NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1022, 11 January 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The general impression that tho Taieri scat" will disappear in the noxt redistribution of I J arliamentary doctorates seems to bo resented by the Hon. T. Mackenzie.- Mr. Mackenzie has certainly been unfortunate in pitching' upon electorates doomed to disappearance, and' we can understand his feelings when he says that he thinks it a great pity that "the constituencies were not; left untouched. "No he sighs, "does a member know his . district and the people in it, and no sooner do the people know him, than tho whole thing is shuffled again like u pack of cards." It must be .dreadful, after learning the names of the children and the horses of Tom and Bill, and "landing" a fine- share of tho public money for expenditure in the district, to have to pack up and begin it' all over again in another part. Mr. Mackenzie's complaint raises a very important question, however. At tho present .time the people in the South Island arc overrepresented. There are 76 European members, 37 for the South 1 Island and 39 for this island. At the census in 1906 the population (excluding

Maoris) was 888,578, made up thus: North, 476,929; South, 411,649. These figures arc in the ratio of 53.67 per ccnt to 46.33 per cent. In 1867 only 3G.63 of the population was in this island, and 63.37 per cent, in .the South, biit there has been a constant upward movement in this island. Following are the figures for the last four census years:

Proportions Population. per cent. Year. North. South. North. South. 15.91 261,726 S-H.932 44.06 55.0-1 1896 ..... 310,5G5 382,495 48.-1G 51.51 1901 39J.778 381,941 50.57 49.43 190G 47G.929 111,049 53.67 46.33 The result of this year's census will bo very important.' As everybody knows, there has been a continuation and intensification of the movement shown in this table. If the samo percentage changes have taken place in the quinquennium 1906-11 as took place in the preceding quinquennium, 'the percentages will be: North, 56.77 per cent.; South, 43.23. AVe shall err on the side of safety in giving the North a slightly smaller figure. Allowing 56i per cent, to the North, and 43i to the South, it will be necessary, if a vote on this side of Cook Strait is not to be considered inferior in value or. weight to a vote on the other side, to allocate the 76 European scats as follow: North, 43 seats; South, 33 seats. This will mean .the disappearance of four southern seats.

As usually happens at general elections in Great Britain, a strong feature of tho tactics of both sides in preparing for the polls last month was the reproduction* of passages from speeches made in past years by present-day and bygone political leaders. One of the most remarkable '•"resurrections" was the following passage from a speech delivered in Edinburgh'on November 9, 1885. The speaker said:

I will suppose that owing to some cause the Liberal party was called upon to deal with this great constitutional question of the government of Ireland in' a position whero it was only a minority dependent on the Irish vote for converting it into a majority. Now, gentlemen, I tell you seriously and solemnly that although I believe, the Liberal .party itself to' bo honourable, patriotic, and trustworthy, in such a position as that it would not be safo for it to enter upon, the consideration of the principle or a. measure with respect to which at every step of its progress it would be in tho; power of a party coming from -Ireland to say.: "Unless you do this and unless you do. that we will turn you out to-morrow. ... Not only the Liberal party, but tho Empire will be in danger, because questions. of the gravest moment and of Imperial weight and of vast consequences may come forward, and in all likelihood will come forward, and thero will be no party qualified to deal with them- in that independence of position which alone can secure a satisfactory and an, honourable issue. .

The party from Ireland at the present' time can say,. and has said, many' times and' with deadly emphasis, "that unless the. Government obeys orders it will hurl tho Government from office. . The. words we have quoted, therefore, . apply exactly. to the present .situation. The .speaker, of those.words was no less a person than the late- Mit: Gladstone.