws or medicine and all other members of the University who at the date of the issue of the writ of election shall be entitled to vote at elections for fellows of the Senate thereof. And at every election of such Member the provost or in his absence the vice provost of the said University shall act as returning officer and the registrar thereof shall act as polling clerk And the books of the University in which shall be registered the names of the persons so qualified to vote shall be deemed to be the electoral roll for the said University. 16. On or before the first day of January in every year the courts of petty sessions of the several police districts shall appoint collectors for each of such police districts And every collector so appointed shall before entering on his duties make and subscribe a declaration before a justice in the form of the Schedule hereto marked (L) which declaration shall be kept as of record by the petty sessions clerk. 17. Every collector so appointed shall between the first and the twentyeighth day of January in every year make out alphabetical lists according to the form in the Schedule hereto marked (D) of all persons qualified to vote within their respective districts for the election of Members of the Assembly and shall deliver such lists to the clerks of petty sessions for the police districts for which such collectors are appointed and each collector shall keep a true copy of the list so delivered by him to be perused by any person at all reasonable hours without fee And the clerks of petty sessions shall forthwith cause copies to be printed or fairly transcribed of all such lists and shall deliver a copy List to be written of any such list to any person requiring the same on payment of a reasonable or printed. price for each copy and shall likewise cause copies of the lists of their respective police districts to be fixed on the respective court houses thereof and in such other public places as may by the court of petty sessions be directed for the period of fourteen days ending on the twenty-eighth day of February following. 18. It shall be lawful for the justices of each.police district in petty sessions Justices to assign assembled to assign to such collectors such remuneration for their services as to remuneration to the said justices may seem just and reasonable. 19. Whenever any such police district shall form portions of two or more electoral districts such collectors and clerks of petty sessions shall make separate lists for each such portion. collectors. As to police districts forming parts of two or more electoral districts. 20. If in any electoral district there be no court of petty sessions or being Provision for case such court there be no clerk of petty sessions the Governor with the advice of no petty sessions. aforesaid shall by proclamation published in the Gazette fix the court of petty sessions at which and by the clerk whereof or the person by whom as the case may be the duties imposed upon the clerk of petty sessions by this Act shall be performed. 21. Every person omitted from any list but entitled to have his name inserted Electors omitted. on the list may or any other elector of the district may for him on or before the twenty-eighth day of February in any year give or transmit by post notice in writing thereof to the clerk of petty sessions And every person named in any list Names objected to. objecting to any other person as not entitled to have his name retained therein shall on or before the said twenty-eighth day of February in any year give or transmit by post to the clerk of petty sessions and to the person objected to at his address as inserted in the said list a notice thereof in writing according to tions. the form of the Schedule hereto marked (E) And such clerk shall include the Schedule (E.) names of all persons so claiming to be inserted in a paper according to the Public notice of form of the Schedule hereto marked (F) and the names of all persons objected claims and objec to in a paper in the form of the Schedule hereto marked (G) and shall cause copies of such several papers to be fixed on the court house or other public Schedule (F.) place as aforesaid during fourteen days at the least ending on the eighteenth Schedule (G.) day of March following And shall keep copies of such papers respectively to be perused by any person without payment of any fee at all reasonable hours during the fourteen days (Sunday excepted) ending on the said eighteenth day of March and shall deliver a copy of both or either of such papers to any person requiring the same on payment of a sum not exceeding one shilling for each copy. Magistrates to hold revision courts. 22. Courts of revision for revising the lists shall be held in every year by REVISION OF LISTS, justices in petty sessions at their usual places of meeting or at such other public places as may be found convenient in and for every police district some time between the eighteenth and the twenty-eighth days of March inclusive and such justices shall cause to be affixed conspicuously on the court house or place used as such within their districts at least ten days before the holding of the court of revision a notice under the hand of the clerk of petty sessions of the place and time of holding such court And an open court shall be held accordingly for the revision of the lists and the justices shall from day to day appoint one of their own number to preside at such court and in the event of a deficiency or expected deficiency of justices in any such district the Governor with the advice aforesaid may appoint any other person to perform any of the duties of justices in petty sessions under this Act Provided that no candidate for election or member of the Legislative Council or Assembly shall take any part in the revision of any list or any part thereof. 23. The clerk of petty sessions shall at the opening of such court of revision Proceedings at produce the lists and a copy of the papers so containing the names of persons revision courts. claiming and of persons objected to And the presiding justice shall insert in the list the name of every person claiming as aforesaid to be inserted who shall be proved to the satisfaction of the court to be qualified and shall retain on the list the names of all persons to whom no objection shall have been duly made and the name of every person objected to unless the party objecting shall appear by himself or by some one on his behalf in support of such objection |