PALMY DAYS OF. THE SOUTH ISLAND

Chronicle (Levin), 5 April 1946, Page 2

PALMY DAYS OF. THE SOUTH ISLAND

.. - *-r ■» ) h .. -Press ~Associatibn

- ! I maj ORITY - in: . hgobe of h representati ViiS: | C,

■By Telegrayh-

f ! '} t . ? W "Tnc" po'Jitical .strengt'Ji" of tfia- No|'fli ' Islanu uas »beea •aavancmg ior - ov.b;' lorty years, but this lias ueon accqhipamed by anoiher enange vviutn snoai-t leconcile the diminisiiing gVdup .oi .^outli island members in ihe riouse?o: RepreSentatives. " Koad and bridge" politics were outstanding in fhe early uays, and strong pressure was exercisea by locul members to,,svving the Uirgest possible amount of piibjlie money in to their own eiectoraies. ' . xiie na nonal highways systeni and tlie erea " tion of an almost automatic arrange ment of grants and subsidiqs eventu allv redueed this competition, with jlu result that "North 'versus.. Squth ' arguments are rarely ventilated 'in Parliament today. ?> ■ • The pa-lniy days'of tlve ISouth wero from 1SS1 until 1-BS7 when- 'constitu - eiici'es were adjusted by legislation,. not the mathematical ca'JcuIations of non-politieians. In those -years th«t. House of Representatives liad 91 Eul;jpean members— Soutli Island 55/ Nqrth Island 3(5— and. there were four Mabri seats in addition.- - The present totaf of eighty members, including the. Boiiitn Island Maori seat, and three. for (the North Island^ Avas lixed in 1900. ' •" '• ~ License* Districts. " ■

For the first time in their expefienee, the Boundary C.oinmissioners, have not been handicapped by the necessity* t.o make boundary contortions to save hotels from im-lusion in "duy" areas. On the previous readjustnienf in1 1937 the Ministor of .Tnstice (Mf. Mason) eommented strongly on this •anomalo'us condition of the law, and- mentioned some of the strange new boundai-ies adopted to preveht hotels. from disappearing without a mandate from the eloctors. Kaipara electorate, he; said, had retreated northwards, but instead of the "dry" electorate of Auckland snbnrbs following it, which would liaye extinguished a lieenee, the boundary of Waiteniata was h rough t across to form a protective harrier. In another"' ca'se, he -said, Masterton would natprally have extended southwards. "But," he eommented, "there is .ar. row- .of li'ceti'sed" preiriises -RtahRiiYg* Tilte a barrier; pf fortrosses; :to;.,preyenf vextensron inv,that clirection. " Ro ^\f^,steHon 's lio-licence" area went Avotfh*. * * j' "f-h'e* Flw.foral- Act-of Jast gessioiji cpjnplctelv • jbsposed of further difijcutty ovcr licch'sed1 preniises coming info.no l-i'cfen'fm ■ai,eaR.-'-'Nod.ic;eu.c:e'"ai,qas are 'to pjai-ntain. their boundaries reg'ardless of electoral changes.* Tf this r'esnlts in vnters.-. in a no-licenee xlisf riet .being fransferred to the electoral roll of a license area, two flasses of electors are constituted, so that the lo^,al bntinn x'ot.ino- rifhts ninv sCll be exe.reisjecf bv the". former "drv" areig A spei'bti [")]i r\f theso II?'""-:'#?-]>ared, or thev can be indiyated cjn the 1 ordinarv electoral roll. Special ■ Te- ' tnrning ofi5"e*-5 are to be anpointlid }'or Jieensing ^dislriets -"'Tio wilT- not bej _reiftiBifeg oflftcerVof electoral distriQte. '