CITIZENS, BEWARE.

Auckland Examiner, Volume 1, Issue 2, 18 December 1856, Page 2

CITIZENS, BEWARE.

(To the Editor of the Auckland Examiner.) Sir, —Permit me to congratulate you on your appearance in the above character—to wish you every legitimate support and success in your new undertaking ; and at the same time to assure you of my firm cenviction that if you are only moderately alive to passing events,"and that if you feel the least inclined to perform your duty in your present capacity, you will find abundanc to examine, much of which needs reform, and much to condemn. On the other hand, you will have occasion to award well-merited praise. I perceive in the “ New Zealander" of this morning; a notice of motion as follows .-—“ Mr. Dilworth to move for leave to introduce a Bill to add two to the number of Representatives in the Provincial Council for the Northern and Southern Divisions.”

The political sin of this Bill as ushered into notice by Mr. Dilworth is that of omission, or short comings. It says a little, but not enough. It is a step in the right direction, but stops at the wrong stage. It does not come up to the mark. It will be looked upon by the citizens of Auckland, and by the electors of the Bay of Islands, and probably by a number of those of the Pensioner Settlements, as a Bill characterized by selfishness, inequality, and an attempt at monopoly. Why are these two districts to have an increase of representatives, and the citizens of Auckland to remain satisfied with their "present number? How is it that in every other Province an increase of members has been advocated, in some carried into practice, and as we are told followed by satisfactory and beneficial results. While, in the face of all this demonstrative evidence, the members of our Provincial Council appear so afraid of increasing the representatives of this Province ? It was the want of a proper system of representation which converted the ancient democracies into mobocraey, which were for the want of it unwieldy, and the principal cause of failure When there were little more than two thousand electors in this Province at the introduction of the Constitution Act, Sir George Grey thought twenty-four memb rs none too many. Our electoral rollcontains now nearly six thousand names; and our very liberal Constitutional Dilworth, in an earnest endeavour to give the Constitution fair play, eomes forward with a nobleness of soul worthy of a great patriot, to ask that four more may

be added to the number ! ! Had his Bill called for an addition of seven or twice that number it would bave been far more in character with the late professions of our party. Yours, &c., Wm. Griffin. Hobson Street. 17th December, 1856.