CHAP. VI] THE LOWER HOUSES 489
members of Parliament for that district. Maoris (other
than half-castes) are not entitled to be so registered.
For all the purposes of the Act a person is deemed to have
resided within the district wherein he has his usual place of
abode notwithstanding his occasional absence from such
district, and notwithstanding his absence for any period
while serving His Majesty as a member of any naval or
military force, or in any capacity in connexion with such
force while on active service. Manhood suffrage dates from
1879, female suffrage dates from 1893, and all property
qualifications disappeared in 1896.
A person is not entitled to be registered on more than one
electoral roll, and Maoris are only qualified to vote at
elections of Maori members under conditions laid down in
Part IV of the Act. A half-caste registered under the Act
is not qualified to vote at any election of Maori members.
Moreover, the following persons are disqualified by s. 38 (1)
of the Act : An alien, or person of unsound mind, or a person
convicted of an offence punishable by death or by imprison-
ment for one year or upwards within any part of His Majesty’s
dominions, or convicted in New Zealand as a public defaulter,
or under The Police Offences Act, 1908, as an idle and dis-
orderly person, or as a rogue and vagabond, unless such
offender has received a free pardon, or has undergone the
sentence or punishment to which he was adjudged for such
offence.
(dy South Africa.
The old franchises of the Colonies, which are still in force
in the Union pending a uniform Union franchise, are briefly
as follows :—
The franchise in the Cape is extended under the electoral
laws to all persons, British subjects, natural-born or natura-
lized, able to sign their names and write their addresses and
asccupation.
(a) A voter must have been occupier of property worth
£75 within the electoral division for which he seeks registra-
tion for twelve months; or as an alternative, (5) he must
have been in receipt of salary or wages at the rate of not
less than £50 per annum for twelve months, provided that
