"A SOUTH ISLAND GOVERNMENT."

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 852, 25 June 1910, Page 5

"A SOUTH ISLAND GOVERNMENT."

— * — SO SAYS MR. LANG, M.P. . SOmo interesting remarks on the itforth v. South question were made by Mr. Lang, M.P., in the course of his pre-sessional address at Onehunga. Ho Baid that although he did not believe in parochialism, ho felt it was his duty, when he saw one side more favoured than the other, to protest. To prove the position the Auckland province was in, in comparison with other provinces, ho stated that the representation in the Upper House for Auckland was 7. If it had members on the same bdsis of population as Otago, it would have at least 8; if on the same basis as Canterbury, at least 9; if on the same basis as Nelson, at least 10; ■Wellington, at least 11; Marlborough, at least 14; Hawke's Bay, at least 19; Taranaki, at least 19; and West-land,' at least 29. . ■ The railways in. the South were? not. paying as well as in the North, yet there were more miles of railage in the South. -There .'was also more expenditure in tho South, and in this connection had the- North Island members been parochial, they should have voted for a reduction of this.. Last year, when tho Estimates came down, it was found that tho expenditure for railways in tho South was to be £160,000 more than in the North. Ho had moved a reduction ..in this, and when it camo to ■the division the voting was 21 for and 36 against., Analysing this, it was found all the Southern members voted for their interests, but 13 North Island inembors voted with them, and had thoy been truo to their people, this would not have been so. Other matters in which tho North was 'not treated fairly, Mr. Lang said, was in railway workshops, and an important point . was that them had never been a Minister for Lands chosen from the North. Thero was no getting away from the fact that the Government was a South Island one, and tho only thing was for the North Island members to work together and see that justice was done.