B
ii. Local Oorcnunent (Ireland) .let.v.
1. Local Governmejmt (Ibeland) Acts, 1898 to 1902, &c.
Local Government Elections.
The trieiuiial elections of County and Rural District Coun¬
cillors occurring in May and June of this year, although outside
the period to which this report relates, call for some notice,
inasmuch as the preliminary arrangements for the taking of the
polls were, to a great extent, made before the 31st March, 1914.
As on previous occasions, we issued on the 3rd December last
an instructional circular,* to all local bodies and officials con¬
cerned, explaining the more important points in our election
orders, and the action to be taken by those engaged in the conduct
of the elections at the various stages of the proceedings. As it
was found in a previous election that misunderstandings between
a County Returning Officer and a Town Clerk acting as his
Deputy had led to some trouble and confusion, we thought it well
to draw special attention in our circular to the provisions of the
County and Rural District Councillors Election Order of the 18th
January, 1902, on the subject, and to make clear the effect of
these provisions. Attention was also drawn to the Local
Authorities (Ireland) (Qualification of Women) Act, 1911, which
removes the restriction hitherto preventing women from being
members of County Councils.
In the course of these elections, questions arising as lo the in¬
terpretation of our election orders lead to a considerable amount
of correspondence both with officials and the general public.
Strictly speaking, om- responsibility with regard to Local Govern¬
ment Elections is limited to the making of General Orders
prescribing the procedure and the powers and duties of Returning
Officers, but we nevertheless feel bound, when requested to do
so, to afford assistance and advice to officials and the local bodies
in the solution of difficulties with w-hich they find themselves
confronted.
The General Orders issued by us regulating the elections con¬
tinue to prove satisfactory, and suited on the whole to the
circumstances they were intended to meet. Occasionally it has
been found desirable to authorise departures from the terms of
the Orders to suit the requirements of particular localities. In
the cases of Down County and Dublin County, the provisions of
Rule 1 (4) of the General Election Order, that the office of the
Returning Officer for the election of County Councillors in an
Administrative County shall be situate in that County, and for
Rural District Councillors in the Rural District, proved incon¬
venient, and we accordingly made Amending Orders, similar
to those made in connection with the previous elections,
authorising the Returning Officers for those Counties to
have their offices outside the Counties. Several County
Councils, moreover, have made representations under Section 94
(6) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, for directions
authorising the polls for certain District Electoral Divisions in
the respective Counties to be taken outside such District Elec-
* See page 3, p.l. ,ieq
